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Main Image for Division of the Arts

Division of the Arts

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The Division of the Arts offers programs in architecture, art history and visual culture, dance, film and electronic arts, music, photography, studio arts, and theater and performance. Theoretical understanding and practical skills alike are developed through production and performance in all disciplines. In the course of their program studies, students in the arts also develop aesthetic criteria that can be applied to other areas of learning. Students may undertake the arts for different reasons—as a path to a vocation or an avocation, or simply as a means of cultural enrichment. Working with a faculty adviser, the student plans a curriculum with his or her needs and goals in mind.

Our Programs

The Division of the Arts includes the following academic programs:

Architecture
Art History and Visual Culture
Dance
Film and Electronic Arts
Music
Photography
Studio Arts
Theater and Performance

Susan M. Merriam, Division Chair; Associate Professor of Art History

Coursework and Requirements

As a student progresses to the Upper College, the coursework increasingly consists of smaller studio discussion groups and seminars in which active participation is expected. Advisory conferences, tutorials, and independent work prepare the student for the Senior Project. This yearlong independent project may be a critical or theoretical monograph, a collection of essays, or, for a large proportion of students, an artistic work, such as an exhibition of original paintings, sculpture, or photography; performances in dance, theater, or music; dance choreography or musical composition; or the making of a short film with sound. In designing their Senior Project topics, students may have reason to join their arts studies together with a complementary field or discipline, including programs or concentrations in other divisions. Plans for such integrated or interdivisional projects are normally created on an individual basis with the adviser.

Discover More

Live Arts Bard
(L-R) Rebecca Capper '17 and Joanna Warren '17 in the LAB commission of Sarah Michelson's "September17." Photo by Paula Court

Live Arts Bard

“When I was a student at Bard, I was drawn to the Fisher Center because of Live Arts Bard. LAB is pushing the frontiers of these art forms, all of which are becoming more open and fluid.” —Sam Miller ’15

Live Arts Bard (LAB) is the interdisciplinary residency and commissioning program of Bard’s Fisher Center. LAB creates a community of groundbreaking professional artists who work alongside students to create unconventional projects. Year 6 of LAB supported 37 artists across nine projects. Since 2012, LAB has supported 50-plus projects. Projects developed during LAB’s first six years have been performed in more than 70 communities worldwide.

LAB at the Fisher Center

Featured News

Time Magazine Names Kelly Reichardt’s Film First Cow the Best Movie of 2020
Acclaimed filmmaker and S. William Senfeld Artist in Residence Kelly Reichardt’s film First Cow was named the best movie of 2020 by Time magazine. The film is set in the wilds of an early 19th-century Columbia River settlement, in what is now Oregon, and focuses on the business partnership and friendship of an Anglo cook and an entrepreneurial Chinese immigrant. “Both tranquil and dazzling,” writes Stephanie Zacharek, “First Cow is a song of this weird, rough-edged stretch of stolen land we call America, a place where tenderness is still the most precious commodity.” More >

Recent News

  • The Orchestra Now Starts Its 2021 Season with Two Livestreamed Concerts on February 7 and 21
  • Point of No Return: Bard Art Historian Alex Kitnick on the Discontent with Museums
  • Beastie Boys Debut LP, Featuring Cofounder Adam Yauch ’86, Added to Grammy Hall of Fame
  • Work by Professor Sky Hopinka among the New Yorker’s Best Art of 2020
View All News >>

Upcoming Events

  • 5/09
    Sunday

    The Bard College Orchestra Streamed Concert
    8:00 pm – 9:00 pm EST/GMT-5
View All Events >>