Visual Arts

Architectural Studies: Major, Minor
Art History: Major, Minor
Museum Studies: Minor
Studio Art: Major, Minor

The study of the visual arts provides a powerful lens through which you can better see, evaluate and understand the world that surrounds you. 

Encompassing multimedia studio explorations, art historical research, and specialized opportunities in architectural and museum studies, the Department of Visual Arts empowers the broader examination of the liberal arts at the College. You will hone your sensitivity to visual culture and the built environment, refine your skills of visual expression and critical analysis, and engage the surrounding community as points for visual inspiration, reflection, and advocacy.

In the classroom, you will study the rich heritage of global artistic and cultural traditions through specialized lecture and seminar courses. In the studio, you will engage traditional and new methods of art-making, becoming absorbed in the process of creating original work. Outside the College, you will immerse yourself in the architecture, galleries, and museums of Worcester and nearby Boston. The New England region’s rich cultural resources form an integral part of the visual arts curriculum, and will provide you with abundant learning, community engagement, and internship opportunities.

The department — consisting of art history, studio art, and architectural studies — features a group of highly respected scholars and artists who regularly lecture, publish, exhibit, and curate nationally and internationally. The faculty place great emphasis on student mentoring in the classroom and in the field, facilitating student research projects and exhibitions, and leading excursions to area sites, galleries and museums.

Engaged Learning Beyond the Classroom
students in cantor art gallery
Studio Concentration Seminar

Senior studio art majors participate in a yearlong course centered on the development of an individual body of work.

Sun rising over a city
Study Abroad

Study abroad in programs that support architectural studies, art history and studio art.

group in the worcester art museum looking at art on a wall
Visiting Artists and Excursions

There are frequent visiting artists and lecturers and regular field trips to museums and galleries throughout the region.

Visual Arts News

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Internationally Acclaimed Artist Patrick Dougherty Named Artist-in-Residence at 17Թ
Internationally acclaimed artist Patrick Dougherty has been named artist-in-residence at the 17Թ. Dougherty’s art, known as “Stickwork,” bends, weaves, and flexes locally sourced saplings into architectural sculptures which relate to the landscape and built environment around …
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17Թ Academic Conference to Showcase Student Work
As the academic year comes to an end, the 17Թ will celebrate the great and varied work accomplished by its students at the annual Academic Conference taking place across campus from April 27 through April 30. The four-day conference gives students from all class years the opportunity to present the results of their independent research and course work done in a variety of environments—from campus classrooms and libraries to within the Worcester community; from research labs and study abroad locations to art studios and field sites.
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Spring Semester Brings Another Full Slate of Arts Events
This semester, the 17Թ is offering a dynamic series of arts events aimed to excite, engage and challenge audiences. From the staging of renowned theatre productions and installations of multimedia gallery exhibitions, to world premieres of …