Art Minor

Expand Your Knowledge with an Art Minor

Students, are you interested in becoming more than just makers but visual thinkers and storytellers deeply engaged in the social, political, and cultural implications of creating? Then the art minor at Spelman College is for you. Artists are grounded in historical and contemporary art practices that reach beyond the constraints of the Western canon and center Black, POC, transnational, and queer artists, scholars, and curators.

Demanding an intensive investment in writing, reading, research and the sketchbook, the art minor will introduce you to foundational interdisciplinary making strategies, the Spelman College Innovation Lab, and professional development tools. This program, an ideal supplement to the art history, interactive media, photography or documentary film majors, will equip you to be confident and capable studio artists, artist apprentices, and gallery/museum professionals upon graduation.

If you are interested in becoming an art minor, you should declare your minor no later than the second semester of the sophomore year, unless approved by the department chair.

What Does an Art Minor Require?

The Art Minor Includes the Following:

• Comprehensive foundational coursework
• One additional making course, of the student’s choosing
• One art history course, of the student’s choosing
• One professional-development focused course

Minor Objectives

As an art minor, you will:

• Have a working knowledge of the woodshop for fabricating, prototyping, and exploring artist-derived projects.
• Have a working knowledge of the Innovation Lab for fabricating, prototyping, and exploring artist-derived projects.
• Learn strategies for seeking, identifying, and securing artist opportunities, that include but are not limited to, exhibitions, residencies, fellowships, and grants.
• Utilize research for building and executing artist-derived narratives. Research will span art historical frameworks, contemporary artist practices, social/political/cultural/personal catalysts for making.
• Develop an ability to communicate clearly, effectively, and critically through reading, writing, sketching, critiques, and presentations.
• Apply foundational interdisciplinary making strategies in order to experiment with tools, practices, and processes from student’s major discipline.
• Build professional development tools for post-graduation career advancement, including a CV, website, and artist statement.
• Work iteratively, in order to foster a generative artist practice able to translate ideas into tangible creative output.