BNHA Maryland Institute College of the Arts

Founded in 1826, the Maryland Institute College of the Arts (MICA) is among the top visual arts colleges in the nation. The school’s 2,000 students pursue a variety of undergraduate and graduate degrees, including degrees in fine arts and professional studies.

MICA has received accolades for its creative re-use of existing buildings and for new construction sensitive to the historic character of its neighborhood. Two buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the Renaissance Revival marble Main Building, constructed in 1907; and Mount Royal Station, a former B&O passenger train station erected in 1896 and renovated to academic use in 1966. Other buildings include a former shoe factory, converted in 1980, and a former office building, the renovation of which earned AIA Baltimore’s Grand Design Award in 1998.

In 2002, MICA renovated the former Hospital for the Women of Maryland into a new student life and residence center, named in honor of philanthropists and internationally renowned collectors of contemporary art Robert and Jane Meyerhoff. MICA purchased and renovated an historic Baltimore City Firehouse in 2003, which houses MICA’s operations department. Brown Center, an innovative facility for the study of digital visual arts whose design received wide acclaim, was the College’s first newly constructed academic building in nearly 100 years when it opened in October 2003. In 2007, MICA celebrated the completion of the two-year renovation of Mount Royal Station, unveiled a permanent display on the structure’s history, and dedicated the newly landscaped Frost Plaza. MICA’s newest residence facility, “The Gateway,” which serves as the entrance to MICA’s campus and the Station North Arts and Entertainment District, opened in August 2008.

MICA is recognized as an important cultural resource for the Baltimore/Washington region, sponsoring many public and community-outreach programs-including more than 100 exhibitions by students, faculty, and nationally and internationally known artists annually-as well as artists' residencies, film series, lectures, readings, and performances.

Site summary courtesy of the Maryland Institute College of Art