The Chicago Academy for the Arts was founded in 1981 by a group     of dedicated artists, educators, and business professionals that    included sculptress Zelda Werner, Second City Producer Emeritus    Joyce Sloane, actress Essee Kupcinet, and educators William Gaines,    Ph.D. and Larry Jordan. These men and women believed that a    young person should not have to leave the State of Illinois to pursue    his/her dream of becoming a professional artist.  For 25 years,    students have traveled throughout the state of Illinois to engage in    professional training in music, drama, dance, visual arts, film and creative writing while also fulfilling the requirements for a high school diploma. 

The Chicago Academy for the Arts (then named The Academy for the Performing and Visual Arts) first opened its doors at 720 West Adams in Chicago, Illinois with nearly 100 students in attendance. In its earlier years, the school balanced academic and arts classes though space was limited. In 1990, the school moved to its current location at 1010 West Chicago Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. Today, the facility has spacious academic classrooms, a recital hall, three dance studios, a recording studio, a video editing system, a piano lab, private and ensemble practice rooms, theatre studios, a 60 seat proscenium black box theatre, scenery and costume shops, a fully equipped sculpture facility, and two art galleries.

  The Chicago Academy for the Arts is the only independent art   school in the state of Illinois and only 1 of 5 independent schools   in the country that provides professional arts training and a   comprehensive academic education.

  From its beginning, the Arts Academy was committed to   educating a diverse community of learners.  Today, the student   body is 37% African American, 2% Hispanic, 1% Asian-  Pacific, 60% Caucasian.  Nearly 50% of the student body relies   on scholarship support to attend the school.

The Arts Academy takes advantage of the rich arts and culture that’s available throughout the city.  Student internships, master classes, and performance opportunities throughout the Chicago area are held with Chicago Dramatists, Steppenwolf Theatre, Bailiwick, Victory Gardens, Chicago Center for the Performing Arts, and the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago.

Artists who frequent Chicago’s premier art institutions often visit The Chicago Academy for the Arts.  Guest artists have included Film Critic Roger Ebert, Actor Jim Belushi, Bolshoi Ballet Artistic Director Boris Akimov, and Singers Garth Brooks and Trish Yearwood.

  After 4-years of training at the Arts Academy, 97% of the   students attend leading colleges, conservatories, and universities,   and receive acceptances from institutions including the University   of Chicago, The Julliard School, Kansas City Art Institute,   Eastman School of Music, Northwestern University and Yale   University.  90% of Arts Academy students are accepted in their   first-choice college. The senior class typically garners nearly 1   million dollars in scholarships for their college education.

  In 2006, as the school celebrated its 25th anniversary, the Arts Academy was awarded the Creative Ticket for Arts Excellence Award from the Illinois Alliance for Arts Education.