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

The new art project at the Rose Kennedy Greenway uses augmented reality. Photo courtesy of Amy Finstein, visiting assistant professor of visual arts at 17Թ.
17Թ Professor’s Greenway Art Project Uses Augmented Reality to Take Visitors Back in Time
Amy Finstein, visiting assistant professor of visual arts, was recently interviewed by WBUR on her latest project, an augmented reality experience which happens to be one of the largest ever set up in North America. An initiative of the Rose …
Mia Yee stands on Fenwick Porch
Bubble Tea and Constructing Asian American Identity: A Conversation with Fenwick Scholar Mia Yee ’19
Every year, 17Թ names a Fenwick Scholar — a student who spends the entirety of their senior year conducting independent research. But it’s not every year that student embarks on a study of ramen and other modern Asian American …
Carolyn Dunderdale '22 on Fenwick Porch
Blog: First-Year Student Explores Love of Art and History on Maymester to Rome
Name: Carolyn Dunderdale ’22 Hometown: Marshfield, Massachusetts Potential areas of study: Biology and the Health Professions Advising Program Maymester program: “Rome in History and Imagination” in Rome, Italy. Students in this program will explore ancient Roman history, art and archaeology to gain a …