Bennington College: Visual Arts

Bennington offers degrees in architecture, art history, ceramics, dance, digital arts, drama, drawing, film & video, media arts, music, painting, photography, printmaking & sculpture. Working internships are a core part of the curriculum.

As you move from introductory to advanced courses in any of the visual arts at Bennington, you develop not only your technique, but your own methods of investigation, conceptual thinking, and understanding of what it means to be a creative practitioner. You are encouraged to make connections between different areas of the visual arts and the liberal arts. A distinctive element is the review process: an ongoing critique by a diverse group of faculty from the visual arts, all active professionals in their field. Art history is interwoven into most of the studio courses, in addition to classes dedicated to specific art history themes and periods.

Each winter, you intern with a museum, gallery, artist, or any other job that complements your studies through Field Work Term, the annual seven-week internship period.

All visual arts classes are taught in the Visual and Performing Arts Center (VAPA), a 150,000+ square-foot creative complex connected by wood decks, balconies, and walkways. VAPA is open 24 hours a day, and students can be found there at all hours—creating new work in their studios, gathering for critiques, collaborating.