Idyllwild Arts Academy

Mission Statement

Changing lives through the transformative power of art.

Students jumping.
Students ready for commencement.

Vision Statement

We recognize art as an essential solution to global challenges. Idyllwild Arts will be a thriving leader in 21st-century education with a global network of support, providing access for a diverse population of artists. We will maintain a sustainable environment worthy of our mission, and an intellectual space worthy of our students.

Promise Statement

Idyllwild Arts Foundation is the intentionally-founded respite for and collective of creators envisioning the purpose and person of the artist and the artist’s role and responsibility to society.

Idyllwild Arts believes that art is the greatest teacher of humanity and that the practice of creativity, no matter the ultimate expression, hones each individual’s desire and ability to craft global change.

Because of this belief, Idyllwild emboldens and cultivates the artist as:

Interdisciplinary Thinker

Master teachers guide the practice of creativity and connectivity within and across all subject areas, instilling in students a well-honed and nuanced ability to think critically and holistically and to problem-solve with agility and imagination.

Individual

Idyllwild’s intimate size, scale, and deliberately secluded location provide a sanctuary for self-discovery, maintaining the space for students to undertake the journey of self-recognition while nurturing their independence and originality.

Partner

Idyllwild Arts actively curates an environment promoting collaboration over competition to move beyond mere conservatory prep. At Idyllwild Arts, each student is uplifted and supported by their peers and expected to do the same in return.

Citizen

As an international, multicultural community representative of authentic and multilayered diversity, Idyllwild members engage in the earnest dialogues about identity that prove integral to becoming both world-focused citizens and their fuller selves.

Apprentice to Nature

Inspired by the Cahuilla land on which the community dwells, Idyllwild Arts embraces the sacredness of all spaces, both within and without. All members respect and seek the human-nature relationship daily as one rich in lessons and vital to personal and societal evolution.

With this preparation, Idyllwild Arts graduates step forward as more attuned and aware humans and more accomplished creators, individuals who differentiate themselves in their fields and through their work. They approach life with fervent originality and focused understanding that art itself is not the sole outcome of a creative life, but rather the means to constant and necessary growth—personally, professionally, and globally.