For over a century, the University of the Arts has attracted young artists to Philadelphia, guided by beloved teachers into the city’s vibrant arts community. The sudden closure of the school on June 7 has sent shockwaves through the broader Philadelphia art scene. With the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) eliminating its degree programs in January, concerns over the shrinking space for young artists in the city are growing.
In their valedictorian speech, illustrator Jeanne Dickenson told UArts’ graduating class of 2023 that the institution was shaped not by its administration, but by its students and faculty.
The community Dickenson built while pursuing a BFA convinced the West Chester native to stay on in Philly after graduation.
“Community is important to me, and community is important to Philadelphia,” they said. “Art is important to me, and art is important to Philadelphia.”
With the unexpected news of UArts closing, other alumni also echoed Dickenson’s sentiment. They, like Dickenson, had moved to Philadelphia for school and stayed on post-graduation to enrich the city’s vibrant art community.
For Caitlin Riggsbee, UArts was the first place where she felt smart, included, safe, and at home. The 2017 graduate recently took to TikTok to share her feelings about her alma mater’s closure.
“I am so sad that other people aren’t going to have that opportunity [to experience what I did],” she said on the app. “[UArts] brought me to a city that I love more than I can ever express. And the professors and the students there were what made it. [For] all the issues, it was a really special place, and I am grossed out that the admin seemingly ran it into the ground.”
After four years at the art school, the North Jersey native is “an aggressive Philadelphia advocate,” so much so that she persuaded her fiancé to move back to the city after five years in New York.
“I love this city so much — that’s why I came back because I missed it terribly,” said Riggsbee, who is a freelance documentary producer based in Fishtown.
The comfort Dickenson found in the local artist community convinced them to call Philly home.
“[There’s] something special about the community in UArts and the artist community in Philadelphia as a whole … when one of us gets a win, it is a win for all of us,” Dickenson said. “I started meeting so many artists that I’ve admired and seen around Philly, and when I introduce myself or show my work, I’ll sometimes get the comment, ‘I’ve seen your work around! I really like it!’ — that’s what really got me to stick around Philly.”
Under the name Giant, Dickenson illustrates, creates comics, fine art, stickers, zines with a distinct fantasy-focused style.
Growing up on the outskirts of West Chester, it was a push from their art teacher that convinced Dickenson to pursue an arts degree in their junior year of high school. They applied to schools in and out of state with the goal to leave their “claustrophobic” hometown.
A senior exhibition that they saw on their school tour convinced Dickenson to pick UArts — they were in awe of the students’ work and the school’s dedication to showcasing the seniors’ art. They also shadowed an illustration class that day and left feeling motivated and inspired to attend the school.
“When I got to Philly, I felt like I could finally breathe,” said Dickenson, who studied illustration at UArts from 2018 to 2023. “In West Chester, I felt like a big fish in a small pond, and in Philly I felt like a small fish in a huge pond, which was very appealing to me.”
One of the first things they noticed about Philly “was how much the arts have an influence here, and also how large the queer community was.”
Helen St. Cyr was 17 when she landed in Philadelphia. Coming from a small town in New Hampshire, the city was just the right size for her. The now 23-year-old actress and part-time babysitter spent four years at UArts studying musical theater.
St. Cyr’s individuality as an artist was important to her, and she felt the school valued that from her first audition. They focused on her as an individual, rather than trying to “break you down and then rebuild you into a marketable actor in the industry.” And it’s the same energy she’s found in Philly’s theater scene two years post-grad.
“The people and artists here — I feel like they have a lot of integrity and the work that they do is special and important,” she said. “It’s a really cool community of theater artists here.”
Digital illustrator Holly Jansen, who has created promotional materials for the Philadelphia Eagles’ Game Day poster series and book cover commissions, studied illustration from 2019 to 2023 at the school.
Growing up in Delaware County, she always had a strong love and connection to Philly. And as a student artist from 2019 to 2023, she fell even more in love with the city and its community of like-minded people.
“The welcome I felt walking into [UArts] was not matched by any other college tour, and that great energy has remained true throughout my years at the school — all thanks to the amazing professors who’ve made me the artist I am today,” she said.
Like her fellow alums, Philly’s strong sense of community in the arts is what made Jansen stay after graduation.
“I think Philadelphia is the best place for people in their 20s to thrive, especially as a creative,” she said.
As Philadelphia’s arts landscape faces new challenges, these artists hope that the city will continue to welcome young creative people to come and nurture its very vital arts community, preserving the spirit that has made it a haven for creativity.
