Art Department

The Macalester Art Department provides students the opportunity to create and study works of art. Art making involves the examination, transformation and communication of individual and collective human experiences into visual form. Art History studies the tangible documentation of culture and provides a window into the history and philosophy of many societies, past and present. The Art Department offers majors with emphases in Art History and Studio Art. All of our students learn through both observation and hands-on practice. The Department serves the campus and the community at large through our gallery exhibition program, which makes a broad range of aesthetic experiences available. A Macalester Art degree prepares students for graduate study in Art or Art History and forms the foundation for professional practice in the Arts. The nonmajor is offered the basis for a lifetime appreciation of the Arts. Macalester Art students find and create roles for themselves in which they serve their communities through the practice of Art, its presentation, documentation, interpretation, appreciation and conservation.