Memphis is Art.
The University of Memphis Department of Art educates students in visual arts and design from a holistic perspective: practical, theoretical, and historical. Whether the focus is studio, art history, art education, or graphic design, undergraduate and graduate students develop a creative voice and professional practice through the cultivation of skill, critical analysis, and an understanding of art's evolution over time and place.
Programs in the Department of Art lead to the Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.), the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), the Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.), the Master of Arts (M.A.) or the Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) degrees.
The department offers a B.F.A. with a major in Art; students may choose between four
concentrations: Art Education, Graphic Design, Photography or Studio Arts, a B.A.
with a major in Art; students may choose between four concentrations: Fashion Design,
Fashion Merchandising, Global Art Histories or Visual Arts, a M.F.A with a major in
Art; students may choose between five concentrations: Ceramics, Graphic Design, Painting,
Printmaking/Photography or Sculpture, a M.A. with a major in Art History; students
may choose between five concentrations: African American - African Diaspora Art Histories,
African American and African Diaspora Art Histories Concentration with Museum Studies
Certificate, Egyptian Art and Archaeology, General Art History, Museum Practices and
a M.A.T with certification in the area of Art Education.
The department offers Graduate Certificates; students may choose between Graphic Design
or Museum Studies, an Accelerated Bachelors to Masters in Graphic Design and Minors
in Art History, Fashion Design, Fashion Merchandising, Graphic Design, Photography,
Studio Arts and Web Design are also available.
For complete curriculum details, please review the university undergraduate and graduate catalogs.
Congratulations to Dr. Bryna Bobick for earning the 2022 CCFA Dean's Award for Outstanding Research!
Community Art Academy | Outside In + Watercolors| Memphis Public Library
Community Art Academy | The Forever Tree + Paper Bag Craft | Memphis Public Library
39th Annual Juried Student Exhibition Virtual Reception
February 11, 2022 at 6pm
No registration required: https://memphis.zoom.us/j/89925975980
Welcome and Introduction
Richard A. Lou & Leslie Luebbers
Dean of CCFA - Dean Anne Hogan
Juror Lecture - Julie Pierotti, Martha R. Robinson Curator at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis, TN https://www.dixon.org/
Awards & Thank you to Sponsors - Richard A. Lou
Closing Remarks - Leslie Luebbers
Support the Art History Tigers Club
The Art History Tigers Club at the University of Memphis is raising money to help fund a trip to Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas next fall. Many of these students have never visited museums outside of Tennessee. Please consider donating and sharing this link with others. We are offering buttons, stickers, t-shirts, and tote bags for donations. Thank you for your support!
Art History Tigers Club swag: Logo designed by Graphic Design student Elizabeth McKinney and inspired by "Frido the Tiger" (based on Frida Kahlo, of course), featured in the TigerLIFE mural downtown.
Tigers in Action
The Art History Tigers Club got a private, guided tour of the Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art in downtown Memphis!
UofM art majors and TigerLIFE students collaborated on a mural this fall. Mural artist, Stacey Williams-Ng, came to campus this week to help them install it. It was a huge success! Come see this gorgeous design in person at the Arts and Communication Building on campus (first floor).
Check out the awesome work students created for a body mapping and mural project in downtown Memphis. Art History professor Dr. Lucienne Auz designed and directed the project. Also assisting in the project were professors Lisa Williamson, Kelsey Harrison, Dr. Rebecca Howard, Hamlett Dobbins and Department of Art chair Richard Lou. The goal of the body mapping and mural project was to create body maps that reflected students personal identities.
Please check out the article from UofM Magazine here.
News & Events
New Department of Art Scholarship: Bobick Family Art Education Scholarship
Mr. J. Bruce Bobick and his daughter Dr. Bryna Bobick, Professor of Art Education have endowed the Bobick Family Art Education Scholarship. Dr. Bobick sees firsthand the number of hours her students are working in addition to taking classes. They established the scholarship to help ease the financial burden for Art Education students during their senior year.
The Bobick Family Art Education Scholarship is restricted to undergraduate students from the Memphis metropolitan area (as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau’s Memphis-Forrest City, TN-AR- MS Combined Statistical Area) attending the University with a demonstrated financial need, and who are majoring in, or who intend to major in Art Education.
*Recipient must be a rising senior with a minimum 3.0 GPA; Applicants must submit a letter stating their teaching philosophy; Financial need will be considered.
The accomplishments of candidates for this position must reflect their commitment to working with an inclusive student population, and their ability to contribute in meaningful ways to the diversity and intercultural academic goals of the university.
The Department of Art thanks the Bobick family for their generous support of our Art Education students.
Unleash Your Inner Fashionista
The Department of Art is excited to announce a new Fashion Design and Fashion Merchandising B.A. Art program that is accepting applications now.
The new fashion program is the only one of its kind in the region and is a 4-year 120 credit hour art degree. Create your own designs, build a portfolio and get hands-on experience. Students learn basic to advanced skills in pattern making, draping, illustration, and the business side of the industry from nationally recognized fashion design faculty. Show us your creative vision.
Black Artists in America by Dr. Earnestine Jenkins
Dr. Earnestine Jenkin’s most recent scholarship includes the upcoming publication of her book, Black Artists in America, Yale University Press and an exhibition at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Black Artists in America: From the Great Depression to Civil Rights where she participated as the Curator. Congratulations Dr. Jenkins!
Learn more about her Dixon Gallery and Gardens exhibition >
Congratulations to Anthony Presley for earning 1st place in the 2021 Student Research Forum
Anthony Presley lives and works in Memphis Tennessee. He is currently enrolled in
the Graduate Program, earning his Master of Fine Arts in Photography. In 2019, he
received his Bachelor of Fine Arts at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where
he concentrated in Film and Video production. Working in Film and Photography, his
work has been exhibited in cities across the United States such as: Cleveland, New
York City, Las Vegas, Chicago, and in his hometown, Memphis. His work has been in
over 40 publications and has won 14 awards for his work, most recently, the Graduate
Student Purchase Award in the University of Memphis' Annual Juried Exhibition and
First Place in the Liberal/Fine Arts category in the University's Student Research
Forum.
Anthony's research highlighted the Horror genre in cinema by completing a historical timeline of the genre's trends starting in the 1930's to present, Identified the representation of different social communities and minorities, connected films to real life social and political events at the time, and presented the psychological and health benefits of watching horror.
Congratulations to Ethan James McVay for winning the Dean's Outstanding Achievement Award
Ethan James McVay (he/they) is a visual artist from Memphis, Tennessee, whose
interdisciplinary work consists of live performance, volunteer participation, and
installation. They are currently pursuing a Bachelors of Fine Arts from the University
of Memphis. Their work explores touch, time, movement, and permeable states of being.
Their work has been exhibited in the UrbanArt Commision’s Tiny Gallery for receiving
a “Bridging the Distance''(2021) grant, "In Consideration" (2020) at Crosstown Arts
430 gallery, and “Southern Miss Ceramics National” at the University of Southern Mississippi
Museum of Art (2020).