Regular displays of student art at UCC are a prominent part of campus life. The visual arts curriculum includes the study of a wide variety of artistic traditions and practices from around the world while maintaining a strong focus on essential studio skills in areas such as drawing, colour, design, sculpture, photography and digital media.
Large, well-equipped studios provide an ideal environment for students to pursue their interests in class and through co-curricular activities like the Art and Architecture Club and the College Times yearbook.
Classes are enhanced by visits by guest artists and numerous field trips to galleries, photography studios, museums and events like the annual Toronto International Art Fair. IB1 art students travel to New York City each year as part of their art research for their studio projects. Student collaborations with outside art institutions have included a sculpture project with the Royal Ontario Museum’s Institute for Contemporary Culture and participation in the International Big Draw Event sponsored by the United Kingdom’s Campaign for Drawing.
Art faculty members are actively engaged as artists, curators and designers in addition to being dedicated teachers. They help students prepare for entry into university programs of their choice, which have included all fields of art, design, architecture and art history. In addition to admission into highly competitive Canadian programs, UCC Old Boys have gone on to attend top art schools such as Cooper Union, Rhode Island School of Design, Parsons and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.