The Art and Art History Program has a robust visiting artist series, exhibition schedule, and permanent teaching collection. Our galleries include the following: academic galleries for class work and critiques, the Etherredge Center Galleries, the Kierspe Gallery, and the Livio Orazio Valentini Permanent Collection and Online Archive. Students are also encouraged to exhibit their work in the SAC Gallery located in the Student Activity Center on campus.
Located in the academic wing of the Etherredge Center, our academic galleries exhibit current student work from corresponding studios and art history courses. Our academic galleries are also used for critiques and experiential teaching activities.
The Etherredge Center Gallery hosts up to ten exhibitions per year. In addition to featuring visiting artists, the gallery showcases UofSC Aiken student work in the Senior Capstone Art Show. It also hosts the prestigious Carolina Series, which highlights an established South Carolina artist each spring.
The upper and lower galleries have 180 linear feet of wall space with track lighting. Past exhibiting artists include Leslie Alexander, Micah Cash, Kristy Hughes, Sean Hurley, Jay Jacobs, Cecil Williams, and Livio Orazio Valentini.
The Etherredge Center Gallery is free and open to the public during Etherredge Center business hours.
Supported by George and Jean Kierspe, the Kierspe Gallery is located in the academic wing of the Etherredge Center. It features smaller exhibitions on rotation with our visiting artist series. The Kierspe Gallery is also used as a teaching space, featuring curated exhibitions by Art History Capstone students.
Livio Orazio Valentini, Odissea, 1997, oil on canvas
The University of South Carolina Aiken is fortunate to have the most extensive collection of work by the late Italian artist Livio Orazio Valentini in the United States. Valentini visited and worked at the university in the late 1990s. His Aiken Period began in 1997, when he debuted his work for the first time in the United States at the Etherredge Center. His time here helped to forge a lasting partnership among members of the Aiken, Orvieto, and the UofSC Aiken communities. Valentini, who was an artist-in-residence at the university in 1999, also helped to develop a scholarship for B.A. in Art students interested in studying abroad in Orvieto, Italy. While his work in Aiken only spans half a decade, it would be a mistake to dismiss it as existing on the periphery of his larger lifelong practice and development in Italy. On the contrary, his Aiken Period work exhibits a culmination of seminal ideas, a maturity and newness in design, and the reflexive mindset of an accomplished artist. Aiken Period paintings, such as Odissea (1997) and Galassia (2000-2001), which signify a distinctive shift in thematic interplay, are also seen as figurative self-portraits, exhibiting expressions of deliverance, transcendence, and artistic renewal. Aiken provided Valentini with a space for reflection—one where the artist recalled his life experiences, including those from World War II, and exhaled a cultural and artistic rebirth.
In 1997, Valentini also presented Odissea to the University of South Carolina Aiken. The gesture of the gift commemorates the friendship between Aiken and Orvieto “in perfect harmony with the thought and intent of the many people who spent time and energy cooperating to make the exchange between two different cultures possible.” The subject of the painting, on the other hand, signifies a celebrated figurative and personal triumph. Odissea features a horizontal section of razor wire—perhaps a residual reference from one of the concentration camps where Valentini was a prisoner of war—below a white bird, who rises above the figurative ashes of containment. This freed bird in Odissea also breaks from the physical bindings that Valentini featured prominently in earlier works with constrained birds, such as Bird in Nest (Uccello nel nido). The bird in Odissea is a fitting symbol at this time in the artist’s career, especially since it signifies a new direction and tone. In retrospect, the symbolic and directional gesture of the freed bird upward came to represent a new sense of personal, artistic, and thematic freedom, which is indicative of Valentini’s Aiken Period work. That Valentini’s art signaled a pursuit for freedom in general provides only more evidence that his Aiken transformation was part in parcel of a larger, lifelong development of processing lived experiences.
We welcome you to peruse the UofSC Aiken Valentini Collection, including recently donated works in the permanent collection in the upper Etherredge Center Gallery. The Etherredge Center Gallery is free and open to the public during Etherredge Center business hours. Additional resources may be accessed via the Livio Orazio Valentini Permanent Collection Archive.
The Livio Orazio Valentini Digital Archive features ephemera, photographs, and images of work by the artist. The website serves as our commemoration of a beloved artist, friend, and maestro. Additional archival material is added periodically.
The SAC Gallery is located in the Student Activity Center and features student work. B.A. in Art majors may schedule shows in the SAC Gallery.
The Art and Art History Program fosters a supportive, hands-on environment, where students can pursue a Bachelor of Arts – Major in Art (B.A. in Art) with concentrations in Art History, Graphic Design, and Studio and Digital Art. B.A. in Art majors receive individualized attention from faculty committed to high-impact teaching and learning, professional training, intellectual growth, and creative discovery.
Learn more about concentration options
“Since being in the printing business, I'm happy to say that we have had the pleasure of hiring a number of UofSC Aiken art students after graduation. It amazes me how the art program has progressed and grown since I was an art student. Every year, I see a higher caliber of students submit for a design position and with the BA – Art degree those students will be even more prepared for the opportunities that are out there and walk in the door to their jobs already an asset for their employers.”
- Owner of Innovative Solutions
“The art and design program at the University puts the students on a level playing field with others seeking careers in creative industries, ensur[ing that] students are gaining skills that are applicable to specific industries and careers in the arts.”
- Owner of C. Berkshire Designs
“The [Art and Art History] program has a direct correlation with growth opportunities at our company. Wier/ Stewart is a multi-discipline design and creative studio offering many different roles and careers. Any program that helps build the local workforce for our company would be highly beneficial. Currently, students with this degree could potentially join our company in the following roles: Account Executive, Media Planning, Marketing Strategies, Graphic Designer, Animator, Illustrator, Production Designer, Website Designer, Front End Developer, Back End Developer, Video Producer, Videographer or Editor.”
- Representative from Wier/ Stewart
Click on the drop-down categories below to explore artwork from our students in various mediums.
Our faculty-led summer programs in Italy are open to all UofSC Aiken students. Subject specific courses, including those related to art history, performance, and studio art, allow students to earn general education and major-related credit while visiting Florence, Orvieto, and Rome. Additional excursions vary each year. Our students have performed in Perugia, Florence, Saint Peter’s Basilica (Rome), the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi (Assisi), and the Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Servi (Orvieto).
Additional opportunities to study abroad in Italy are open to B.A. in Art majors (in Art History, Graphic Design, and Studio and Digital Art). These opportunities include an Archaeological Field School in Orvieto, Italy and internship opportunities at the Italian software company Vetrya. Students interested in these programs must apply in the early fall semester with the UofSC Aiken Office of International Programs. Each summer, one scholarship covering the six-week Archaeological Field School is awarded to B.A. in Art major selected by the Valentini Partners-in-Friendship scholarship committee. Additional scholarships and financial support to study abroad are available through the Office of International Programs. For more information about our study abroad program, contact Dr. Jeremy Culler at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 803-641-3273.
In addition to providing student support and personalized feedback at various stages in their study, the program requirements for the B.A. in Art degree in Art History, Graphic Design, and Studio and Digital Art are designed to meet National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) standards. They include a first-year, mid-four-year curriculum, and senior capstone assessment. While internship opportunities are available to all students in the program, only those concentrating in Art History and Graphic Design are required to complete one.
Students pursuing the B.A. in Art major must meet the following requirements for successful completion of the degree. To see other applicable information about the degree and program, see the UofSC Aiken Bulletin.
During the spring or second semester (whichever comes first), B.A. in Art majors complete a first-year review with their academic advisor and the Art and Art History faculty. The first-year review is designed to be supportive and provide personalized advisement on student progress in the program. In addition to helping students identify specialized interests and curricular needs, the faculty review student portfolios and other related materials. Students should declare a concentration in Art History, Graphic Design, or Studio and Digital Art before their first-year review. The first-year review is typically scheduled during the spring semester on a Friday.
After completing four full-time semesters (approximately sixty credit hours of relevant coursework) and all required foundation courses, B.A. in Art majors complete a mid-four-year review with their academic advisor and the Art and Art History faculty. Before majors specialize in one of the three concentrations, the following foundation courses are required:
As with the first-year review, the mid-four-year review is designed to be supportive and provide personalized feedback on student progress in the program. During the mid-four-year review, B.A. in Art majors will review their portfolios and completed work from their foundation courses with the Art and Art History faculty. Additional opportunities to address personal and professional goals during the review are encouraged. The purpose of the review is to provide students an opportunity to “demonstrate their ability to form and defend value judgements about art and design and to communicate art/design ideas, concepts, and requirements to professionals and laypersons related to the practice of the major field.” As mentors, faculty advisors in the Art and Art History Program help students prepare for their mid-four-year review, offering workshops on portfolio organization, writing and critique sessions, and other preparatory meetings.
Requirements:
Students should meet with their academic advisor before submitting the following materials:
The mid-four-year review is also used to determine merit-based scholarships awarded by the Art and Art History faculty. Transfer students should meet with their academic advisor and the Art and Art History Program Coordinator to determine when they should complete their mid-four-year review. The mid-four-year review is typically scheduled during the spring semester on a Friday.
Professional opportunities are essential to helping students transition into careers in the arts. Internships offer students opportunities to participate in field-based work and demonstrate advanced conceptual understanding and technical facility. While internships are part of the Art History and Graphic Design curriculum, all B.A. in Art majors are encouraged to complete an internship—preferably during their senior year. An internship may count toward a major emphasis requirement for the Studio and Digital Art concentration.
In their senior year, B.A. in Art majors in the Art History concentration take ARTH A403 Art History Practicum (contract required)—an internship in Art History in one of the following:
In their senior year, B.A. in Art majors in the Graphic Design concentration complete ARTS A549 Directed Internship, a supervised professional experience (contract required). Graphic Design students may incorporate completed work during their internship into their capstone projects. Our alumni are often hired by companies they interned with after graduation.
All students in the B.A. in Art major must complete a capstone project, demonstrating advanced conceptual understanding, technical facility, and the ability to participate in field-based activities. Capstone courses also help students prepare professional application materials for graduate school and employment. View examples of student work.
Students in the Graphic Design and Studio and Digital Art concentrations must create and exhibit a cohesive body of work with supporting materials (at the B.A. in Art Capstone Exhibition).
Students in the Art History concentration must complete ARTH A499 Art History Capstone, producing an individualized research project—for example, an undergraduate conference paper, publishable article, curated exhibition, exhibition catalogue, catalogue essay, or a combination thereof. A recent example of a published Art History capstone project can be found in the undergraduate academic journal Metamorphosis.
The Program Objectives, Student Learning Outcomes, and Methods of Assessment align with National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) standards
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Program Objectives |
Student Learning Outcomes Aligned to Program Objectives |
Methods of Assessment |
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To provide a strong foundation core in 2-D Design, 3-D Design, and Digital Media |
Students will demonstrate a proficiency in 2-D Design, 3-D Design, and Digital Foundations; Students will “demonstrate their ability to form and defend value judgements about art and design and to communicate art/design ideas, concepts, and requirements to professionals and laypersons related to the practice of the major field.” (VIII.B.3) |
Mid-four-year Curriculum Portfolio Review (after all Core Foundation courses are completed) and evaluation by Art Faculty advisors; Studio Art, Graphic Design, and Art History practicums and internships |
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To impart an understanding of the chronology and methodology of art history, including basic knowledge about the characteristics of various art historical periods and cultural styles |
Students will demonstrate an understanding of overview of artistic traditions (from prehistory to the present) important to the development of Non-Western and Western civilization; Students will demonstrate skills in close looking and visual analysis (or “visual literacy”). |
Completion of ARTH 105 History of Western Art I and ARTH 106 History of Western Art II with a C or better; ARTH A108 History of Non-Western Art with a C or better |
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To provide students with expertise in the technologies and equipment applicable to their area(s) of specialization |
Students will “acquire a working knowledge of the technologies and equipment applicable to their area(s) of specialization.” (VIII.B.3) |
Completion of upper-level art Major Requirements with a C or better; Completion of 12 credits (4 courses) with a substantial technology/digital component with a C or better |
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To provide areas of emphasis/concentrations for mastery of medium/media and opportunities to fine-tune craft |
Students will demonstrate the following: critical thinking, analytical, and evaluative skills; the ability to engage in critique; and mastery of areas of emphasis/concentration. |
Completion of upper-level art history and Major Requirements with a C or better ARTS 499 Studio Art Capstone or ARTH 499 Art History Capstone |
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To demonstrate advanced conceptual understanding, technical facility, and the ability to participate in field-based activities |
Students will create and exhibit a cohesive body of work with supporting materials; Students will complete a required senior project or final presentation in the major area. |
ARTS 499 Studio Art Capstone or ARTH 499 Art History Capstone Studio; Art Internships and Art History Practicums; Exit Interview |
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To demonstrate an understanding of pedagogies, learning theories, and topics related to art education |
Students will model best practices in art education throughout practicums and internship. |
Students are evaluated by faculty throughout pre-professional and professional program courses; Students are evaluated during their student teaching assignments |
UofSC Aiken Figure Model Guidelines
Coming Soon:
Art and Art History Student Handbook
Art and Art History Student Writing Handbook
Art and Art History Program Safety Manual
The Admissions staff at the University of South Carolina Aiken understands that the college selection process can be overwhelming. Our staff is dedicated and prepared to help you with information about the University and our admissions process.
Your enrollment counselor is your personal contact at USC Aiken. If you have a specific question, please feel free to contact him/her.
