Bakersfield College Art Department

1. Mission

The Bakersfield College Art Department recognizes:

• The universal human need for self expression,

• The necessity of the visual arts in contemporary society, and

• The importance of cultural diversity provided by exposure to the arts.

Our mission is to provide excellent instruction in the visual arts to prepare students to make societal contributions by becoming citizens who are visually literate, culturally aware, skilled in creative problem solving, and aesthetically sensitive.

2. Program Description

The arts are central to the development of human intelligence. When students engage in art, they learn and practice creative problem-solving skills useful in all parts of their lives.

Our program teaches students to sharpen their awareness and perception in the development of imagination as they pursue constantly reexamined themes of truth, beauty, order, and harmony. Art reflects society, enriches our lives, and provides a moral compass.

An institution of higher learning provides the student with a complete and balanced educational experience when art, an essential component of learning, is included.

The Art Department’s programs of study give students a vocabulary through which they can speak visually.

Through teaching the language of shape, line, color, etc., we give students the tools to express abstract concepts and to find meaning in the symbolic and metaphorical as well as the tangible and universal.

This work is visual and kinesthetic, as well as auditory [in the verbal critique] thereby reaching every learning channel. Students give back evaluative comments on their work and others’ through the critique process, a total integration of teaching/learning modalities.

The Art Department provides freshman and sophomore lecture and studio courses that satisfy core general education requirements for career pathways in workforce associate degrees and that satisfy art transfer requirements for the CSU and UC systems.

All art courses reinforce foundational competencies and provide a depth of knowledge sufficient to contribute to lifelong interest.

The Digital Art program is a workforce development program and a designated career pathway.