Visual Art Program at UCCS
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
Chloe Yazzie Trujillo
Cosmic Consciousness VII. Digital collage, 4200 x 3300 pixels. 2021.
Jack Lusk
The City. Digital image. 2020.
Jersey Leigh
My Dark Side. Acrylic paint on canvas, 20 x 16". 2020.
Bryce Van Drew
Standoff. Digital art (Space CowBoy series), 12" x 16". 2022.
Paul Horton
Urban Decay (detail). Detail of mixed media sculpture, 45" x 47" x 36". 2020.
Ali Stele
Dialogue. Acrylic on canvas, 36" x 48". 2023.
Jade Washington
In the Thicket (detail). Collage, 24" x 19". 2023.
Emily Osur
Objectified. Photograph, 17 x 22". 2019.
Nova Heitman
Seriously. Digital drawing, 9" x 9". 2020.
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
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.
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.
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
A fully functional black & white photo darkroom is attached to our Photography studio in Columbine Hall.
Design Studio
One of the Visual Art classrooms in Columbine Hall dedicated to foundations and design.
Visual Resource Center
The Visual Resource Center houses two professional Epson Stylus Pro printers, a graphic arts scanner, and two Mac Studio 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 2012.
Drawing Studio
Our drawing studio located in Columbine Hall. Student art storage lockers are also available to Visual Art students, down the hall.
Painting/Printmaking Studio
Next to the Dock, Visual Art maintains a large painting and printmaking studio.
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.
VAPA Interdisciplinary Arts Lab
The VAPA Interdisciplinary Arts Lab in the Ent Center for the Arts 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, 3D printing, and more. This lab is also home to 18 Mac Studio workstations with the same software as the VAPA Multimedia Lab in Columbine Hall.
Alumni Stories
Jasmine Dillavou
Visual Artist
Jasmine Dillavou is an artist, performer and educator based out of Colorado Springs. She has shown work nationwide and recently completed her time as the Artist in Residence with 40 West Arts. Dillavou is working to expand her role as a cultural storyteller, using her artworks to pass intergenerational wisdom and honor the voices of her communities. While maintaining a visual and performing arts career, Jasmine runs her own curation business Dillavou Curation. This developing curatorial program highlights BIPOC, Queer and Female artists in Southern Colorado. Dillavou strictly works with underserved voices to uplift those whose work often goes unrepresented and showcases them across town. Additionally, Jasmine teaches youth arts programming for the Bemis School of Art and Art Garage Denver and acts as a studio assistant for Senga Nengudi, former UCCS professor and world renowned performance artist. When she is not creating art, teaching, or assisting, Dillavou acts as the Creative Director for Ephemera in Downtown Colorado Springs. Her busy hands have kept her feeling motivated and fulfilled since her graduation in 2016. Dillavou credits her work ethic and passion to the VAPA program at UCCS. Her time at UCCS embedded discipline in her practice that has pushed her to follow her creative dreams with vigor. Wanting a robust arts community was never enough and the support from professors and colleagues helped to ensure she could create the community she dreamt of being part of. To this day, many of her fellow grads work alongside her in the downtown arts community and participate in programming she runs. The friendships she made in the VAPA program are some of the most valuable connections in her life. She is deeply grateful for Corey Drieth, Matt Barton, Nikki Pike and Marina Eckler that held her to high standards and continue to root for her today.
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
Scholarships
View our Visual Art Scholarship opportunities. Apply by March 1 through the scholarships portal!
Senior Show
Learn more about our annual Visual Art Senior Show at GOCA in the Ent Center.
Contact Us
Want to learn more about our program? Contact us today!