Fine Arts
For all future studio artists, gallery directors, printmakers, ceramicists, archivists, community art educators and beyond.
If you're the kind of person who...
- Loves perusing the paint section at the art supply store
- Has the constant itch to create beautiful objects with your hands
- Could spend an entire day strolling through art galleries
Then Fine Arts might be the Moore major for you.
Fine Arts Student Work
Your canvas awaits. See what current students and recent alumni have accomplished.
Carolina Marín Hernández ’22
Leanna Bacani ’21
Emily O'Day ’21
Magdalene Sanchez ’26
Sonimarie Rodriguez ’23
Leeanna Izquierdo ’22
Ruby Mattox Franke ’23
Check out more student work!
WHY CHOOSE FINE ARTS AT MOORE?
- CUSTOMIZED: The Fine Arts curriculum can be tailored to your interests, whether you’re interested in painting, printmaking, sculpture, or all of the above. Pursue a more traditional focus or create expansive multimedia or installation projects—your path is up to you.
- EXPERIENCE: You’ll venture out into the art world thanks to exciting field trips and meet with professionals at places like Dia Beacon, Mass MoCA and the Hirshhorn Museum, just to name a few! Plus, you’ll learn on industry equipment in various maker spaces, like the new ceramics and plaster studios in the VAULT.
- COMMUNITY: Fine Arts majors are the only students to get dedicated studio space in their junior AND senior years! In addition to the connections you’ll make during your paid internship, you’ll show off your work and network with members of the broader art community at our annual Open Studios event.
KICKSTART YOUR CAREER WITH A PAID INTERNSHIP
100% of Moore Fine Arts students receive a paid internship between junior and senior years, and get real-world experience working with companies and organizations like:
The Barnes Foundation
Icebox Project Space
Mural Arts Philadelphia
Philadelphia Museum of Art
LAND YOUR DREAM JOB
Fine Arts alumni have landed jobs at companies and organizations like…
Anthropologie
The Clay Studio
Eastern State Penitentiary
Fabric Workshop & Museum
Locks Gallery
Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Please Touch Museum
Taller Puertorriqueño
IN OUR OWN WORDS
"When I was looking at colleges, I wanted to go somewhere located in a city with a large museum culture. Moore was perfect, being right into the museum district. I can walk a couple blocks and look at paintings I've learned about in my art history classes."
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR EXPANSIVE FINE ARTS FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT
Ceramics Studio
Our brand-new studio, located in the VAULT, has nine throwing wheels, a wedging table, slab roller, electric kilns, a gas reduction kiln and a dedicated glaze room
Metal Shop
Get comfortable with everything you need for metal work, using MIG welders, a TIG argon arc welder and oxy-acetylene welding, as well as sheet metal roller, drill press, anvils and forging equipment
Wood Shop
Two saw-stop table saws, five band saws, two compound miter saws, a scroll saw, combination disc/belt sander, panel saw, drill press, router, planar, jointer, air compressor for pneumatic tools, various hand tools and a dust collection system
Plaster and Mold-Making Studio
Equipped with all the necessary tools for plaster work, including molding, making and casting
Print Shop
In addition to a brand-new risograph, you’ll have access to two etching presses that can be used to make drypoints, etchings, monotypes and relief prints, and a darkroom with light exposure units, a spray sink and a vacuum table for screenprinting.
FabLab
Your future favorite place on campus, featuring a laser cutter/engraver, 3D scanners/printers, CNC Router, ceramics decal printer and a digital embroidery machine
Network with the Pros
You’ll also meet guest critics and speakers—fine artists, curators and critics who started out just like you—at special department events. Here’s a glimpse of some of our recent visitors:
Karyn Oliver
Olivier is an internationally exhibited, award-winning creator of sculptures, installations and public art, and a professor of sculpture. In 2024 and 2025, she will unveil two memorials in Philadelphia, honoring a former slave at Stenton House, and commemorating more than 5,000 African Americans buried at Bethel Burying Ground.
Lauren Mabry
Known for her bold, dynamic glazes and inventive use of material, color, and form, Mabry creates ceramic vessels, objects and dimensional paintings that question the boundary between abstract painting, minimalist sculpture, and process art.
Erin M. Riley
A Brooklyn-based artist whose work focuses on the struggle of finding ones own identity, Riley works primarily in hand-woven, hand-dyed wool tapestries and has exhibited throughout the world, including a 2022 solo show at Art Basel Miami.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
Click the plus buttons below to get an overview of each year’s core curriculum, and also choose from a variety of exciting electives like:
- Projects in Ferrous Metals: express yourself through processes of welding, cutting and 3D fabrication
- Make It Big: explore the relationship between painting and site and work with fellow painters on a large-scale mural project
- Etching: discover the world of intaglio printmaking and create dynamic works of art
- Beyond Green: Art and Sustainability: learn how artists are working toward sustainability and confronting climate change
- Drawing Into Print: link your love of drawing to new discoveries in the world of printmaking
Fine Arts Core Curriculum
Year 1 is your Foundation year! You’ll get a head start with your bridge-to-major class (Printmaking) and choose between drawing or design in your second semester.
- 2D Design
- 3D Design
- Printmaking
- Foundation Drawing I
- Visual Thinking
- Color Theory
- Drawing for Visual Communication OR Creative Design
- Writing Workshop I & II
- Art History I & II
Immerse yourself in your major in Year 2. Classes like Painting, Sculpture, Drawing and Digital Tools will give you foundational skills for future work.
- Painting: Concepts, Materials, Technique
- Sculpture: Concepts, Materials, Process
- Drawing: Concepts, Materials, Methods
- Digital Tools
- Drawing as a Contemporary Practice
- Fine Arts Media Requirements
- Modern Art History Course
- Non-Western Art History
- Gender, Race, Class & Power
In Year 3, go further in Idea Lab and Junior Studio, and start to think about your future through electives and Professional Development, which will prepare you for an exciting $1,000 paid summer internship.
- Fine Arts Junior Studio
- Idea Lab
- Fine Arts Media Requirements
- Professional Development I
- Creative & Critical Studies Electives
- Studio Electives
In Year 4, take your final electives and Senior Studio and Thesis classes, and apply the skills you’ve learned to a final thesis project. Then get ready for your journey to post-graduation success!
- Fine Arts Senior Studio
- Critical Discourse
- Fine Arts Senior Thesis
- Professional Development II (Internship)
- Critical & Creative Studies Electives
- Fine Arts Media Requirements
- Open Electives
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Posted“Educating the people around me through my art is my passion, and this award will allow me to do that.”
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PostedMoore alums are soaring in their fields, using their unique talents and skills as artists and designers to make a difference in the world around them. Meet Michelle Angela Ortiz ’00, a Moore Fine Arts hero! Learn more about her career since her time at Moore.
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PostedThe Faculty Five is a new series where we’ll learn more about Moore’s talented faculty and what they’re up to in and out of the classroom. First up is Rob Goodman, Associate Professor in Fine Arts and Foundation.
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PostedRead the full version of Lily Scharff ’23 in Conversation with Cathy Young that appears in the Fall/Winter 2022 issue of Moore Magazine.
