To meet your individual interests and goals, we offer four majors in Fine Arts and two distinct degrees: the Bachelor of Arts and the Bachelor of Fine Arts.
OWU has a long and rich history in Fine Arts, with graduates who exhibit in galleries and museums around the world, work in a wide range of professions, and teach at all levels from grade school through college. Studio facilities rival those of many large universities, and students work in virtually every medium.
Students in Fine Arts select from four majors:
OWU's partnership with Carnegie Mellon University gives students the opportunity to pursue a Master of Arts Management degree.
At Ohio Wesleyan, students have the opportunity to broaden their learning across academic disciplines and outside of the classroom.
Fine Arts students can bring together four years of work in art and other disciplines into special artistic and research projects.
Olivia Baylor '19 received an OWU Connection grant for independent study in animation through the Film and Television Institute at UCLA. After graduating, she was accepted into UCLA's MFA program in animation, where she she received the award for best animation story - and then was hired by Dreamworks.
Every year, OWU showcases the work of senior art students in an exhibition of juried works at the Richard M. Ross Art Museum. The art is a culmination of four years' work by the students.
We believe every Ohio Wesleyan student should be immersed in new cultures and new environments - it's an essential part of a 21st-century college education.
Fine arts students can study abroad for a semester in more than 50 countries. Many Travel-Learning Courses also are available to broaden your global perspective. And in the New York Arts Program, you can immerse yourself in the culture of a global arts capital.
Caroline Shaffer '19 studied art in Italy during the summer of 2017 along with three other students, Ross Art Museum Director Erin Fletcher, and Politics & Government Professor Ashley Biser.
Gain real experience through internships and signature projects. In the New York Arts Program, you can spend an exciting semester in the art capital of the world. You'll have an on-the-job experience with NYC professionals in various artistic fields.
You also can participate in Theory-to-Practice Grant trips as early as your first year. A Theory-to-Practice Grant could fund your original research, internship, or creative project anywhere in the world.
Through the New York Arts Program, Thalia Sallas-Brookwell '20 interned for a semester at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.
Inspired by a Spring Break Interfaith Service trip to New Orleans, Wyatt Hall '17 created a book of photographs from around the city to display at his senior art show.
OWU faculty are outstanding scholars and researchers—and passionate teachers. They will push you, challenge you, inspire you, and work with you on your own research and creative projects.
They can even pack a 3-minute lecture with ideas, insight, and imagination. Check out our unique i³ lectures.
The sculpture studio includes an indoor foundry for bronze and an exterior courtyard for iron casting. Iron Pours occur every semester. There are specialized areas for wax and plaster work and a full complement of air and electric power for non-power hand tools for fabrication and finishing work, plasma cutting, tig welding, arc welding, gas brazing and blacksmithing. This well designed space allows students to take on very ambitious projects.
Jewelry/Metals is a fully equipped facility for hand fabrication and mechanical processes involving jewelry making, hydraulic die forming, lost-wax casting, rubber mold making, stone setting, patination coloring of refractory metals, Japanese and Korean surface treatments, and laminations as well as a complete enameling facility. The studio area includes a classroom separate fabrication, casting shop.
The 3,500-square-foot Jannuzi Painting Studio includes 24 easels and appropriate storage, there is room to spread out and create ambitious large-format work. Intermediate and advanced painting students have semiprivate areas in which to work. There are a variety of color-corrected overhead lighting systems as well as north-facing overhead skylights.
The photography facilities include a light studio, a lecture classroom, a beginning-level gang darkroom that houses 11 enlarger stations, three advanced-level semiprivate darkrooms, one large format/non silver darkroom, several development and film loading rooms, and a print mounting and matting room. All of the darkrooms are equipped with Hiretech custom gel coat sinks and case work and the latest Saunders enlargers.
Salman had a solo exhibition of his paintings at the Whitney Museum in New York November 2020 through April 2021. The exhibition, "Salman Toor: How Will I Know," was part of the Whitney's emerging artists program. In August 2022, he was featured in a feature article in "The New Yorker."
Ohio Wesleyan's Ross Art Museum Launches New Free Family Programming
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Ohio Wesleyan to Dedicate New Outdoor Art Installation During Oct. 5 Homecoming Weekend
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Professor Bogdanov at the 2018 Faculty Art Show.
Professor Nilan at the 2018 Faculty Art Show.
As part of the Fall 2016 "A Show of Horses" opening, a horse was brought outside the museum for visitors to pet.
Professor Hobbs at the 2018 Faculty Art Show.
Los Angeles artist and writer Robbie Herbst exhibited his work at the Ross Art Museum and led a workshop with 20 OWU students.
Professor Quick at the 2018 Faculty Art Show.
The same month Kristen Canda graduated from OWU in May 2017, the fine arts major was selected as the 2017-2018 artist-in-residence for the Lancaster Festival in central Ohio’s Fairfield County.
In Fall 2017, the Ross Art Museum itself was an exhibit. Every night, historic documents from the town of Delaware were projected on the building's facade until midnight.
Professor Cetlin at the 2018 Faculty Art Show.
