Sir J.J. School of Art

Sir JJ School of Art is one of the frontline institutes that offers fine art education in India, since its establishment in the year of 1878 in the current Campus, with a bountiful donation of Jamshetji Jijibhoy, under the British administration. The current School stands in the famous heritage building with various apex departments such as drawing and painting, sculpture and modeling, printmaking, mural arts and crafts including ceramics, interior decoration, portraiture, metalwork and textiles. And A.T.D., i.e., Art Teachers’ Diploma, Art Master’s and Diploma in Painting Education for teachers’ training. The college offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses with BFA and MFA degrees granted to the students.

The ultimate objective of the School is to provide the students with a number of sophisticated, yet heavy on fundamentals, a course in the subject of student’s own choice. And courses to introduce the very detail of the object leading to a fuller realization and utilization of creativity, graded systematically. The students can choose for tuition along with individual guidance from the professors. And facilities like spacious studios, workshops and rich reference library are the special features of the institution. In addition to the regular tuition, critique sessions as well as discussion by the members of faculty, visits of famous contemporary artists are arranged in the campus. Apart from that, outdoor education comprises visits to art exhibitions, museums, and scenic spots. Knowledgeable subjects like History of Art and Aesthetics are being explored with visual aids such as slides, films, colored reproductions etc.

Undergraduate programs include Painting, Sculpture, Metal Work, Ceramics, Textile Design, and Interior Decoration. Post Graduate Programs include Painting In Creative Painting – By Papers, Painting In Graphic-Print Making &By Papers, Sculpture- By Papers, Interior Decoration- By Papers, Painting In Mural- By Papers, Painting In Portrait- By Papers, Textile Design- By Papers, Metal Work- By Papers and Ceramic- By Papers. Apart from these, there are various diploma classes in Diploma Sculpture and Modelling, Art Teacher Diploma (A.T.D.), Diploma In Art Education and Art Master Certificate.

Padma Bhushan Akbar Padamsee, one of the pioneers in modern Indian painting whose painting “Recycling Nude” was sold for US$1,426,500 at Sotheby’s in New York on 25 March 2011 was allowed to join the course at Sir J J School of Art directly in its 3rd year. Padma Vibhushan S. H. Raza, the renowned artist whose groundbreaking work “Saurashtra” sold for $3,486,965 at a Christie’s auction in 2010 was an alumnus of the School. The renowned Goan artist Francis Newton Souza who studied at the Sir J J School of Art and was expelled for supporting the Quit India Movement in 1945, was a founding member of the Progressive Artists’ Group of Bombay that encouraged artists from India to participate in the international avant-garde. He was the first artist from India post-independence to garner high recognition in the West. Padma Vibhushan M. F. Husain, one of the most celebrated Indian Artists of the 20th Century who went on the receive the National Film Award for Best Experimental Film was an esteemed alumnus of Sir J J School of Art, Mumbai. Dadasheb Phalke, known as the father of Indian cinema joined the School in 885 and did a one-year course in drawing.  Amol Palekar, a distinguished film actor studied fine arts at the School.