The Department of Art and Art History affirms the power of art to transform individuals and society. We are committed to the practice, production, critical and historical study of art within a liberal arts education that encourages experimentation and independence of thought. Our faculty offers a rigorous curriculum that crosses disciplines and invites inquisitive, dedicated students with wide-ranging interests, encouraging creative investigation as an essential skill informed by the highest standards of critical thought. Our diverse faculty, students, and staff are committed to ongoing engagement with communities locally and globally.

Our faculty offers a rigorous curriculum that crosses disciplines and attracts inquisitive, dedicated students with wide-ranging interests, encouraging creative investigation as an essential skill informed by the highest standards of critical thought.

Art History

Ceramics

Film

Foundations

Interdisciplinary Media Arts Practices (IMAP)

Painting & Drawing

Printmaking

Sculpture & Post-Studio Practice

The Art & Art History Student Experience

Faculty Research and Programs

Brianne Cohen Southeast Asia research

Eyeing environmental issues through a camera lens

For Brianne Cohen, assistant professor of contemporary art history at the University of Colorado Boulder, art is much more than an aesthetic: It can offer powerful commentary on the issues of the day and galvanize public opinion. "There is a question of compassion fatigue. If we鈥檙e barraged with all these images of atrocity and war and so forth, can we actually move as a public to effect change? So, that鈥檚 the big question for me. Can they do that? I think that (the images) can.鈥� Read more
Brianne Cohen book

How art can mobilize 鈥榩reventive publics鈥� against barbarism

In her upcoming book, "Don't Look Away: Art, Nonviolence, and Preventive Publics in Contemporary Europe" (Duke University Press, May 2023) University of Colorado Boulder Assistant Professor of Art and Art History Brianne Cohen delves deeply into the role that art can play in creating public commitment to curbing structural violence in Europe. Read more
Yumi Roth

Social Change Drives Shifts in Graduate Arts Education Across the Southwest

Roth at CU Boulder says that graduate programs are evolving to reflect students鈥� changing goals. In the past, most aspired to academic positions or commercial sales through gallery representation. 鈥淣ow many students are exploring socially engaged, field-based practice, starting their own small businesses instead of going into the academic or gallery world,鈥� Roth explains. 鈥溌槎挂� are looking for a third way.鈥� Read more
Erika Osborne, Mapping Bodily Connections: Juniper 鈥� Cedar Mesa, UT, 2012

How do you make invisible ecological disaster visible?

Ecological disasters often harm the most vulnerable people, animals and ecosystems, and yet this unequally distributed damage remains insufficiently seen, realized and discussed, a group of scholars at the University of Colorado Boulder contends. Read more
MRS Sculpture Residency

Mountain art residency attracts participants like moths to a flame

New program aims to promote cross-disciplinary research between art and science, and to support new creative works Read more
UuDamm Tran Nguyen, film still from "Serpents' Tail"

'Urgent Elements' focuses lens on eco-video from Southeast Asia

Four acclaimed video artists from Vietnam and Cambodia are traveling to the University of Colorado Boulder to take part in an immersive art program鈥攊n the hopes of taking a cross-disciplinary look at environmental issues. Read more
More News on Faculty Research and Programs

Make plans to visit in person!

Visual Arts Complex, CU Boulder

Visit the Department of Art & Art History

We are centrally located within the Visual Arts Complex (VAC) on the main campus of the University of Colorado Boulder

Address: Visual Arts Complex
1085 18th Street, UCB 318, Boulder, Colorado 80309

Main Office: 303.492.3580
Email

听 Schedule a听Tour of the Art & Art History Department Today!听

We also invite you to request more information from the Office of Admissions about the CU Boulder community and what we have to offer.

听 听

CU Boulder campus

Visit The CU Boulder Campus

Interested in visiting Boulder and the University of Colorado campus? There are several opportunities throughout the year and the听Admissions Department听has the information you are seeking. The University of Colorado Boulder is located in sunny Boulder, Colorado鈥攍ocated 30 miles northwest of Denver. The Boulder area offers a wide array of activities ranging from hiking and biking to shopping, amazing dining, and entertainment. We hope you are able to explore the community of Boulder while you are visiting the campus.听Plan your visit today!

View Larger Map

Virtual CU Boulder Campus Tour
Unable to visit our campus? Experience CU Boulder with our stunning virtual tour, led by an Admissions tour guide. The virtual tour will show you everything that we have to offer, from classrooms to outdoor recreation spaces, to residence halls.听Discover What's Here!