Introduction
Ever since 1950, the Academy of Dramatic Art has been providing students with a rich and diverse learning environment. The Academy of Dramatic Art is located in Zagreb and has over 350 students and a teaching staff of around 100 employed and another 100 visiting teachers. We encourage both students and staff to develop individually, learn and create each passing day, and consider the artistic practice and teaching methods we perform being a path our students take towards a successful professional artistic career.
All the studies that the Academy of Dramatic Art (ADA) is introducing as undergraduate or graduate programs have been designed to meet the requirements of the labour market; in the fields of theatre, performing arts, film and audiovisual media arts. From the time of the school’s founding there has been a deep connection of our studies with the professional art production and the cultural life, not only in Croatia, but abroad as well. Considering the fact that the Academy of Dramatic Art has designed a major portion of the educational programme in performing and audiovisual arts in Croatia, we are restructuring all the curricula in accordance with most recent art trends, technological environment and artistic research practices, ranking the artistic practice and production as a discipline that is continuously developing in the historical and social context.
Teachers and artists teaching and mentoring the programs are all recognized and active Croatian artists and scientists, many of whom have international teaching and artistic careers. Visiting artists and teachers from abroad ensure the highest standards and international relevance of the programmes. Student oriented teaching approach, the direct transfer of knowledge, workshop type teaching methods, interdisciplinary projects between the departments and involvement of students in both student and professional projects form a fertile environment for creation and desire for artistic development. The essence of creativity we try to bring up is not only to learn, but to master the process as well. Along with stimulating working conditions, such an environment also provides a specific atmosphere marked by bonding and a sense of community, so that the Academy remains a spiritual home to many of its students, who are always pleased to come back and who call it simply and warmly the School.
The success our students have achieved in the local and international context is one of the main indicators of how successful our studies have been so far. The conformity of our study programs with Bologna Process, enables us to further develop these programs in collaboration with other faculties; in Croatia and the EU, and abroad. We have especially focused on the changes regarding the introducing of undergraduate and graduate degree studies, artistic research and independent, tutor-guided creation of programs by the students themselves, depending on their own specific interests.
While developing its curricula, the Academy of Dramatic Art will keep on strengthening its highly developed partnership, both nationally and internationally, with public and private institutions in the cultural field; public and private theatres, private and public television and film producers.
