Welcome to Arts

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Welcome

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Welcome to the Bowdoin College Arts Tour. Bowdoin has a storied history in the arts and a long-standing commitment to the role of the arts in a liberal education. Academic and co-curricular opportunities allow students at all ability levels to thrive in dance, theater, music, and studio arts. Before we get started, let me explain the many ways you can explore our beautiful spaces. You can jump to the next stop by clicking on the "Next" button. If you already know where you want to go, you can select any location by using the list OR by clicking directly on the map. Lastly, remember that you can explore any particular location in more detail by clicking the 360, Photos, or Video icons. On this tour we will explore some of the spaces on our campus that support the visual and performing arts, including our current location, the Bowdoin College Museum of Art. The Museum’s Rotunda served as the original entrance to the McKim, Mead, and White-designed building and boasts exceptional murals, created by leading American artists of the nineteenth century.

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A $20-million-dollar renovation in 2007 by the leading architectural firm Machado and Silvetti expanded the Museum of Art galleries and added a seminar classroom. A dramatic glass and bronze entry pavilion provides access to the museum’s collection for both the college community and the public. The museum’s encyclopedic collection of more than 20,000 objects includes ancient art, Old Master prints and drawings, Renaissance paintings, American colonial and federal portraits by Gilbert Stuart, John Singleton Copley, Robert Feke and others, nineteenth- and twentieth-century American art and modern and contemporary prints, drawings, and photographs. Among the Museum’s most iconic artworks are Stuart's portraits of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

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The dance studios in the Edwards Center are as dynamic as the people who dance there. At Bowdoin, dance is open to everyone, from beginners to experienced dancers. The studios are home not only to classes, but also to professional guest artists, performances, and Bowdoin's diverse student dance groups. Bowdoin dancers learn that technique is not an end in itself but part of a larger practice of body-based performance. The dynamism of the Edwards dance studio reflects the collaborative nature of dance and other art forms, offering a unique space where students can explore the interconnecting pieces of performance and are empowered to create their own original works.

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Named for an alumnus and patron of the arts, the Wish Theater provides a perfectly named space for theatrical production. The space can be configured in multiple ways, creating great opportunities for actors, directors, and designers. Every year, faculty and students reinvent the space, including immersive performances that use its walkways and balconies and more traditional seating for musicals. The theater has hosted leading artists of the theater, such as Edward Albee, Tony Kushner, and Anna Deveare Smith, in intimate conversations. As a space for class projects, student groups, and independent studies, Wish Theater provides Bowdoin theater artists a place to test their imaginations and transform visions into performance.

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An architectural response to the neighboring Museum of Art, the Visual Arts Center (VAC) houses the faculty in art history, as well as the Pierce Art Library, Beam Classroom, Picture Study Room, and Kresge Auditorium. The Pierce Art Library comprises a collection of approximately 18,000 volumes. Students and staff also have access to the Visual Resources Collection, which is a continually updated archive of digital images representing the history of art. The Beam Classroom is uniquely equipped with an advanced digital projection system that allows for dual image presentations for ease of comparison and contrast. Kresge Auditorium seats 262 people and is used for lectures, presentations, and concerts.

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Formerly Curtis Swimming pool, Studzinski Recital Hall opened in 2007 after a $15-million renovation. It contains the 280-seat Kanbar Auditorium, which has an acoustical curtain that can be adjusted to “tune” the hall for different music programs; the sound quality of the performance space is exceptional. The building features nine practice rooms, a rehearsal room, and video and audio recording equipment linked to the stage. About 200 students (music majors and non-majors alike) participate in Bowdoin’s music ensembles every semester and include jazz combos, Middle Eastern music, chamber groups, chorus, orchestra, a Brazilian ensemble, and concert band. Ensemble participation can earn academic credit or can meet distribution requirements.

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With small classes and personal attention from faculty, the music department offers a deep and flexible curriculum for majors and non-majors. Areas of study include: music as a technical art, reading, writing, or performance, and classes aimed at understanding how individuals and societies have constructed themselves through music. Recent course titles include: Advanced Topics in Jazz Theory, Computer Music Composition, Protest Music, and the Art of Singing.

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Located in Smith Union, the hub of student life on campus, Lamarche Gallery serves as a central space for student-curated shows, including the Senior Spotlight, where seniors have a chance to display their artwork from their time at Bowdoin in a solo show open to the public. The gallery also displays art from the community and outside artists around events like Black History Month, and hosts the annual juried Art Show (currently in its seventeenth year).

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The digital media lab, measuring 2,200 square feet, has state-of-the-art digital image processing capacity. It contains twenty-two Apple Mac Pros equipped with touch-screen Wacom Cintiq Pen Displays, Final Cut Pro, Isadora, and the latest Adobe Creative Suite. The lab also has scanners and large-format printers to accommodate the creation of images up to forty-four inches wide. The digital media lab is used by students in many of the visual arts classes from painting to photography to printmaking, and is often the site of department lectures.

Welcome to Arts

Welcome

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Museum of Art - Bowdoin Gallery

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Museum of Art - Assyrian Gallery

Edwards Center for Art and Dance

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Wish Theater

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The Visual Arts Center and Kresge Auditorium

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Studzinski Recital Hall and Kanbar Auditorium

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Gibson Hall

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Lamarche Gallery

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Digital Media Lab

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