The Department of Art and Art History is a union of three distinct areas: The History of Art, Studio Art, and the Galleries. Students can study the history, theory and practice of art. Beyond research in the established fields of art and art history, practical experience can be gained by assisting with all organizational aspects of curating an exhibition, for example, writing accompanying catalogue essays, or helping with the presentation of art works in the gallery setting. This holistic approach to the arts offers a multitude of educational experiences for the students, which together with their exposure to the vibrant New York cultural scene and its world-famous museums and galleries is profoundly formative to their development. The global art world – an amalgam of production, curating, and historical analysis – is at our doorstep and is part of daily life at Hunter. Faculty–artist-teachers all with their own expertise–are actively engaged in these art-rich environments and courses are shaped to reflect and incorporate learning goals, thus creating fruitful conditions for a vital, continually evolving program.
At Hunter, we believe that the study of art is a multi-faceted enterprise comprising studio practice and research in the history and theory of art. We offer BA, BFA, and MFA degrees, with the possibility of specializing in a wide range of art historical periods and cultures, from antiquity to the present, and in a broad spectrum of media in studio art. In studio art, candidates select one field of concentration: drawing, painting, sculpture and installation, printmaking, photography, ceramics clay and casting, and combined media.
The community of students represents a diverse assemblage of interests, nationalities, ages, and backgrounds. On the MFA level, each student works in an individual studio located in the MFA Building at 205 Hudson Street in Tribeca. There, every student has the opportunity to exhibit their work in the gallery for the culminating Degree Show. Students are actively involved in their own education and a number of student-initiated groups complement the formal program and round out the educational experience, among them the MA student organization (MASO), the MFA student organization (MFASO), The Photography Collective, ACE Curatorial Collective (MFA and MA students), and The Digital Media Collective.