Art - BA

A St. Kate’s Art Major offers an innovative interdisciplinary approach to building a creative life in the visual arts. This program of study is guided by inquiry, imagination, and action, with equity at the center. You will study contemporary issues in art and art making alongside career development and professional practice. You will explore your aspirations by critically examining your own creative and scholarly work and developing concrete skills applicable to a variety of careers.

A three-course seminar sequence called Building a Creative Life is at the heart of the curriculum. It is the developmental framework that will shape your experience as a St. Kate's Art Major, where you will be part of a community of artists and scholars committed to becoming creative changemakers. Supporting disciplinary courses provide the skills needed to inquire, imagine, and act for a meaningful life anchored in social justice that is responsive to the needs of the time. Courses in art history specialize in contemporary issues in art, visual culture, and museum studies as well as the work of women, trans, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary artists. You will study and analyze visual art - with social justice and equity at the center - by engaging with questions about the role of the artist in society and critically reflecting on the contributions of visual art in our culture. Studio art courses explore art making as creative expression with an emphasis on social change. Courses are offered in ceramics and sculpture, drawing and painting, graphic design, printmaking, and photography and digital media.

Co-curricular opportunities within the department and across the University will expand your understanding of the role of the arts in society and provide valuable experience to enhance career readiness. The Catherine G. Murphy Gallery offers an active schedule of exhibitions and programming by contemporary artists. The Visual Resources Library houses a Fine Arts Collection that contains works from pre-Columbian to contemporary artists. The Gallery and the Visual Resources Library offer internships and work-study opportunities. The Office of Scholarly Engagement houses engaged learning programs, including the Center for Community Work and Learning's curricular service-learning and paid research and teaching assistantships through the Assistantship Mentoring Program; Collaborative Research which includes the course designated "Undergraduate Research and Creative Inquiry" as well as Summer Scholars research program; these, alongside Antonian Honors Program, Global Studies and Competitive Fellowships provide robust high impact pathways for you to put your education into practice while applying your academic skills, developing leadership and gaining meaningful experiences.

This major is offered in the College for Women only.

Curriculum

ART 4852 Senior Exhibition and Creative Showcase-Presentation, Engagement and Community

This course provides students with the opportunity to facilitate interaction with their creative work through presentation (including exhibition, performance, symposium, curating and writing) and public engagement (including artist talks, lectures, research presentations and poster sessions). In addition to senior studio art majors, students of all disciplines and majors, who have produced creative work, are invited to join this class. Students will collaborate to plan and participate in the spring creative works Showcase, practice and articulate career readiness competencies and expand their creative community and professional networks.

Studio art majors satisfy the Writing Requirement for Majors by completing ARTH 3500W Art and Power. They complete the Liberal Arts and Sciences Core Writing Requirement with three other writing-intensive courses (CORE 1000W The Reflective Woman and CORE 3990W Global Search for Justice and any other writing-intensive course in another department).