College of Art, Media & Design

Christopher Sharrock
Dean
camd@uarts.edu
215-717-6120

Regina Barthmaier
Assistant to the Dean
rbarthmaier@uarts.edu
215-717-6120

Megan Storti
Assistant to the Dean
mstorti@uarts.edu
215-717-6024

Office of the Dean
Anderson Hall Room 802 | 215-717-6022 | CAMD Website

Introduction to the College

The College of Art, Media and Design is comprised of undergraduate and graduate programs in Design, Visual Arts and Film. The curricula that make up the several areas of the college focus on different forms of specialized knowledge and practice that enable artists and designers to create particular kinds of expressive artifacts.  Because art, media and design are modes of problem solving, of understanding and analyzing phenomena, of advancing arguments or developing insights, these programs teach not only skills and discipline-specific knowledge but also a way of thinking, understanding and knowing.

In addition to educating students and preparing them for professional success and leadership in their fields, the College of Art, Media and Design produces artists and designers who have the capacity to be creatively self-sustaining and self critical. Graduates from these programs are able to generate and evaluate new challenges for themselves and willing to take chances, to fail, and to start over again. These values and capabilities will enable our graduates not only to succeed as artists but to become engaged, intelligent, creative individuals and citizens.

History of the College

In 1876 the Pennsylvania Museum and the School of Industrial Art were founded together in response to the growing interest in art and art education stirred by the country’s Centennial Exposition. In 1949 the school became the Philadelphia Museum School of Art and began granting degrees as an accredited institution in 1949. The Philadelphia College of Art (PCA) separated from the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1964 and became part of the Philadelphia Colleges of Art in 1985.

The College of Art, Media and Design was formed in 2011 by joining the College of Art and Design and the College of Media and Communication

Exhibition Program

The Exhibition Program showcases major contemporary exhibitions related to the University’s diverse academic curricula in design, crafts, and the fine arts.

Over the years, the Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, the University’s primary exhibition space, has attracted national and international artists to the campus. Artists who have had one-person exhibitions in the gallery include Vito Acconci, Richard Amsel, Siah Armajani, Alice Aycock, Willie Cole, Gregory Crewdsen, Robert Crumb, Rosalyn Drexler, John Duff, Richard Fleishner, April Gornik, Lois Greenfield, Alex Grey, John Hejduk, James Hyde, Daniel Jackson, Maira Kalman, Barbara Kasten, Mel Kendrick, Jon Kessler, Donald Lipski, Salvatore Meo, Henry Moore, Ree Morton, Robert Motherwell, Isamu Noguchi, Thomas Nozkowski, Jack Pierson, Irving Penn, Anne and Patrick Poirer, Quay Brothers, Yvonne Rainer, Judith Shea, Pat Steir, Lenore Tawney, Paul Thek, George Trakas, and Lebbeus Woods. In addition, the gallery has presented notable historic exhibitions of design: Philippe Apeloig, Geoffrey Beene, Alexei Brodovich, Czech Cubism, Charles Eames, Dan Friedman, Frogdesign, Milton Glaser, Keith Goddard, Daniel Jackson, Matthew Liebowitz, Memphis, Milano, and Samuel Yellin.

Additional exhibition spaces in Dorrance Hamilton Hall Galleries, the Solmssen Court Gallery, and the Window on Broad furnish opportunities for faculty, alumni, students, and regional talents. Nearly every department also launches its own series of exhibits.

The galleries in Media Arts, The Mednick and Gallery 1401, The Art Education Gallery, the Fine Arts Galleries, Gallery 817, and the Printmaking/Book Arts Gallery, the Sculpture Gallery, the Richard C. von Hess Illustration Gallery and the Multimedia Gallery all show works of emerging and established artists. Student-run invitational and juried exhibitions in Gallery One give students the experience of curating and installing shows. Museum Exhibition Planning and Design MFA students gain experience and skills from their practical work in the galleries. Highlights of the year are the Annual Student Show, a featured Commencement event, and Senior Student and Master of Fine Arts exhibitions.
Borowsky Center for Publication Arts

The Borowsky Center for Publication Arts is a unique educational arm of the University providing students, staff, faculty, and visiting artists a resource to explore the creative potential inherent in the offset lithographic printing medium. The Center enables qualified users to experience the complete graphic arts process from initial conceptualization through production, while maintaining the highest printing standards. The Center is equipped with a Heidelberg Kors 19 x 25 offset press, a Dos horizontal camera, a darkroom for shooting and developing negatives, and platemaking and stripping facilities. Staffed with a master printer and student assistants, the Borowsky Center produces a wide variety of printed material including posters, catalogs, brochures, announcements, limited edition prints and artists’ books. The Center’s Fact Sheet, which includes all procedures for project submittal, is available in the CAMD Dean’s office.

Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD) Mobility Program

The College of Art Media and Design at the University of the Arts is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD). Students in good standing may spend a semester, usually in their Junior year, as a guest at another participating member institution. Students remain matriculated at the University of the Arts, and with their advisor’s prior approval will receive full credit for work done at one of the following cooperating institutions:

Art Academy of Cincinnati
Art Institute of Boston
California College of Arts
Cleveland Institute of Art
College for Creative Studies
Columbus College of Art and Design
Cooper Union School of Art
Corcoran College of Art and Design
Kansas City Art Institute
Laguna College of Art and Design
Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts
Maine College of Art
Maryland Institute, College of Art
Massachusetts College of Art
Memphis College of Art
Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design
Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Montserrat College of Art
Moore College of Art and Design
Oregon College of Art and Craft
Otis College of Art and Design
Pacific Northwest College of Art
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Rhode Island School of Design
Ringling College of Art and Design
San Francisco Art Institute
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

AICAD International Affiliates

Alberta College of Art and Design
Emily Carr University of Art and Design
NSCAD University
Ontario College of Art and Design