University at Buffalo
Department of
Art
Art & Design
Art History
Visual Studies
Tour
Take a Tour of the Department of Art
Schedule a tour with Undergraduate Admissions
Schedule a meeting with the Visual Studies Academic Advisor, Lisa Hewitt
The Department of Art is located in the Center for the Arts, on the University at Buffalo’s North Campus. Featuring three theatres, a screening room, and the UB Art Galleries exhibition space, as well as the Departments of Visual Studies, Media Study, Theater, and Dance, the Center for the Arts presents a wide range of high quality performing arts and visual arts for the University, the State and the region.
The Department of Art offers BFA, BA, MA, MFA, and PhD degrees and various areas of specialization, including graphic design, emerging practices, painting and drawing, photography, print media, sculpture, art history, and visual studies. Students have access to a variety of labs, studios, project spaces, and service centers for the duration of their coursework in the department.
Programs & Facilities
The UB Department of Art Sculpture program is continually evolving to meet the needs of current art practice. The lab has a full woodshop, including a table saw, band saws, drill presses, sanders, router table, panel saw and planer. The metals shop has a horizontal band saw, MIG & TIG welders, plasma cutter, 16 ga. Shear and 16 ga break. The bronze foundry is equipped to cast large scale works using either the ceramic shell or sand mold processes. Our casting room has stations for ceramic shell investment, wax work, rubber molding and plaster casting. A three ton chain hoist runs throughout the entire lab. This, in conjunction with our fork lift, and ground level entry doors facilitate large scale production and storage. There are multiple compressed air hose reels throughout the shop. Most recently, we’ve added the department of visual studies laser lab, with an 18” x 32” bed laser cutter accessible to all faculty staff and students in the department.
The undergraduate painting courses are held in two large painting studios that are fully equipped and have natural light from skylights and windows. One studio is designated for introductory painting courses and a second studio is used for intermediate and advanced painting. In the advanced painting studio, students can set up individual work spaces, where they may work on an in-depth group of works.
There are two studios designated for drawing on the second floor of CFA. One studio is set up for basic drawing and figure drawing. A larger drawing studio is used for intermediate and advanced drawing, with flat drawer files and large display and work areas.
The UB Department of Art Print Media facilities provide the best of the past and present so students can learn how to create print objects that are stimulating and delightful. The facilities include an intaglio/collagraph lab, a lithography/monotype lab and a relief/letterpress lab, all of which receive 100% outside air and have slotted ventilation. The Print Media program provides a wide variety of equipment for the students to use including spray booths, copying machines, various presses including a Vandercook Model press, over 65 screens, a backlit washout booth, UV photo processing equipment, scanners, and Macintosh workstations.
Emerging Practices/ Graphic Design
The Emerging Practices and Graphic Design Labs in the Department of Art feature state-of-the-art Macintosh workstations in the classroom and open lab, an audio recording and editing suite, and a DIY electronics lab.
PhotographyThe Photography Program offers students analog and digital spaces including a film developing lab, a black and white printing darkroom, a Macintosh-based digital lab that includes 4 large format printers, print preparation space, and a shooting studio.
Galleries & The Project Space
UB Art Galleries’ Visual Studies Gallery
The UB Art Galleries’ Visual Studies Gallery houses many of the department’s graduate and undergraduate annual shows including the first-year MFA show, the undergraduate Rumsey competition, and a juried exhibition of work from recent graduates from the department’s BFA program. Additionally, the UB Art Galleries annually offers one MFA student a fellowship position as the Visual Studies Gallery Manager for hands-on curatorial experience.
The Lower Visual Studies Gallery
The Lower Visual Studies Gallery offers exhibition and curatorial opportunities to students within the department of Visual Studies. Gallery exhibitions focus on displaying a wide variety of thematically-based work from undergraduates, graduates, alumni, and local, national, and international artists.
The Project Space
The Project Space is available through a reservation for department students, staff, or faculty. The space can be used for a variety of purposes, including the installation of work or performance pieces.
Studios
All MFA graduate students are given private or semi-private secure studios with 24-7 access to the Center for the Arts.
Service Centers & Labs
The Art Resource Center is designed to provide equipment and supplies to Visual Studies Department students, faculty, and staff. Loan items include a variety of AV and studio equipment. There are also speciality items for course work for sale that are often not readily available at local vendors.
The Audio Lab contains a Sound Isolation Booth and 8-channel mixer for recording and editing voiceovers and small instruments.
Big Archival Prints (BAP) provides large format printing services to UB students, faculty, & staff
The Laser Cutter Lab allows for cutting and etching digital design files for UB students, faculty, & staff.
The Media Resource Center provides students with equipment to document their work. The equipment includes three Macintosh workstations with slide and flat bed scanners, and a Nikon photo stand.
For more information about our department and facilities, visit the Department of Art Facilities Website