Oakland High Arts, Media & Entertainment Visual Arts Academy (VAAMP)

Of all the career industries, the Arts, Media, and Entertainment sector requires perhaps the greatest cross-disciplinary interaction because the work in this sector has a propensity to be largely project-based, requiring both independent work and interdependent management skills for career success. New technologies are also constantly reshaping the boundaries and skill sets of many arts career pathways.

Consequently, core arts-sector occupations demand constantly varying combinations of artistic imagination, metaphoric representation, symbolic connections, and technical skills. Successful career preparation involves both broad and in-depth academic and technical preparation as well as the cultivation of twenty-first-century skill assets, such as flexibility, problem-solving abilities, and interpersonal skills.

Careers in the Arts, Media, and Entertainment sector fall into four general pathways: Design, Visual, and Media Arts; Performing Arts; Production and Managerial Arts; and Game Design and Integration. The anchor and pathway standards make explicit the appropriate knowledge, skills, and practical experience students should have in order to pursue their chosen profession, whether that profession requires postsecondary education, graduate training, or apprenticeship.

Learning the skills and knowledge for creating, refining, and sharing work in the Arts, Media, and Entertainment industry sector promotes teamwork, communication, creative thinking, and decision-making abilities—traits that are necessary to function successfully in the competitive and media-rich twenty-first century. Through the manipulation of sight, sound, and motion, those choosing a pathway from this sector reach out in unique ways to enhance the quality of life for those around them.

“My potential improved a lot. They taught me new things like how to write a strong essay for a good grade. Also, I was never able to artistically draw well, but now I draw a lot more fluidly and without erasing my work every minute.” - Visual Arts Academy (VAAMP) Student