Visual Art Program

Visual Art

Visual Art Program at UCCS

The BA in Visual Art helps students realize their unique artistic aspirations through a myriad of culturally relevant artistic practices. By way of a curriculum emphasizing an experimental, cross-disciplinary approach in the studio, complemented with the study of art history and critical theory in the classroom, the visual art faculty helps students expand the scope of their artistic vision while thoroughly preparing them for a professional life in the contemporary art world.

Academics
Student Projects
Faculty
Facilities
Giving
Resources
Contact Us

A Message from the Program Directors

Matt Barton, M.F.A.
Co-Director, Visual Art Program

Welcome to Visual Art at UCCS! We look forward to helping you realize your unique artistic aspirations through our cross-disciplinary studio explorations grounded in our classroom study of the history of art and visual culture as well as critical theory. We look forward to helping you launch a successful artistic future!

Ben Kinsley, M.F.A.
Co-director, Visual Art Program

Welcome to VAPA! Through our collaborative work in Visual Art - not only across the arts, but integrating other fields and disciplines as well - faculty and students in UCCS Visual Art are transforming artistic practice. Let us help you prepare for the professional life you seek in the contemporary art world.

Academic Programs

VAPA offers a BA in Visual Art and a Visual Art minor, with a wide range of media options including painting, sculpture, digital media, and more. Collaboration with other disciplines is encouraged, and the curriculum culminates in a Professional Seminar and senior exhibition at GOCA, located in the Ent Center for the Arts. When you leave UCCS, you'll be well-equipped for life in the 21st-century world of art!

Visual Art Course Descriptions

Student Projects
digital collage
Chloe Yazzie Trujillo, Cosmic Consciousness VII

Digital collage, 4200 x 3300 pixels. 2021.

digital image of person in jersey #10 walking through grass toward city
Jack Lusk, The City

Digital image. 2020.

acrylic paint on canvas
Jersey Leigh, My Dark Side

Acrylic paint on canvas, 20 x 16". 2020.

digital art
Bryce Van Drew, Standoff

Digital art (Space CowBoy series), 12" x 16". 2022.

mixed media sculpture
Paul Horton, Urban Decay, detail

Detail of mixed media sculpture, 45" x 47" x 36". 2020.

abstract acrylic painting on canvas
Ali Stele, Dialogue

Acrylic on canvas, 36" x 48". 2023.

Jade Washington, detail of In the Thicket
Jade Washington, detail of In the Thicket

Collage, 24" x 19". 2023.

photograph in black and white of person looking away with hands pushing viewer away
Emily Osur, Objectified

Photograph, 17 x 22". 2019.

digital drawing of person with thought bubble
Nova Heitman, Seriously

Digital drawing, 9" x 9". 2020.

mixed media sculpture of sea creatures and driftwood
Britney Smith, Just Keep Swimming

Mixed media sculpture. 2021.

Visual Art Faculty

We are creatively diverse, professionally active artists who share a common vision: we are deeply invested in helping you reach your creative and academic potential. Our classes are intimate, supportive, and rigorous environments where you're encouraged to push your own boundaries by being creatively and intellectually ambitious.

Our Facilities
people viewing art in gallery space
Marie Walsh Sharpe Gallery of Contemporary Art

The UCCS Galleries of Contemporary Art are the most progressive and experimental contemporary art galleries in Colorado Springs, showcasing award-winning work by artists of significant national and international reputation. GOCA's newest exhibition space, the Marie Walsh Sharpe Gallery of Contemporary Art, is located in the Ent Center for the Arts. Designed as a flexible and transformable museum-quality exhibition space, this 2,600 square foot white cube gallery is state-of-the-art with certified humidity control systems. The gallery's flooring system and grid of strong points in the ceiling can accommodate art installations in nearly any configuration. 

woodshop
Sculpture Studio

The Visual Arts Sculpture Studio is a multi-use warehouse building located near the Ent Center for the Arts. It holds a woodshop (image), a metalwork room with welding facilities, materials for use in casting and ceramics, and two clean rooms for installation.

exhibit space in Centennial Hall with students
The Dock

The Dock is an installation space and student-run gallery and events center branching off the Painting/Printmaking Studio. Located in Centennial Hall.

darkroom
Darkroom

One of our visual art classrooms in Columbine Hall includes an attached darkroom.

Classroom with projector, screen, and flat desks for drawing
Drawing and design classroom

Visual Art has classrooms in Columbine Hall for photography and drawing courses, as well as art storage lockers for student use.

Two professional printers and a scanner
Visual Resource Center

The Visual Resource Center houses two professional Epson Stylus Pro printers, a graphic arts scanner, and two iMac desktop computers - both with Adobe Creative Cloud. Students may also check out manual cameras, dSLR and mirrorless digital cameras, microphones, lighting equipment, audio recorders, digital projectors, tripods, and GoPro and video camcorders for course-related projects. Located in Columbine Hall.

classroom with screen, chairs, easels
Art Studios

Visual Art has a number of spaces including classrooms, studios, and student art storage space in Columbine Hall for 2D artwork.

painting studio
Painting Studio

Next to the Dock, Visual Art maintains a large painting classroom and exhibit space in Centennial Hall.

Room with desks, chairs, and Mac workstations
VAPA Multimedia Lab

The VAPA Multimedia Lab consists of 30 Mac Studio workstations equipped with the latest multimedia software including Adobe Creative Cloud, Final Cut X, DaVinci Resolve Lite, Audacity, Logic, Pro Tools, Max, and Processing. Scanning capabilities include print, slides, and negatives. In addition, students have access to audio and video recording equipment through the Visual Resource Center. Located in Columbine Hall.

Arts multi-use classroom with storage, tables/chairs, and podium
VAPA Interdisciplinary Arts Lab

The VAPA Interdisciplinary Arts Lab (ECFA 245) is a multiuse, collaborative space for the interdisciplinary curriculum of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts programs (Film Studies, History of Art & Visual Culture, Music, Theatre & Dance, Visual Arts), equipped with an array of technology and resources including multi-media technology, installation and sculpture capabilities, sound, green screen for film, and more.

 

Giving Opportunities

Jeniel Harris Endowed Art Scholarship Fund

This fund provides scholarship support for students pursuing a degree in Visual or Performing Arts at UCCS. Preference is for students with financial need.
Suzy Weinert Scholarship Endowment for Fine Arts

This fund provides scholarships to UCCS Fine Arts students in memory of Suzy Weinert. Recipients will be from families who reside in Colorado Springs.
 

Resources for Current Students

Contact Us

Want to learn more about our program? Contact us today!

 

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