Make art. Study art. See both differently.
Studio art and art history invite you to explore the visual world from different perspectives: by making and experimenting with art or by investigating the images, objects and ideas that shape culture. At Transylvania, those approaches are part of one arts community, where making can change how you look at art — and studying art can change what you decide to make.
Whether you’re drawn primarily to creating or questioning, you’ll be surrounded by people approaching art from different angles. See new work in campus galleries, hear directly from visiting artists and scholars and carry those conversations into Lexington and beyond.
Choose Your Path
Studio Art
If you want to make, experiment and discover your artistic direction.
Explore different ways of making as you test ideas, take creative risks and discover what you want your work to say.
Art History
If you want to look closer, ask questions and investigate visual culture.
Study images and objects across cultures and time periods as you learn to look for evidence, build interpretations and pursue questions of your own.
One Arts Community, Two Ways of Exploring
Making art and studying it aren’t separate worlds here. Studio art students create in an environment shaped by exhibitions and conversations about how art is interpreted. Art history students investigate art where new work is actively being made and exhibited.
Those perspectives come together through gallery programming, visiting artists and scholars, and shared experiences such as the program-funded Gray Art Trip. Making something can raise new questions about how art communicates; understanding an artwork’s history and context can open new possibilities for what you create.
Art on Campus, in Lexington and Beyond
Art doesn’t stop at the classroom door. Morlan Gallery and the Susan P. Shearer Student Art Gallery bring exhibitions, visiting artists, curators and scholars into your campus experience.
Step beyond campus and Lexington adds another layer through exhibitions, gallery talks, open studios and events such as Gallery Hop. May term and study abroad opportunities can widen your perspective again, connecting art with new places, cultures and questions.
See Where Each Path Can Lead
See how studio art students begin putting their creative work into the world — and how art history students turn questions into research and possibilities beyond college.
Take the Next Step
Do you want to make art, investigate it — or find ways to do both? Choose the path that interests you, or visit campus to experience the studios, galleries and arts community for yourself.