Why study Art at MC?
The Maryville College Art Department strives to prepare students for lifelong intellectual and emotional engagement with the study and practice of art. The purpose of the Art Major / Minor at Maryville College is to introduce, encourage and strengthen skills, attitudes and knowledge that enable students to become creators, caretakers and advocates of the arts.
The Art Department is an academic community committed to challenging students with a stimulating program of study that balances individual instruction, cooperative learning and independent research. For Art majors and Art minors, the art curricula complements broad knowledge grounded in the liberal arts tradition with specialized expertise in the students’ chosen field. For all students, the curriculum embraces the belief that art both enriches and is enriched by its interconnectedness with other areas of human behavior. Art Majors choose from the following concentration areas: Drawing, Ceramics, Painting, and Photography.
Scholarships, Awards, & Auditions
The Division of Fine Arts offers several opportunities to both first-year and returning or transfer students based on academic achievement, interest areas, leadership and talent. Learn More about the awards and qualifications >
Meet a Current Scot
Brianna White
Hometown: Knoxville, Tennessee
Brianna has enjoyed creating art since childhood and likes to implement creativity into all parts of her life. She is particularly fond of the storytelling capabilities art possesses, she said, and wants to showcase those qualities through costume design or book illustration.
“I have so many ideas in my head, and art allows me to express them,” she said. “The MC community has been so helpful and supportive of my growth as an artist. The Art program has given me a great space to experiment and learn, turning my ideas into reality.”
She also enjoys teaching art, she added, as a way of sharing the joy it’s brought to her life with others. She is a recipient of the Presidential Scholarship and a winner of Maryville College’s Clark Family Prize.
Meet a Recent Grad
Caroline Hood ’21
Currently: Featured artist and graphic designer at The District Gallery in Knoxville, Tennessee
The District Gallery specializes in local and regional fine art, artisan jewelry, crafts and custom framing. In addition to being a featured artist at the gallery, where her own art is displayed, she’s responsible for all graphic design, email marketing and social media posts and show cards at the business, which was established by her parents in 2011.
“The other half of my time is spent on commission work, which I receive through the gallery and online,” she said. “Shortly after graduating, the gallery featured my thesis as an artist event. The show, entitled ‘Two Dollars and Sixty Cents,’ was up for one month, and I sold 23 of the 26 pieces.”
Since graduation, her work has largely consisted of coin art — tiny acrylic paintings on pennies, quarters and other change — and she credits her Art professors, particularly Dr. Carl Gombert, with “changing my life forever, and I will remain grateful for the people I met and the values I learned,” she added.
