Compartmentalization, that's what seems to be the case here. XD Man, I put up with fine art snobbery looking down on "commercial artists" (basically animators, cartoonists, graphic designers, etc.) all through college. There's nothing to be gained from that sort of attitude by anyone involved. Life's too short, and all that.
If they're gonna shut things down like that without any sort of meaningful discussion then fine, better to just leave them to their little box of what they think "real art" is and focus on improving one's craft and making stuff for people who are at least a teensy bit more open-minded.