We launch the careers of people who dream of contributing to the world through the Visual Arts. This may be through the making of art—or the curating, researching and/or teaching of art. Whichever degree option you choose, you’ll learn how to use your individual artistic passions to “create” your future career.
For further questions or concerns about Art, please contact:
Art Program
140 Art Building
Cheney, WA 99004
2020 BFA Thesis Exhibition
During the last quarter of EWU’s BFA program, enrolled students participate in the BFA Thesis Exhibition course. Students use this final quarter to hone their studio works and clarify the work’s conceptual orientation. The course culminates with the Thesis Exhibition, a chance to celebrate their studio and research achievements in a contemporary gallery setting.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent closure of the EWU Art Gallery, the 2020 BFA Thesis Exhibition was moved to an online format. The EWU Art Program is extremely proud of the 2020 BFA cohort Madison Jones and Lisa Koep. They took on these new challenges with grace and perseverance; and thrived in the process.
For the Month of June, a pop-up version of the exhibition: The Notion of Something More is available to view in the window of the Saranac Art Projects.
25 W Main Ave, Spokane, WA 99201
Madison Jones is an emerging artist currently living and working here in Spokane. She is currently enrolled in the BFA program at Eastern Washington University, where she is focused on digital media and photography.
Using mainly film and lens based media, Madison is currently focusing on the importance of content in relation to the physicality of an image. She questions the relationship of how the image works and the layers within while incorporating various methods of destruction and reconstruction.
Lisa Perkins Koep is a contemporary sculpture and installation artist exploring the juxtaposition between the forces of nature and nurture. Utilizing items from both the natural and manufactured world, she creates a point of intersection where these two worlds can perform as one.
Her inspiration comes from the infinite possibilities that result from this convergence. With a professional background in interior design, Lisa has enjoyed expanding her creativity through her Fine Arts Degree at Eastern Washington University. Graduating this spring, Lisa looks forward to continuing her work as a 3-dimensional artist.
No matter which degree program you select, the following resources will be accessible to you:
You should begin taking Art Foundations courses as soon as you think you might want to major in art. No matter which degree you choose, you’ll need the following:
Many art history courses require ENGL 201 as a prerequisite, so we encourage you to take that course as early as possible.
You’ll probably also take some General Education courses while taking your Art Foundations. During this time, you should work closely with a CAAR advisor to plan your degree program. Once you’ve decided to declare a major (art education, art history, or studio art), you’ll be assigned an ART advisor.
Keep in mind, while taking general education credits, the Art Program has four General Education courses that can count towards your program: ART 213: The Visual Art Experience (humanities breadth area) as well as ART 310: World Art, ARTH 303: The Body in Art, and ARTH 340: Native North American Art (diversity requirement).
Yes, the Art Program offers three art minors:
An art minor is a great credential to add to many other degrees. It shows an exposure to creative thinking and problem solving: things important to fields such as business, design, or even law!
YES! EWU Art alumni have been accepted into a variety of top-notch universities across the USA. Our BFA students alone have been placed in over 300 universities across the country, including:
… and more!
For our program learning objectives, please see our individual degree pages:
Overall, we understand that art represents people, cultures, values and perspectives on being human. Studying art gives students the tools to interpret the world in which they live by cultivating creativity and stretching perceptions.
Established in 1993 with grants from the National Education Association, the Visiting Artist Lecture Series (VALS) is a community consortium that promotes dialogue about contemporary art and art issues. VALS works with national & international contacts in the art world to bring working artists, critics, and educators to the Spokane area. Past panelists, lecturers and exhibitors have included a roster of impressive creators/scholars: Andrea Zittel, Eleanor Heartney, Amalia Mesa-Bains, James Luna, Mel Chin, Kiki Smith, Janine Antoni, Sue Coe, Enrique Chagoya, Rikrit Tiravanija, Graciela Iturbide, David Mach, Andrea Zittel, Sam Durant, and Marie Iverson.
Visit our Facebook page to see prompts about current VALS events. For further questions or concerns, please contact Jenny Hyde at jhyde@ewu.edu.
Background: After 40 years of working together as faculty members of the Art Program, Tom Askman and Barbara Miller have changed the lives of many EWU Students. Tom and Barbara will continue their legacy at Eastern by establishing this Endowed Art Scholarship fund. The recipient of this award should:
The art faculty will select a student based on their determination of the most deserving and promising student.
Established: 2017
Amount Awarded: $600-$1,200
Past Recipients:
Background: Phillip D. Grub, a distinguished alumnus of Eastern Washington University, class of 1953, is a retired professor of International Business and emeritus holder of the Aryamehr Chair in Multinational Management at The George Washington University. This scholarship was established because of his knowledge of and appreciation for art that he gained as a result of his art classes (he is a former member EWU band, choir and other musical groups). Grub provides opportunities for undergraduate art students who show promise of bringing future recognition to EWU during their professional careers. This award is students who:
Preference is given to students studying “traditional art” methods.
Amount Awarded: $600-$1,400
Past Recipients:
Background: Ruben Trejo was a retired Eastern Washington University Art professor who was respected and a well known Mexican-American artist in the Pacific Northwest. He worked in bronze sculpture, painting and collages. During his 35 years at Eastern, Ruben actively recruited Hispanic professors, staff and students to the school and was one of the founders of EWU’s Chicano Education Program.
Amount Awarded: $700-$2,000
Past Recipients:
Background: Ruby Gould Tyler was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and enjoyed drawing all her life. After her graduation from Cheney Normal School in 1939, she taught school, published and edited a community newspaper, worked in advertising and became an entrepreneur with a decorating business. As a member of the Southwestern Artists Association, she won many awards. The recipient of this award must:
Amount Awarded: $200-$500
Past Recipients:
Background: R. A. Hanrahan established her biannual scholarship in 1975.
Amount Awarded: $200-$1,000
Past Recipients:
Interested in an art scholarship? Complete the general EWU scholarship application to be considered. The priority deadline for the 2020-21 school year is Feb. 1, 2020, but applications are still accepted and reviewed throughout the year.
With 3.48 million people working for arts businesses, arts education is a critical tool in fueling the creative industries with arts-trained workers as well as new arts consumers.
“The arts develop skills and habits of mind that are important for workers in the new economy of ideas.” – Alan Greenspan, former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman
Pre-requisites: ART 201 or DESN 216.
This course expands on the use of digital media in the creation of studio art. Further exploration includes vector and raster digital image creation and introduction to time-based techniques. Topics within the field of digital art such as media theory and visual culture will be introduced and discussed. Skills from this course can be applied to a number of artistic interests—both creative and practical.
Children’s development in visual expression. Teaching procedures and materials used in structuring children’s art experiences and the development of skill in basic studio practices.
Pre-requisites: ART 305, ART 308 or permission of the instructor.
This is an advanced course that seeks to synthesize the skills learned in analog and digital photography courses. Students will engage with the broad history of photographic techniques in the creation of lens-based artworks. This course blurs the lines between these distinct approaches and helps students to create project-specific processes. Emphasis will be put on conceptualization and the artistic application of photographic technologies both old and new.
This is a beginning ceramic art course that introduces the possibilities for creative expression, aesthetics and techniques using clay. Students will develops skills in ceramic construction and use of surface on ceramic artworks. This course examines historical and contemporary ceramic art and design practices relevant to the use of clay as a creative medium.
