Visual Arts Department

The Visual Arts Department is the center for the study and practice of contemporary art. Approaching contemporary art as a cultural prism though which all manner of inquires pass—literary and historical, scientific and social scientific, ethical and spiritual—the department supports creative work as a vital element of liberal arts education. A courageous willingness to engage significant issues through art and an insistence on the value of diverse intelligences—these are the touchstones of the department’s courses, exhibitions, lectures and related programming. Visual arts courses are designed to encourage the beginning student to explore the creative experience of visual art in a variety of media and aesthetic concepts.

Located adjacent to the studio classrooms, the Emory Visual Arts Gallery exhibits five to seven contemporary art shows each year, including an annual student exhibition in April. The gallery is a place where innovative work is shown for the benefit of the university and the larger Atlanta community, with a particular interest in artists whose work may not be familiar to a regional audience. Our public programming also includes outstanding lectures, panels, and screenings by leading artists, curators, and scholars. Recent and upcoming solo exhibitions and lectures include presentations by Joel Leivick, Dawoud Bey, Ruth Dusseault, Martha Rosler, Eve Andrée Laramée, Radcliffe Bailey, Alice Aycock, Pat Ward Williams, and Janine Antoni, among many others, in addition to our own nationally distinguished faculty.