Why Study Art and Art History at K?
Studying art empowers you to intertwine your personal and academic interests with artistic expression and research across visual cultures.
As a studio art or art history student, you will develop critical thinking, analysis, communication, and creative skills that will empower you to navigate and respond to our ever-increasingly visual world. The department courses are split between the two degree programs: studio art and art history.
Studio art courses explore contemporary issues in the visual arts while developing practical and professional skills for your future career, with beginning to advanced classes in drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography, printmaking, digital art, documentary video, and combined media. In these courses, you will explore creative visual modes of expression and learn about the traditional and innovative practices of each art form.
The art history program is designed for you to gain critical looking, thinking, and analysis skills so that you can meaningfully navigate and respond to art at a local and global level. In classes like Public Art and Its Publics; “Primitivism” to Surrealism; Art and Gender; and Contemporary African Art—to name a few—you will gain historical and theoretical knowledge about various art forms and visual cultures throughout history. You will also learn how to be a critical consumer of art by developing analytical methodologies that go beyond, and often challenge, the dominant narratives surrounding artwork.
Regardless of your path, your courses will be supplemented with experiential learning opportunities, such as visiting museums and galleries, working with local and visiting artists and art historians, and attending external lectures.
The visual literacy, writing, creativity, critical thinking and communication skills you will develop as an art student at K will prepare you for a variety of careers in industry, education, and non-profit work, as well as for any future graduate studies you choose to pursue.
What can you do with an Art and Art History major?
Below are some of the careers, employers, and graduate schools of our art alumni.
Careers
- Artist
- Art Therapist
- Curator
- Marketer
- Designer
Employers
- Kalamazoo Institute of Arts
- ArtistYear
- Lionsgate
- Toledo Museum of Art
- School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Graduate Schools
- Washington University in St. Louis
- University of Iowa
- Claremont Graduate University
- University of Washington
- University of Michigan
Program Spotlights
Join the vibrant art scene in Kalamazoo
Our faculty take advantage of the College’s location and active art community, often bringing local artists into the classroom to share their knowledge and experience and partner with institutions in Kalamazoo, like the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, to bring your learning off-campus. Seniors will even get the chance to use the College’s Park Trade Center studio in downtown Kalamazoo to work alongside fellow artists as they create their own exhibition or installation, which will be displayed at the city’s monthly Art Hop open house.
Study away in New York City
While you can choose from any of the College’s 50+ study abroad and study away programs and transfer any relevant courses, many of our students choose to take advantage of our New York Arts Program in NYC. During your term in NYC, you will integrate yourself into the local art community as you study, work on your own pieces, and intern with a professional artist. This is an excellent opportunity for you to network with professional artists, gain hands-on work experience in the industry, and further hone your craft.
Showcase your knowledge and talent in your Senior Integrated Project (SIP)
As a part of your studies at K, you will complete a Senior Integrated Project (SIP), a capstone experience where you showcase all you have learned. For our art and art history majors, SIPs tend to be either the creation of your own body of artwork, in-depth research that expands on your previous studies, or an internship—typically at a museum or gallery—paired with reflection and research. For example, Maeve Henning ’21 reflected on visual and interpersonal aspects of food, from growing to cooking to decomposition, in her ceramics SIP, “Food Stories.”
Meet the Current Departmental Student Advisors
Studio Art
Maya Arau
(she/they)
Majors: Studio Art, Art History, and Spanish
Study Abroad: Cáceres, Spain
Best Adjective to Describe You: Adventurous
What is the best thing about being part of this department?
Getting to talk about art with people and challenge my ideas on how to think about art in my life.
What is your biggest piece of advice to students about getting connected to this department?
Don’t be afraid to reach out! Whether you’re completely new to art or art history or have been interested in it for a long time, faculty and students are always willing to discuss how our department might benefit you and your education.
What has been your favorite class at K?
PHIL-107: Logic and Reasoning with Lars Enden. While I love the focus on reading, writing, and creating that my classes in the art and art history departments give me, there was something wonderfully soothing about taking a class that allowed me to think about formulas and systems in a very concrete way. I wish K offered more logic classes because I would take them all in a heartbeat!
How have you taken advantage of the flexible curriculum or experienced breadth in your education?
I started taking Spanish classes immediately when I arrived at K because I hoped to learn enough to become fluent and somehow ended up on track for a Spanish major completely unintentionally just by exploring the Spanish curriculum! I have also taken multiple creative writing courses, an ANSO sophomore seminar, and am deciding between a couple History and Classics courses for Winter 2027.
What is your SIP?
I will be doing a Studio Art SIP, and I am very excited to see how my ideas evolve throughout fall term and into my winter SIP term. However, my current idea is an artistic exploration through painting, installation, and digital comics of the fantasy world the graphic novel I plan to write is set in.
What are your career aspirations/next steps after K?
I am currently torn between a career as a comic artist and working in exhibition design, although I hope to do a Fulbright or similar program in Spain! My current plan is to take a gap year to save up some money and work on my comics before deciding on grad programs.