About Portfolio Prep

In 2026, Spark Portfolio Prep celebrates 10 years — a decade of guiding young artists in portfolio prep for the art high schools of New York City.

The program is led by Spark Founder Sebastian Alappat, an artist and educator with over 25 years of experience in branding and design. In 2016, he saw a need for portfolio instruction to help families navigate this daunting process. He began developing students creatively and strategically successfully creating this process. Currently working alongside him is Mr. Casey Gallagher, the Spark Portfolio Prep Lead Instructor. Mr. Casey holds a BFA and runs the portfolio program at Cooper Union, bringing real-world insight into exactly what top art schools are looking for.

Together, we have created a unique art school for portfolio classes in New York City that combine deep artistic expertise, proven teaching experience, and a highly personalized approach to help each student build a portfolio that is original, intentional, and designed to stand out, guiding your child step by step through a competitive admissions process with clarity and confidence.

Spark Portfolio Prep

Sebastian Alappat

An art lover since I was a child, I created this art portfolio prep program to live vicariously through my teen students, I love sharing in the joy of acceptance letters after the work they put into portfolios. I truly enjoy the process of watching a young artist learn and hone skills, make their best work, build up a work ethic in themselves that carries them well beyond a portfolio creation, setting them up for success in life.

Spark Portfolio Lead Instructor Casey Gallagher

Casey Gallagher

 Casey studied graphic design, illustration, animation, video editing, and sound design at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art where he received a BFA in 2019. During undergrad, he was lead instructor of the sound design course at The Cooper Union’s Saturday Program.  He has also taught a variety of private art lessons for children and adults ranging from portfolio development, drawing and painting to animation and sound/music creation techniques. Gallagher has assisted working artists such as Charles Fambro, Jennifer Reeves and Sean Kershaw. He continues to explore the intersection of modern and traditional animation with painting, sound and music production, allowing these mediums, as well as his teaching, to merge and enhance each other.  

Why Families Trust Us

  • 10 Years of Portfolio Prep
  • 95% Acceptance Rate
  • Led by Working Artists
  • NYC & PA In-Person & Virtual Options
  • Students Accepted to Top High Schools & Colleges
  • Instilling Work Ethic within your child
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NYC Art Portfolio High School Art Submiss

Testimonials

Can't say enough about this program. Both Casey and Sebastian were great. They genuinely cared about my daughter success with this application process having only just met her. The feeling was that we were working together as a team with a common goal. The team were both very supportive while at the same time kind, gentle and low stress in their approach. This was very helpful to my daughter. The sessions were also very flexible given our significant time crunch. I feel like we optimized her chances of getting accepted. They scored all of her submissions and she received 100 points out of 100. We are thrilled!
Steve S.ACCEPTED - LAGUARDIA
Sebastian and his team did an amazing job helping guide my daughter with her work on her portfolio pieces. She learned many new techniques and explored various mediums. They challenged her to step outside of her comfort zone and provided extra attention and time, when she needed it the most. The studio space is warm and welcoming. I would definitely recommend this program (she got an acceptance from her top choice school - LaGuardia!)
Marion M.ACCEPTED - LAGUARDIA
Spark has not only been instrumental in our daughter’s development as an artist, but also as a partner in her portfolio preparation process with its Spark Portfolio Prep program. This began with portfolio development and review when our daughter was applying to competitive art boarding schools and was admitted to the Interlochen Arts Academy where she has studied animation. She continued to work with the Spark team as she applied to college programs and was accepted to the University of Central Florida’s School of Visual Arts & Design.
Andrew W.ACCEPTED - INTERLOCHEN ARTS ACADEMY & UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA'S SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS & DESIGN
I was on the hunt for a more professional art teacher to help my teenage daughter build her high school art portfolio, when I discovered SPARK & Sebastian! He is a wish come true; dedicated, talented, passionate, informed, and on top of kids and parents. They worked in a small group & the work she produced brought her to a new level! Thank you Sebastian
Jovana S.ACCEPTED - LAGUARDIA
My daughter Mia has been attending the Spark program for the last 3 years, initially in the after school program and now for portfolio prep. Sebastian has done an excellent job developing a strategy that focuses on Mia’s specific artistic strengths while simultaneously allowing her to continue to explore new creative channels. It has been an excellent experience and I highly recommend Sebastian and the portfolio program!
Peter K.ACCEPTED - FIT
The program offered by Spark enabled our son to be accepted into a specialized high school - plain and simple. Together as a family we made a commitment to our son with one goal: to get him into the one school he sincerely wanted and it worked .Thanks to Sebastian Alappat , Spark and his outstanding staff, they found the elusive key to what our son needed. Without question both myself and my wife consider the Spark program to have been the absolute best possible preparation for our son whose potential is now fully realized. He is thriving in his new school and we owe much of that to Spark. On behalf of our son, we can’t thank Sebastian for his vision and we encourage anyone else to do the same and see the same remarkable results for yourselves.
Jesse F.ACCEPTED - LAGUARDIA
My daughter is graduating this year and we needed to find a portfolio prep class. It was really late in the game when her middle school gave me a number for a program called SPARK. I spoke to the founder, Sebastian Alappat. He was willing to accept my daughter into the program even though it was soon coming to an end. Sebastian was very professional and you can tell that he really cares about his students. My daughter was overwhelmed but he patiently worked with her and made her feel more at ease. He checked in on her between sessions to ensure she still had support while independently working. I didn’t think her portfolio would be done on time but with Sebastian’s help, she was able to create a professional portfolio. I would highly recommend the SPARK program. I wish all teachers could be as caring and professional as Sebastian.
Melissa F.ACCEPTED - FRANK SINATRA
Drew had been working directly with Sebastian and taking art classes for several years. When it was time to apply for Art School in NYC, we were grateful to have the full support of The Spark. The team is very hands on, talented and engaged. Together, they helped Drew more easily navigate the entire process. They provided quality motivation and really challenged him to produce some of his best work; ultimately constructing a very personalized portfolio that specifically highlights his unique and individual talents. After working with The Spark and getting a better appreciation for the process, Drew was EXTREMELY proud of his portfolio, very confident and much better prepared for his interviews!
Gina J.ACCEPTED - HIGH SCHOOL OF ART & DESIGN
The Spark’s Portfolio Prep program prepared my daughter for her application and audition for NYC High School Art programs. She met weekly with Sebastian who inspired her to grow her artistic abilities and complete her portfolio. She highly enjoyed the lessons and benefited from his kind and caring nurturing. He never makes a child feel that their art is not worthy. She felt confident entering her audition and secured an offer at an elite Art program with LaGuardia High School for the Arts. I highly recommend Spark for any parent who wants a compassionate teacher and mentor. As my younger child enters the High School Arts audition process, we have returned to Spark once again.
Donna Z.ACCEPTED - LAGUARDIA
My son took Art Classes with Sebastian for several years. He loved the instruction, and producing art but what he loved most of all was Sebastian. We went from private classes to creating our own class with 2 of my son’s friends. It quickly became the highlight of the week. Sebastian also put a lot of time helping us put together a portfolio which led to my son applying to the High School of Art & Design, a specialized High School in NYC. Sebastian is an amazing teacher, mentor and friend. So thankful he is in our lives.
Caroline S.ACCEPTED - HIGH SCHOOL OF ART & DESIGN