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Visual and Performing Arts Department

Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus
Visual and Performing Arts Department

 

Visual Arts

Need Advising?

Art majors whose home campus is TP/SS are invited to reach out to Department Chair Norberto Gomez at any time if you need assistance with course planning for future semesters.  

Montgomery College is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).

As a student in the Visual Arts program, you will benefit from intensive and innovative studio art practice, and an outstanding education in the liberal arts and humanities—the basis for creative thought that fuels artistic expression. Visual Arts students are given flexibility to take a wide variety of classes in their art major, as well as many courses in the liberal arts. This interdisciplinary approach gives you more options when transferring to four-year schools as well as greater room for personalization within your studio courses, enabling you to focus on a specific medium in your second year, if you so choose. When you are ready to transfer, faculty work closely with you to select the school that is best for you, and to prepare your portfolio and application materials. Students in Visual Arts transfer to art schools and art programs at four-year colleges and universities with great success.

Our degree programs prepare you to pursue many paths after completing your studies—students become practicing artists, gallery owners, graphic designers, museum preparators, and exhibit and set designers, to name just a few of the fields our graduates have entered.

An Experienced and Dedicated Art Faculty  
The hallmark of the Visual Arts program is close interaction between students, faculty, and staff—a special relationship that often continues years after students transfer and begin their careers. Visual Arts faculty enjoy teaching in a vibrant international community where 10 countries might be represented in a single class. 
An experienced core of full-time art faculty are joined by adjunct faculty, all practicing artists in their fields. The diverse background and artistic expertise of the entire faculty provides students with many sources of inspiration to draw from in developing their own personal aesthetic. 

A Long-Standing History of Excellence
Since its founding in 1962, the Visual Arts program has flourished in the nurturing environment of the Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus. In fall 2007, the department moved into the newly renovated Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Arts Center, a state-of-the art, award-winning facility, adjacent to Jesup Blair Park. 

Announcements

AA or AFA?
Not sure which major or degree is right for you? We can help! Learn more about majoring in media, art, and design..

Art Student Internship Opportunities
Montgomery College Arts Institute is partnering with the Hirshhorn Museum, Glenstone Museum, BlackRock Center for the Arts, VisArts - Metropolitan Center for the Visual Arts, and the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County to offer art internship opportunities for qualified MC students. To qualify as a candidate, you must have at least a 3.2 GPA, completed 15 art related credits, and be currently enrolled at Montgomery College. Application and Details (PDF, Get Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader - Link opens in new window)

Visual Arts FAQ
Notable Alumni

Performing Arts

The performing arts area includes the disciplines of dance, film,music, and theater. Students may select from diverse offerings in introductory and advanced courses in these disciplines. A wide variety of courses fulfill the art distribution requirement under the colleges general education program. The Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus offers Montgomery College's only array of film classes including film writing, movie production, and editing.

The department produces two to three theater productions per year in the Cultural Arts Center which is the home of the performing arts on the Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus. The Cultural Arts Center has two theaters, the Main Theater, which is a 500 seat proscenium theater, and the Studio Theater, which is a 116 seat modified thrust theater.  Specialty classrooms include a large, glass walled dance studio and a 16 station piano lab with individual keyboards.  

Meet Our Faculty and Staff

Exhibitions and Performances


Noncredit Courses and Training

Community Arts provides noncredit classes for professional and aspiring artists, taught by working artists. We build our schedule based on community needs and interests, so we'd love to hear from you! Find out more.