The Art and Art History Department at Macalester College is a dynamic community of artists and scholars dedicated to exploring the multiple pasts, presents, and futures of artistic expression. Situated at the intersection of the fine arts, humanities, and a liberal arts context, we foster interdisciplinary exploration, critical thinking and hands-on making. The expansive cultural and artistic legacies of the Twin Cities metropolitan area, along with the vibrant natural environments of the upper midwest, support our strong sense of interconnectedness and community. Through collaborative teaching and learning, we engage with visual culture to interpret and contribute to the growth of our multicultural and global society. Guided by a belief in the transformative power of art, we strive to inspire curiosity and inquiry while serving and connecting with students, College faculty and staff, and local and regional communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our department is guided by a set of core values that support our mission:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Passion for Art:<\/strong> We believe in the transformative power of art to inspire and ignite curiosity, driving our commitment to the study, creation and exhibition of artistic expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Community Engagement:<\/strong> We are dedicated to serving and engaging with diverse communities on and off campus: fostering meaningful connections across time, place, and culture through our curricula, our exhibitions, and our public programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Diversity and Inclusion:<\/strong> We are committed to building an inclusive environment: one that celebrates diversity and multiple perspectives, in order to reflect the voices of our local and global community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Creative Expression: <\/strong>We affirm the importance of hands-on making and embodied practices as fundamental to artistic exploration, experimentation and innovation. We develop the intersecting skills that are vital to the successful realization of artistic ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. Academic Excellence:<\/strong> We encourage academic excellence by offering challenging coursework developed by engaged scholars, encompassing broad sociohistorical and theoretical perspectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 6. Interdisciplinary Collaboration: <\/strong>We embrace interdisciplinarity as a cornerstone of our approach, recognizing the interconnectedness of diverse artistic, social, cultural, and political realities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Through our shared values and mission, we strive to empower individuals to create, to question, and to critically engage with the world through the lens of visual culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All of our students learn through both observation and hands-on practice. For example, in a sculpture course, you may learn about the history of cast bronze and work with your classmates to create your own sculptures in our bronze foundry. In art history courses, such as Race, Ethnicity, Class, and Gender in American Art<\/em>, you\u2019ll examine visual culture through the intersectional contexts in which it is created, honing your skills for written analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our faculty and staff are working artists and scholars, contributing actively to the local, national, and international arts communities. Your Macalester degree in Studio Art or Art History will prepare you for graduate study in art or art history, and it will form the basis for a professional career in the arts. For non-majors, you will gain a foundation for a lifetime appreciation of the arts in their varied contexts. <\/p>\n\n\nWhy Study Art and Art History at Macalester?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Life After Macalester<\/h2>\n\t \t
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