BFA: Bachelor of Fine Arts
Probe the frontiers of art theory, cultural relevance, and the making of art through a wide range of genres, mediums, and techniques.
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The world needs more disruption.
MFA: Master of Fine Arts
Hone the aesthetics and capabilities that will put you at the leading edge of the fine art world.
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Facilities & equipment
Watkins facilities put all the tools of fine arts fabrication into your hands, including 10 drawing, painting, sculpting, printmaking, and design studios, clay and metal fabrication facilities, and an outdoor work yard and casting area.
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Dialogue.
Failure, creative routines, guilty pleasures, advice
Faculty:
Full—and part-time faculty
along with professionals
in the field
Full—and part-time faculty
along with professionals
in the field
Ariel Lavery
Assistant Professor
BFA, University of Colorado Boulder
MFA, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Ariel Lavery borrows from American domestic vernacular to create mutated versions of home living spaces. She samples from her immediate surroundings by collecting detritus from thrift stores, garage sales, Craigslist, and the side of the road. Lavery’s assembled sculptures and installations reflect a vision of Middle America as defined by domestic goods. A 2013 recipient of the Artist Enrichment Grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women, Lavery has exhibited nationally in Colorado, Kentucky, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Texas, Tennessee, Vermont, and Washington, D.C.
Appointed in 2014
SEE LESSBrady Haston
Associate Professor
BFA Studio Art, Middle Tennessee State University
MFA Art, Montana State University
Following graduate school, Haston spent the next eight years in Chicago teaching at Columbia College before returning to Nashville. His shows include Paintings and Sketchbooks and Abstract Painting in Tennessee (Cheekwood Museum of Art), the Los Angeles Printmaking Society National Exhibition, The Portrait: An Investigation of the Self (Camberwell College of Art in London), Bacchanal (Appalachian Center for Crafts), Art Chicago, Intersection (Contemporary Artist Workshop in Chicago), Superstruct (PLUG Projects in Kansas City), and Up Close with Prints (Frist Center). Haston is the recipient of the 2016 Tennessee Arts Commission for painting and a 2016 Pollock-Krasner Foundation grantee. He is represented by Zeitgeist Gallery of Nashville.
Appointed in 2008
SEE LESSTerry Thacker
Professor
BFA Studio Art, Austin Peay State University
MFA Studio Art, University of Tennessee- Knoxville
An artist and educator for nearly three decades, Terry Thacker has shown in numerous national and regional exhibitions at venues such as the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Brooks Museum, Hunter Museum, Dulin Gallery, and Cheekwood. He has exhibited solo installations at Vanderbilt University, Western Kentucky University, Murray State University, Alexandria Museum, and the Memphis Center for Contemporary Art. An active lecturer and reviewer, Thacker has written for Art Papers and has lectured at the Southeastern College Art Association and the Frist Center.
Appointed in 2005
SEE LESSKristi Hargrove
Associate Professor and Chair
BA Fine Arts, Vanderbilt University
MFA Visual Arts, Vermont College of Fine Arts
Kristi Hargrove focuses her studio practice primarily on drawing, but she also investigates other media such as photography, sculpture, and installations. Hargrove has exhibited her work in numerous juried shows and invitational exhibitions across the country. She recently displayed her detailed pencil drawings in the Frist Center’s Metamorphoses exhibition. Hargrove is a member of the Nashville artist collective COOP, a curatorial group committed to presenting challenging, new, or under-represented artists and artworks in the community.
Appointed in 2008
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