The Visual Arts Program prepares students for future careers in the arts with an interdisciplinary spirit and a global perspective
Balancing craft and conceptual agility, new and traditional media, the Visual Arts program positions graduates to engage in an increasingly interdisciplinary world. Our curriculum provides a model of study that allows students to explore multiple areas of interest that then informs their creative work. Our strength is the amount of attention given to each individual student-artist as they develop through the program, preparing them for a future in the arts by cultivating technical proficiency in a number of media, conceptual understanding through ongoing criticism, dialogue and understanding of the cultural context in which they are working.
We offer major and minor degree programs for Visual Arts. Depending on the student's educational and career goals, Roger Williams University offers a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Fine Arts.
Our students create work that is original, fresh, and, of course, creative. Whether it's in video, photography, printmaking or any other media, the work students produce is an exploration of their own individual aims and interests.
Arts on Campus is a university-wide program to showcase the work of our students, faculty, and partner artists by utilizing the public spaces of the campus and our academic buildings as the setting for dynamic Arts and Design exhibitions. Students, faculty, and staff can make project proposals and requests here.
In a partnership between Roger Williams University and area high schools, this program offers current high school students the opportunity to study drawing, painting, sculpture or photography at RWU for college credit.
Visual Arts students work in several specialized spaces across the campus and off-campus in our studios located on the historic Bristol Common.
The Visual Arts faculty consists of active artists who share their experiences with students through lively and challenging discussions and critiques.
Wallpaper as Art: Decoration and Content
Wednesday, February 23 at 6 pm
SAAHP Lecture Hall 132
Andrew Raftery, Professor of Printmaking at Rhode Island School of Design, will discuss his research into historic woodblock printed wallpapers and show examples of his own exploration of printed patterns as independent works of art and as walk-in prints installed in his home.
Photographer/muralist
Wednesday, March 30 at 6 pm
GHH G01 lecture hall.
Michael Rich’s abstract painting, ‘La Serenata,’ will be on display at the Venice Biennial Art Exhibition, April 23-Nov. 27. His participation in the exhibition is sponsored in part by RWU and the Foundation to Promote Scholarship and Teaching.
RWU professors are finding new opportunities for experiential, student-centered approaches to teaching and learning across the grounds of the Bristol campus
Two alumni, one a scientist and one a designer, find opportunities to thrive in their fields at Twelve Guns Brewing, which opened in Bristol last month.
