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Arts

Visual Arts

McDonogh's visual arts program inspires students from PK-12 to express themselves and understand the world around them through the study and creation of art. By introducing them to the tools and techniques of two- and three-dimensional art, our faculty stimulate students to participate fully in the artistic process. Students immerse themselves in this process through projects that call upon their ability to think divergently, problem-solve, and explore their intuitive abilities.

Lower School

Our art studios are vibrant and safe environments where young artists explore, discover, create, and reflect. From their first moments in the Lower School Visual Art Departments, students engage with diverse artists, skills, and ideas that inspire creativity and wonder. They learn to express their interests using various techniques and exciting media, including paint, clay, mixed media, collage, drawing, fibers, weaving, printmaking, and sculpture. Working with a variety of materials provides an understanding of the open-mindedness of artmaking and develops their own artistic choices and preferences. Artists in third and fourth grade build on their foundational learning and cultivate a personal artistic practice in a student choice-based studio. At the end of each year, students in PK-4 celebrate their expressive work in a spring art show.

Middle School

Through creative problem solving and divergent thinking, visual artists are challenged to create art in a safe, inclusive and challenging environment. Students are encouraged to explore the world with a sense of curiosity, seek innovative solutions to problems, and cultivate an outlet for creative self-expression. They work in a variety of traditional and digital mediums while exploring the artistic achievements of people from different times, places, and cultures. Through group critiques, collaboration, and purposeful introspection, every student experiences personal growth as an artist. Their growth and accomplishments are shared with the community through exhibits on gallery walls.

Upper School

The Visual Arts Department is dedicated to cultivating an inclusive, dynamic, and joyful environment in order to inspire personal artistic and creative growth. Students are encouraged to explore their curiosity while embracing the technical and conceptual skills gained during their artistic journey. After completing Art I, the fundamentals of art, students can explore four different tracks—Drawing and Painting, Photography and Digital Media, Fashion and Fibers, and Sculpture, culminating in senior year with the Senior Art Capstone Exhibition. Throughout the program, our artists learn how to generate a portfolio and display, curate, and install their own work to share to a wider public audience. Students emerge confident in their creativity and become adept problem solvers and critical thinkers. The visual arts faculty, whose enthusiasm for art-making inspires students at all levels, are practicing professional artists in their own fields of study.