In the Arts Program, we encourage all our students — not only those who plan careers as artists — to cross boundaries and experiment, to seek inspiration inside and outside class, to incorporate their art work into their other courses and into the rest of their lives. The only thing we don't encourage them to do is to limit themselves by focusing entirely on their professional training. Seeking truth from many sources and learning to question what's possible are necessary habits whether you want to be a painter or a physicist. These are habits you'll practice here.

The arts thrive at Bryn Mawr partly because of the diversity of our community(which includes Haverford College, a mile down the road). Chemists and philosophers and students of ancient literature sing together, draw together, dance together, sit down together to study a novel or a play. Everyone brings a different perspective to the table; everyone grows intellectually and artistically from these exchanges. A liberal arts education is the best kind of training for an artist — particularly for students like ours, who aren't necessarily preparing for a role in the cast of "Cats" (although they may be) but rather for a role in shaping the future of dance or theater or music or literature or fine arts in the next century.

At Bryn Mawr, you can take arts courses for academic credit as electives or in partial requirement of your arts and humanities divisional requirement or you can participate in the arts as an extra- or co-curricular activity. You can formally document your studies here on your transcript as well through a minor in the Arts Program or through petitioning to create an independent major. And opportunities don't end in the classroom or studio. The Arts Program presents student and faculty work in performances and exhibitions in both formal and informal settings. You can also experience the work of major artists through the Performing Arts Series and share the expertise, creativity, and energy of these artists in workshops and master classes. The Arts Program also seeks to nurture the life of the Arts on campus, providing coordination between the academic and studio experiences, supporting faculty or student initiatives, publicizing events and opportunities, and so on.

And don't forget that Philadelphia is only 11 miles or 25 minutes away by train. With friends or on a field trip you can take advantage of everything from the world renowned Philadelphia Orchestra and the Philadelphia Museum of Art to jazz clubs, to funky art galleries, to concerts and performances at any of the other 89 colleges and universities in the greater metropolitan area. You can discover a whole world of art nearby or right here on your home campus.

Faculty

Jane Alison, Lecturer in Creative Writing
Tanya Barrientos, Lecturer in Creative Writing
David Brick, Lecturer in Dance
Madeline Cantor , Associate Director of Dance and
   Senior Lecturer in the Arts
Linda Caruso-Haviland, Associate Professor,
   Director of Dance and Chair of the Arts Program
Pallabi Chakrovorty, Lecturer in Dance
Nancy Doyne, Lecturer in Creative Writing
Hiroshi Iwasaki, Senior Lecturer and Designer/Technical   Director of Theater
Karl Kirchwey, Associate Professor and Director, Arts    Program, and  Director of Creative Writing
Mark Lord, Associate Professor
   and Director of Theater
Rachel Simon, Lecturer in Creative Writing
J.C. Todd, Lecturer in Creative Writing
Kimmika Williams-Witherspoon, Visiting Lecturer in Creative Writing