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Art

Department Overview

Art courses at Swarthmore engage students on an individual level to strengthen their paths as young artists. Our courses develop visual analysis skills, expand awareness of potential avenues for self-expression, and provide the conceptual framework necessary for students to connect their work to larger histories and methods of making. This course of study in art seeks to answer the following questions: Why is having a keen visual intelligence so crucial to a rewarding life? Why are museums and galleries some of the first places we go to understand the culture and history of a people? What goes on between the eye, mind, and hand during the process of creating a work of art?

As artists at Swarthmore College, our faculty consider visual intelligence to be fundamental to a liberal arts education. The study and creation of art is a direct way of developing a better understanding of and appreciation for the cultures and societies of our contemporary world; the visual phenomena found in it, both in nature and in society; and the historical record of human development. In recognition of this, we encourage our students to interpret their experiences in relation to their contemporary situation while remaining in dialogue with past artists and ideas.

Our students learn and create in a strong and vibrant art program that is made up of a close-knit group of professional practitioners. This unique environment allows for the kind of one-on-one relationship to faculty and staff that enables our students to gain the skills they need to succeed in their chosen paths. The close proximity to Philadelphia, New York City, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., provides students with easy access to some of the most important collections of art in the United States. Philadelphia is easily accessible from the foot of campus via the regional rail line and has a celebrated young arts scene, with dozens of alternative, cooperative art galleries and underground bookstores. 

NYC Choreography and Fabrication Workshop. Dance and Architecture.

Join us for an Info Session!
Friday, October 4th, 4:30pm
Whittier 201.  
Snacks!

Site Specific Encounters Between Dance and Architecture at Westbeth: A Choreography and Fabrication Workshop at Westbeth Artists Housing, NYC, New York. 
March 8-15, 2025 (Spring Break Week).  .5 credit
In a week-long embedded study trip, dance and architecture students will develop site-specific choreographic works and light-weight installations that culminate in a performance captured by film. 

What is Westbeth?

Westbeth is located in the West Village neighborhood of New York City. It was founded in 1970 in the former research center of Bell Telephone to provide affordable housing for artists and their families. It is a living laboratory for how architecture and art can play a role in shaping a community.

Westbeth holds historical significance as a dance and cultural space. The Merce Cunningham Dance Company was housed on the site between 1971 and 2010 in a loft space since used by The Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance. The Kitchen, one of the cityā€™s earliest arts collectives presenting avant-garde and cross-disciplinary work has also recently relocated to a 6,000 foot loft space in the facility. Westbeth is an important site for LGBT rights, and housed the first LGBT synagogue in New York City.

More information?
Sony Devabhaktuni, Assistant Professor, Art/Architecture, sdevabh1@swarthmore.edu

Ellen Gerdes, Visiting Assistant Professor, Dance, egerdes1@swarthmore.edu 

Site Specific Dance and Architecture workshop in NYC. Poster.
Associate Professor Ron Tarver book release "The Long Ride Home: Black Cowboys in America"

Associate Professor of Art Ron Tarver's book release of The Long Ride Home: Black Cowboys in America  documents the world of black cowboys from all over the US.  Read more about this work in the USA Today and  Hyperallergic articles.

Artist and Assistant Professor of Art Jody Joyner  talks about her work in the 2023 List Gallery exhibition titled Container.  View the lecture in its entirety above.

Farmer Jawn greenhouse memorial in Elkins Park.

Professors Jody Joyner and Ron Tarver convert a dilapidated greenhouse at Farmer Jawn in Elkins Park into a beautiful memorial.  Read the Philadelphia Inquirer article here.

Associate Professor of Art Ron Tarver's book release of The Long Ride Home: Black Cowboys in America  documents the world of black cowboys from all over the US.  Read more about this work in the USA Today and  Hyperallergic articles.

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