Ify and a sculpture she made during her January term art course
Coming into UVa, studio arts was the furthest thing from my mind, let
alone photography. I had come straight from a boarding school in Nigeria and I
was interested in being a doctor. I had no idea that I could combine my second
interest, art, in my college career.
My path in studio arts started this way: I was frantically trying to
fill my schedule with courses during my first year and someone mentioned that "Introduction to Drawing" was a good class to take. I decided to go with it.
It was a great class and the professor was very informative and
helpful. Based on my awesome experience, on a whim, I decided to take a
photography class. Side note, for any concentration in a major in studio arts,
you have to take a drawing class first (whether it’s a major in painting,
sculpture, photography, and so on).
From one photography class, it became two
then three. I decided in my third year that I would major in Studio Arts with a
concentration in Photography.
Something great about UVa’s studio arts major, is that they require you
to take classes in other artistic concentrations in order to complete the
major. The department wants its’ students to be well rounded regardless of
concentration. I myself have taken new media courses, cinematography courses
and a sculpture course. All very interesting and worthwhile.
Another cool thing about the major, is what 4th years do for
their “thesis”. A studio art major’s thesis is creating an exhibition based on
their concentration. This would mean, that next Spring, I would have to create
my own exhibition using photographs (since that is my concentration). I am
given total reigns over my exhibition. This includes framing, location and so
on.
All graduating studio art majors exhibit their theses in the art
building, Ruffin Hall. These include sculptures, paintings, printmaking,
anything and everything you can possibly think of.
Unfortunately, the Arts community (including Drama) at UVa is not only
physically separate from central grounds, most people do not know much about
the arts program at UVa and art throughout the Charlottesville community.
Strides, however, have been taken to tighten this gap between art and the
student body. The Arts Council (a subset of the Uva student council), run by UVa’s
students, email events to the student body about artistic events and
opportunities not only on Grounds, but in Charlottesville. There are also
plenty of art clubs to get involved with at UVa.
Even if you choose not the major in Studio Arts, there are still plenty
of ways to get involved with the Arts at Uva. I encourage everyone to take at
least one art class. It is definitely worth it!
To find out more about the studio arts major, as well as the UVa arts
in general, here are some great websites to check out:
The Studio Arts MajorUVa Arts and Events
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