B.A. Studio Art

The Visual Arts Center at Saint Xavier University is a multi-studio complex with all of the tools and labs needed to explore creative image and object production. From early in the morning to late at night you can find students working in the many studios, collaborating with faculty, and hanging their work up for public display. Every wall in the building has work from past or current students and a student/alumni gallery sits right inside the front door to inspire and recharge the imagination.

Students take advantage of their proximity to Chicago's many museums and galleries by taking guided tours, conducting research trips and participating in exhibitions.

Student work is displayed all over campus and our local community. After first exploring and studying art exhibitions they begin participating themselves. Students learn how to engage their audience by watching professional artists present their work in The SXU Gallery on the main campus, and at our many visiting artist lectures and exhibitions every year. Shuttles take them to the Chicago Art Expo, The Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Contemporary Art where guided tours make sense of complicated art trends. As they reach their final semesters, they actively engage in the creation of exhibitions of their work in various venues including our student gallery, our campus professional gallery and in our local community art center.

Students work in our galleries, the Visual Arts Center and many other places on campus where their creative thinking and sensitivity to design are employed. These venues range from installation of artworks to preparing studios for classes or printing and framing work for exhibition. Students pursue internships all over Chicago at galleries and arts organizations, and we regularly have our students working at our local Beverly Art Center.

Studio Art Student Learning Outcomes are as follows:

• Students should be conversant with fundamental elements and principles of 2 and 3-Dimensional Design, including color, space and media theory mixed with broad outlines of art history.
• Students should be able to demonstrate basic skills in a variety of art making techniques (such as drawing, painting, photography, computer graphics, printmaking, sculpture, web and/or video) and advanced skills in at least one art medium.
• Students should be able to synthesize art historical references, media proficiency and design principles in order to propose, execute and defend a body of new artworks.
• Students should demonstrate the ability to analyze, critically assess and write about art from different times and places around the world.
• Students should also be able to assemble a representative portfolio of their own fine art and/or graphic design.

Why study Studio Art at Saint Xavier University?

Our instructors receive awards in their field while passionately sharing their knowledge and skills with their community and their students. Our students develop creative partnerships and working groups in their first semester that help them prosper throughout their academic career. The Visual Arts Center becomes a hub of their learning, experimentation and their development. Students studying art at Saint Xavier have access to these important scholars, collaborators, studios and tools from their first day on campus and use them to form their unique creative voice.

Studio Art
Students interested in an art minor are able to chose from a variety of art courses to gain a vast understanding of their chosen area of study.

Game Design and Motion Graphics

Graphic Design
Unlike a studio art minor, which is any 6 art courses, a graphic design minor will have to take 6 specific art courses. This minor will have potential employment benefits to have, so we want to make sure that even minors get the proper training.