ART PROGRAMS
Digital Animation
Graphic Design
Our Mission
The mission of the art programs at Missouri Western State University is to graduate students with the knowledge and ability to become professional artists, designers and art historians capable of making informed and creative decisions that will benefit the individual, the community and society.
ART NEWS
Jocelyn Sands, President of the MWSU AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) Student Design Group, was awarded "The Robert A. Vartabedian President's Outstanding Leader Award" for her work in leading the organization through fundraisers, events and service projects in 2019-2020. This award recognizes an outstanding individual who advanced the mission of their student organization whole, challenged and encouraged the membership to advance new initiatives, acquire new skills, and prepared the group for leadership transition and ongoing success. The award recipient must display a commitment to leadership development, membership engagement, innovation, and cross-campus collaboration.
The MWSU AIGA Student Design Group was awarded the "2020 Best New Student Organization" by the Division of Students Affairs for their service to the University and the community. The organization held fundraisers, social events, and two service projects throughout the 2019-2020 school year. They also created a mural that depicts the histories of St. Joseph and Missouri Western State University in Blum Student Union. Not being deterred by the pandemic in 2020, the group illustrated and delivered handmade coloring books, crayons, and Christmas treats to the children of the Noyes Home in St. Joseph.
Pictured left to right, Cecila Machon, Shelby Ebling, Mikayla Bertels, Sierra Bax, Jocelyn Sands, Hannah Yantz, Jamie Christmas
Students enrolled in the ART180 Fibers course are utilizing applied learning skills to create fiber art pieces for their Spring Semester Culminating Experience.
One project is Sewing Protective Face Masks which will be donated to various local and national hospitals in need. Due to the dire shortage of PPE (personal protective equipment) in particular face masks, students are diligently sewing masks for their families, friends and various hospitals/nursing facilities. Student, Robin Skaggs, shared her project with us.
39 art history and painting students from the Art Department engaged in applied learning during spring break with a trip to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas (March 7-8, 2020).
At Crystal Bridges students had the opportunity to visit a Frank Lloyd Wright house, Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room, and gain insight into the inner workings of an art museum through a behind-the-scenes tour with Dr. Mindy Besaw, Crystal Bridges Curator.
Students also visited The Momentary, a new contemporary art space, where they viewed State of the Art 2020, an exhibition presenting insight into what’s happening in the art world right now.
Other stops included the 21c Museum Hotel and the Precious Moments Chapel.
The trip was organized and led by Kathy Liao (Assistant Professor of Painting and Printmaking) and Dr. Madeline Rislow (Assistant Professor of Art History) and made possible by generous support from a Missouri Western Arts Society grant and the Applied Learning Fund.
Art faculty, Kathy Liao, was interviewed and featured by the Ewing Marion Kauffmann Foundation on their website, sharing stories and insights that underscore the essential role of education and entrepreneurship in empowering all people to shape their futures, create vibrant communities, and grow an inclusive economy.
See website article for more info: https://www.kauffman.org/
Photo Credit: Christopher Smith
Art faculty, Kathy Liao, receives recognition and award from Charlotte Street Foundation.
"Charlotte Street Foundation is excited to announce the three local recipients of the 2020 Visual Artist Awards and two local recipients of the 2020 Generative Performing Artist Awards. This year, Charlotte Street’s Visual Artist Awards were given to Cory Imig, Glyneisha Johnson, and Kathy Liao.This year also marks the 100th Visual Artist Award granted.
Recipients of the 2020 Generative Performing Artist Awards are Stacy Busch and Vi Tran. Since the award started in 2008, 25 performing artists in the Kansas City region have been given the Generative Performing Artist Awards.
ABOUT THE JURY PANEL
The Visual Artist Awards panel included Marisa Del Toro, DAMLI Curatorial Fellow at the Phoenix Art Museum (Phoenix, AZ), Sylvie Fortin, independent curator, critic, arts administrator, and current Curator-in-Residence at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art in Omaha (Montreal, Quebec), Deana Haggag, President and CEO of USA Artists (Chicago, IL), and Bruce Hartman, Executive Director and Chief Curator of Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art (Overland Park, KS).
The Generative Performing Artist Awards panel included Anna Gallagher Ross, Associate Artistic Director & Curator at Fusebox Festival (Austin, TX), Melanie George, Audience Educator and Dramaturg at Lumberyard (Catskill, NY), Eddie Moore, former Charlotte Street Generative Performing Arts Fellow, jazz musician and arts administrator (Kansas City, MO), and Kenneth Martin, Professor of Theatre & Chair of the Theatre Division at UMKC Conservatory (Kansas City, MO).
Each Charlotte Street Visual Artist Award Fellow receives an unrestricted cash grant of $10,000, recognition by Charlotte Street at the time of Award announcement and throughout 2020—including announcements to media, web-based marketing and promotional efforts, special events, and inclusion in the 2020 Charlotte Street Visual Artist Awards Exhibition at Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art in Overland Park, KS later in the 2020 calendar year. The exhibition will be curated by Bruce Hartman, Executive Director and Chief Curator of Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art.
The 2020 Charlotte Street Generative Performing Artist Awards recognize two exceptional artists in the fields of dance, theatre, music, opera, sound art, performance art, multimedia performance, spoken word, puppetry or hybrid performance-based forms. Both of the artists will also receive an unrestricted cash award of $10,000 and their public performances will be promoted by Charlotte Street throughout the rest of 2020 calendar year.
All of the 2020 Charlotte Street Award Fellows were selected through competitive processes beginning with open calls for applications from artists based in the five-county Kansas City Metro Area. Artists selections were made by a panel of jurors consisting of renowned and qualified arts professionals. Jurors participated in in-person interviews, presentations, and studio visits, resulting in the selection of 10 finalists for the Generative Performing Artists Awards and 10 finalists for the Visual Artist Awards."
Lindsey Davis, MWSU graphic design senior, was recently honored by having her design work selected for the cover of GOOSE, an international journal of global policy analysis. Lindsey submitted two posters for the international competition and both were selected for publication, with one being selected for the cover art of the issue. Lindsey's posters are titled, "Save the Trees, Save Humanity," and convey the dire results of deforestation. In her cover poster, Lindsey depicts a tree ring slice superimposed by an image of a human fingerprint to visually suggest the connection and future between the two. Lindsey's other poster, which shows a shower of tree stumps ending with a fingerprint, also alludes to the effects of deforestation. Lindsey's work can be viewed at https://scholars.wlu.ca/thegoose/
The MWSU Art History Club (est. 2017), open to all Missouri Western students, seeks to engage in visual culture beyond the classroom. Art History Club activities include meeting with curators and art historians, visiting art collections, curating exhibitions, assisting with the organization and execution of the annual Missouri Western / Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art Undergraduate Art History Symposium, helping plan art history activities for the annual Missouri Western State University Visual Arts Day, and watching art history-themed films. The Art History Club also promotes a culture of support for all students enrolled in art history courses with regular club-sponsored study sessions. For more information please contact Alexis Carr (president) at acarr6@missouriwestern.edu or faculty advisor Dr. Madeline Rislow at mrislow@missouriwestern.edu.
2020 MWSU-AKMA Symposium Schedule
2019 MWSU-AKMA Symposium Schedule
UPCOMING EVENTS
Art History Club
The MWSU Art History Club (est. 2017), open to all Missouri Western students, seeks to engage in visual culture beyond the classroom. Art History Club activities include meeting with curators and art historians, visiting art [...]