The department’s efforts are devoted not only to the refinement of visual skills, but to the articulation and cultivation of the mind. Students must bring creative force and imagination – qualities that cannot be taught but can only be stimulated and appreciated.

As a developing artist, students couldn’t be in a better place. The department is located in downtown Denver and is at the heart of its thriving, dynamic arts community. Whether students work as an intern at a local gallery or visit one of the nation’s leading museums, our urban setting yields endless opportunities for students to learn, experience and create art both on and beyond the Auraria campus.

In this general studio art emphasis, students take directed (lower through intermediate-level) courses in photography, transmedia sculpture, painting and drawing, along with gaining a basis in art history and digital imaging.

Educational Objectives:

• Create an extensive, independent body of work, demonstrating mastery in one area of concentration, that meets the standards of a professional portfolio;
• Translate ideas into imagery that engages viewers visually, emotionally and intellectually;
• Integrate 21st century technologies with traditional studio practices;
• Demonstrate creative problem solving ability and the refinement of conceptual ideas, through research, discovery and invention;
• Articulate a sophisticated understanding of contemporary and historical art movements across diverse world cultures, and be able to posit one’s creative work in that context;
• Recognize the conceptual frameworks used by diverse theorists, historians, and art practitioners