Art and Art History

Create and study works of art.

We believe in the the power of art to ignite curiosity and wonder.

The Art and Art History Department at Macalester College is a dynamic community of artists and scholars dedicated to exploring the multiple pasts, presents, and futures of artistic expression. Situated at the intersection of the fine arts, humanities, and a liberal arts context, we foster interdisciplinary exploration, critical thinking and hands-on making. The expansive cultural and artistic legacies of the Twin Cities metropolitan area, along with the vibrant natural environments of the upper midwest, support our strong sense of interconnectedness and community. Through collaborative teaching and learning, we engage with visual culture to interpret and contribute to the growth of our multicultural and global society. Guided by a belief in the transformative power of art, we strive to inspire curiosity and inquiry while serving and connecting with students, College faculty and staff, and local and regional communities.

Our department is guided by a set of core values that support our mission:

1. Passion for Art: We believe in the transformative power of art to inspire and ignite curiosity, driving our commitment to the study, creation and exhibition of artistic expression.

2. Community Engagement: We are dedicated to serving and engaging with diverse communities on and off campus: fostering meaningful connections across time, place, and culture through our curricula, our exhibitions, and our public programs.

3. Diversity and Inclusion: We are committed to building an inclusive environment: one that celebrates diversity and multiple perspectives, in order to reflect the voices of our local and global community.

4. Creative Expression: We affirm the importance of hands-on making and embodied practices as fundamental to artistic exploration, experimentation and innovation. We develop the intersecting skills that are vital to the successful realization of artistic ideas.

5. Academic Excellence: We encourage academic excellence by offering challenging coursework developed by engaged scholars, encompassing broad sociohistorical and theoretical perspectives.

6. Interdisciplinary Collaboration: We embrace interdisciplinarity as a cornerstone of our approach, recognizing the interconnectedness of diverse artistic, social, cultural, and political realities.

Through our shared values and mission, we strive to empower individuals to create, to question, and to critically engage with the world through the lens of visual culture.

Why Study Art and Art History at Macalester?

All of our students learn through both observation and hands-on practice. For example, in a sculpture course, you may learn about the history of cast bronze and work with your classmates to create your own sculptures in our bronze foundry. In art history courses, such as Race, Ethnicity, Class, and Gender in American Art, you’ll examine visual culture through the intersectional contexts in which it is created, honing your skills for written analysis.

Our faculty and staff are working artists and scholars, contributing actively to the local, national, and international arts communities. Your Macalester degree in Studio Art or Art History will prepare you for graduate study in art or art history, and it will form the basis for a professional career in the arts. For non-majors, you will gain a foundation for a lifetime appreciation of the arts in their varied contexts.

Life After Macalester

- American Antiquarian Society, NEH Research Fellow, Worcester, MA
- Anthropologie, Designer & Visual Merchandising, Tucson, AZ
- Aperture Foundation for Photography, Social Media Associate, New York, NY
- Arshile Gorky Foundation, Catalog Raisonné Researcher, New York, NY
- Artist@Large, Owner and Mural Painter, Minneapolis, MN
- Artistry Theater and Visual Arts, Manager of Community Partnerships, Bloomington, MN
- Asheville Art Museum, Curatorial Assistant, Asheville, NC
- Atkins Global Design Studio, Principal Designer, London, UK
- Biomimicry 3.8 Institute, Sustainable Design Project Specialist, Missoula, MT
- BlueR Productions, Digital Designer, Hồ Chí Minh City, Vietnam
- Fundación Casa Wabi, Gallery Curator, Mexico DF, Mexico
- CLUES, Comunidades Latinas Unidas en Servicio, Latino Arts & Culture Engagement Liaison, St. Paul, MN
- City College of New York, Assistant Professor of Electronic Design and Multimedia, New York, NY
- Deborah Gage Works of Art, Gallery Manager, London, UK
- Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Associate Conservator, Denver, CO
- Edition Studios Design, Co-Owner and Creative Director, Minneapolis, MN
- Fox VFX Lab, Lead Animator, Los Angeles, CA
- Freie Universität, Art History Doctorate Fellow, Berlin, Germany
- Gustavus Adolphus College, Assistant Professor of Art History, Saint Peter, MN
- Horticultural Society of New York, Artist and Environmental Educator, New York, NY
- Independent artist, maître verrier, master of stained glass, Paris, France
- Kala Art Institute, Studio Assistant, Berkeley, CA
- LOISOS + UBBELOHDE Associates, LEED Architect, San Francisco, CA
- Metropolitan Museum of Art, Research Associate, New York, NY
- Minnesota Historical Society, Web and Print Designer, Saint Paul, MN
- Museum of Modern Art, Curatorial Intern, New York, NY
- National Geographic, Photographer, New York, NY
- Netflix, Assistant Art Director and Set Designer for television series, Los Angeles, CA
- New York Magazine, Art Production Director, New York, NY
- Northwestern University, Black Arts Initiative Postdoctoral Fellow, Evanston, IL
- Northwestern University, Assistant Professor of Performance Studies, Evanston, IL
- Pacific Northwest College of Art, Dean and Vice President, Portland, OR
- Public Art Saint Paul, Administrative and Development Assistant, Saint Paul, MN
- RECLAIM! mental health organization, Art Therapist, Minneapolis, MN
- Ripon College, Professor of Art, Ripon, WI
- San Francisco School of Needlework and Design, Director of Community Engagement, San Francisco, CA
- South Saint Paul School District, Visual Art Teacher, MN
- Sutro Architects, Project Architect, San Francisco, CA
- The Studio Museum in Harlem, Associate Curator, New York, NY
- Tomorrow Magazine, Managing Editor, Brooklyn, NY
- University of Johannesburg, Visual Identities in Art and Design program, Research Associate, Johannesburg, South Africa
- University of Iowa Libraries, Special Collection Librarian, Iowa City, IA
- University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Theater Department, Set Designer, MN
- University of Pennsylvania Archaeology Museum, Education Department Assistant, Philadelphia, PA
- Walker Art Center, Exhibition Installer, Minneapolis, MN
- Weinstein Hammons Gallery, Gallery Assistant, Minneapolis, MN
- Western Colorado Center for the Arts, Curator, Grand Junction, CO
- Wet Paint Artists Materials and Framing, Co-Owner, Saint Paul, MN
- WRONG design firm, Digital Designer, Riga, Latvia
- Zillow, Mobile Development Manager, Seattle, WA
- Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Adler University, Chicago, IL
- Alfred University, Alfred, NY
- Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
- Copenhagen School of Design and Technology, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Freie Universität, Berlin, Germany
- Herron School of Art and Design, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, IN
- Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY
- Mills College, Oakland, CA
- Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis, MN
- New York University, New York, NY
- Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
- Parsons School of Design, New York, NY
- Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
- Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
- Sciences Po (Paris Institute of Political Studies), Paris, France
- Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
- University of California, Berkeley, CA
- University of California, Davis
- University of Illinois, Chicago, IL
- University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, MN
- University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
- University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
- University of Stockholm, Sweden

The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul are home to dozens of galleries and major museums for field trips and research.

Our student interns are in demand at nonprofit arts organizations, including the Northern Clay Center, the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, the Minnesota History Center, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and the Walker Art Center.

Explore more than 120 small art galleries throughout the Twin Cities metro area.

Our Community:

Club Scene: The Art Alliance plans special art-related activities and workshops for those with a common interest in Studio Art. The Art History Club plans special activities for students interested in Art History, meeting several times per semester to visit galleries and museum exhibitions, watch films, and host discussions about art. Both clubs are student-run.
Law Warschaw Gallery: Our award-winning campus gallery hosts several exhibitions each year, featuring the work of prominent local, national, and international artists, as well as student exhibitions. All exhibitions and programs are free and open to the public.
Lectures & Exhibitions: Visiting artists, scholars, and Art and Art History alumni frequently visit our department for lectures, exhibitions, and to connect with students.

Art History Professor’s Book Illuminates Curators of Tate Modern Exhibit

In 2004, Dr. Joanna Inglot, Edith M. Kelso Associate Professor of Art History, wrote one of the definitive books about the 20th century Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz. Eighteen years later, the Tate Modern is hosting a prominent exhibition of the artist’s work. Professor Inglot, whose book, The Figurative Sculpture of Magdalena Abakanowicz: Bodies, Environments, and Myths, was cited as “pivotal” and “groundbreaking” by the famed curator Mary-Jane Jacob, will be in attendance as a special guest for the opening.

Land/Water: Team-Taught Course Amplifies Learning for Students and Professors

Geology professor Kelly MacGregor and Art professor Chris Willcox teach Land/Water, which uses journals, sketching, scientific measurements, and prompts to investigate landscapes in Minnesota scientifically and artistically.

The Macalester College Cohort Creating Inclusive Drawing Resources

A group of students from a variety of academic backgrounds spent their summer with Professor Megan Vossler sketching up something special: A free, introductory figure drawing resource that centers subjects whose figures represent a broad spectrum of bodies—not just the subjects traditionally seen in figure drawing texts.

Watch the video

Land Acknowledgement

Macalester College is located on the homeland of the Dakota people – Mni Sóta Makoce [Mini SO-ta Ma-KOH-chay], which translates to “Land Where the Waters Reflect the Clouds.” Although they were forcibly exiled by aggressive and persistent settler colonialism, the Dakota people still flourish despite this painful history. We make this acknowledgment to honor the Dakota people, ancestors, and descendants, as well as the land itself. The Macalester Art and Art History Department, alongside Macalester College, engages in ongoing work toward repair and partnership with the Dakota people and the land, as well as to support Indigenous members of our campus community.

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Art and Art History

We believe in the the power of art to ignite curiosity and wonder.

Why Study Art and Art History at Macalester?

Life After Macalester