Welcome

to ABAPA

What is ABAPA?

Since 2022, the Academy of Fine Arts in Palermo has simply been ABAPA: one of the oldest academies in Italy renews its identity.
ABAPA is an active hub in the field of artistic training that maintains relationships with the leading institutions present in the national and international territory.
ABAPA is part of the AFAM sector (Higher Artistic and Musical Education) of the MIUR.

Research Experience Create

ABAPA, in all its disciplines, follows the three essential guidelines of artistic planning: research, experiment, create and at the same time prepares for theoretical study of a historical-artistic, philosophical-aesthetic, pedagogical, anthropological and perceptive psychological nature.
Whatever the techniques and practices used to create a work, the methods and tools of design culture are fundamental to the opening of new perspectives and the production of complex thinking.

CHECK OUR FACT SHEET

3 Departments
14 First Degree Courses (T)
13 Master Degree Courses (B)
1 Single Cycle Course
Free Nude School

ABAPA develops its training offer with 27 different courses between 1st and 2nd level pertaining to 3 Departments: Visual Arts (DIAV), Communication and Art Education (DICODA), Design and Applied Arts (DIPA).
ABAPA is one of the few institutions in Italy to maintain a Free School of Nude.

Academic Year
starts on
14 October

for international enquiry please contact:

ufficio-erasmus@abapa.education 

If you have specific questions, you can contact the course coordinators directly, via the addresses indicated below.

Visual Arts
Department

DAV Coordinator

Decoration applied arts
Palazzo Santa Rosalia

Painting – Contemporary Sacred Art
Cantieri — Spazio Nuovo 1

Experimental Languages
Palazzo Santa Rosalia

Engraving Art
Palazzo Santa Rosalia

Sculpture
Cantieri — Galleria Bianca

Design
and Applied Arts Department

DPA Coordinator

Audio/video and Multimedia
Cantieri — Spazio Nuovo 3

Digital Animation, illustration and comics
Cantieri — Spazio Nuovo 3

Cinema – video
Cantieri — Spazio Nuovo 4

Graphic Design
Cantieri — Spazio Nuovo 4

Photography
Cantieri — Grande Vasca

Cartoon and Illustration
Cantieri — Spazio Nuovo 3

Fashion Design
Cantieri — Spazio Ducrot

Scenography
Cantieri — Spazio Ducrot

Restoration
Palazzo Santa Rosalia

Department
Communication and Art Didactics

DCODA Coordinator

Didactics of Art
Palazzo Fernandez

Art Teaching and Cultural Mediation of Artistic Heritage
Palazzo Fernandez

Exhibition and interior design
awaiting ministerial approval
Palazzo Fernandez

Exhibition Design and Museum Enhancement
Palazzo Fernandez

Want to find out more?

Consult the study plans of the training offer

FAQ

The Academic Courses are university-level and, like these, level I (three-year) and level II (master’s). The diploma awarded is equivalent to a bachelor’s or master’s degree.
Yes, the important thing is to have a higher education diploma. In fact, as with all university courses, the study plans are designed to provide comprehensive training, allowing students to acquire artistic knowledge in addition to the specific skills of the chosen course. Course attendance is compulsory.
The Palermo Academy has 4 different locations. The two historic sites, Palazzo Fernandez and Palazzo Santa Rosalia, in via Papireto; the cultural sites at the Zisa in via Paolo Gili, 4 and Villa Filippina in piazza S. Francesco Di Paola, 8.

Currently the main laboratories of the academic courses are located:

VISUAL ARTS

Painting (Cultural Sites at the Zisa and Villa Filippina) — Sculpture (Cultural Sites at the Zisa) — Decoration (Palazzo S. Rosalia and Villa Filipina) — Art Graphics (Palazzo S. Rosalia) — Experimental Languages (Villa Filippina)

 

DESIGN AND APPLIED ARTS

Audiovideo and Multimedia (Cultural Cantieri alla Zisa) — Cinema and Video (Cultural Cantieri alla Zisa) — Digital Animation (Cultural Cantieri alla Zisa) — Graphic Design (Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa) — Photography (Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa) — Comics and Illustration (Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa) — Fashion Design (Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa) — Scenography (Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa) — Restoration (Palazzo S. Rosalia)

 

COMMUNICATION AND EDUCATION OF ART

Art Education (Palazzo Fernandez) — Art Education and Cultural Mediation (Palazzo Fernandez) — Design of Exhibition and Museum Systems (Palazzo S. Rosalia) — Exhibition Design and Museum Enhancement (Palazzo S. Rosalia).

The Academy of Fine Arts, like all university courses, participates in the mobility and cultural exchange project Erasmus+ with which it is possible to move within the European territory and attend the courses of the affiliated international institutions having validated the qualifications obtained.

The Departments that make up the training offer of the Academy are three:
Department of Visual Arts with courses in Painting, Sculpture, Decoration, Art Graphics, Experimental Languages, Contemporary Sacred Art, Sculpture addressing Multimedia Installations;
Department of Design and Applied Arts with the courses of Audio Video and multimedia, Graphic Design, Photography, Comics and Illustration, Fashion Design, Scenography, New technologies of art specializing in Cinema and video, New technologies of ‘art address Digital Animation; and the five-year qualifying course in PFP2 Restoration.
Department of Communication and Art Education with courses in Art Education, Design of exhibition and museum systems, Art Education and cultural mediation of artistic heritage, Exhibition Design and museum enhancement.

Both traineeships and internships are an integral part of the training offers of the Courses and are required as a completion of the academic path. They are carried out in structures affiliated with the Academy and subjected to validation by a specific office which issues the training credits corresponding to the courses completed.
The academic courses have a cost related to income and supported by Ersu scholarships.
The Scuola Libera del Nudo is one of the oldest academic schools, open to the local area and to citizens who want to approach art and artistic production. It does not issue a valid title but offers cultural training and initiates the artistic realization of the figure.
The Artistic Heritage of the Academy is made up of all tangible and intangible assets, the artifacts and knowledge that have been handed down over time and preserved for their enhancement. It consists of the Gipsoteca, the Art Gallery, the Library with its historical and contemporary book heritage, the Prints and Drawings Cabinet, the Collection of Artist Books, the Collection of Ceramic Plates.
The library is located in Palazzo Fernandez in via Papireto 20. The reading room, with open shelves, specializes in artists and the languages of contemporary arts and contains volumes of great value. It can be used by everyone at set times and is connected to the national university library system.