Academy of Fine Art Germany

As the director, Dana is the heart and soul of the Academy of Fine Art. At a young age, she discovered her love of art and quickly realized that realistic art necessitate structured and detailed instruction. Since at the time there was no opportunity in Germany to enrol in such a course, she took intensive classes from private tutors.

After the successful completion of her degree in business administration, she set herself the goal to make realistic art as a subject of study accessible (again) in Germany. In 2014 she was able to achieve this goal with the creation of the Academy of Fine Art. Dana utilizes her commercial expertise as well as her artistic know-how to passionately lead the Academy, representing the Academy publicly as well as forging important contacts.

Darryl Keith Babatunde Smith (b. 1992, Georgetown, D.C.) is an artist-researcher and arts educator living and working in Bad Homburg, Germany. He earned his BFA in Painting from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and his MFA in Drawing with Anatomy from the New York Academy of Art. He has studied French, German, Latin, Ancient and Modern Greek which he uses in conjunction with his art practice. He has exhibited at Welancora Gallery (Brooklyn, NY), Athens Art Gallery (Athens, GR), Institute of Classical Architecture and Art (New York, NY), Equity Gallery (New York, NY), Steven Zevitas Gallery (Boston, MA), Rema Hort Mann Foundation (New York, NY), and SÍM Gallery (Reykjavík, IS). Smith has held the Velvetpark Residency (2022; Brooklyn, New York) and Athena Standards Residency (2019; Athens, Greece). His goldpoint and silverpoint drawings will be exhibited in his first museum solo exhibition at the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki in 2025.

Michael graduated with honors, receiving both his M.Ed. and MFA from Alanus University for Arts and Social Sciences in Bonn, Germany. Later he received an MFA from the New York Academy of Art while living and working in Brooklyn for three years. He has been awarded numerous stipends by the Federal Republic of Germany for his excelling performance in art. His work has been exhibited throughout Europe and New York in galleries, international art fairs as well as the Flag Art Foundation and the Paul Clemen Museum. His work has been featured in Hyperrealist Magazine, Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine, and is part of the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Collection. Before teaching at the Academy of Fine Art Germany, Michael lived and worked in Bonn as an art Instructor at Alanus University as well as the Bundeskunsthalle and the Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne.

Jingsi was born in China and lives in Germany. She received her degree in Buisness administration in Germany and worked as a financial analyst for several years. She later quit her job in favor of her high enthusiasm for art and started to learn drawing as a part-time student at the Academy of Fine Art Germany. She started the full-time drawing/painting program at the Barcelona Academy of Art in 2018 and finished her studies in 2021. She was awarded the scholarship as a teaching assistant in her third year of study in Barcelona. She is fascinated by the natural light and would dedicate her life to landscape painting.

Jingsi has been an instructor at the Academy of Fine Art Germany since September 2021

Midwest-raised artist Gabrielle Trom's creative journey spans watercolor training in Minnesota, sculpture studies in Barcelona, and notable achievements like winning the McDermott Miller competition. Despite pandemic challenges, she taught and competed, leaving her mark on both sides of the Atlantic. Trom's work, including "Puppeteer (Goliat)," was showcased at Museu Europeu d’Art Modern. Since April 2023 Director of the sculpting program at the Academy of Fine Art Germany

Nurzada Nussipzhan was born and raised in Central Asia, eventually moving to Spain to pursue art education. She graduated from Barcelona Academy of Art in 2019, where she taught before the pandemic. She portrays the natural world in her works ranging from portraits to plein air landscapes. Her work was exhibited in MEAM museum, Liceu opera theatre in Barcelona.  She is currently a painting instructor at the Academy of Fine Art Germany.