The Department of Fine Arts at the University of Louisville was founded in 1937. In 1946, the Department was endowed as the Hite
Art Institute in recognition of the bequest of Allen R. and
Marcia S. Hite. The Institute currently has 26 full-time faculty members and a full-time staff of six. The Institute currently has 500 undergraduate
and 35 graduate majors in the combined studio and art history
areas.
Fine Arts majors at the University of Louisville
can earn a B.A., B.F.A., M.A., or Ph.D. in a variety of
disciplines. Areas of study include art history, ceramics, critical & curatorial studies, drawing, fiber, glass,
graphic design, interior design, painting, photography, printmaking
and sculpture.
The University of Louisville, founded in 1798, is one of the
oldest municipal universities in the United States. With a
current enrollment of 22,000 students, the University of Louisville is Kentucky's major urban
university and one of the most rapidly expanding universities in the
United States.
Mission
The mission of the Hite Art Institute is to educate our students to function in the forefront of the art world, to inspire critical thinking, promote a diversity of perspectives, and engage in the most current scholarship in art history, theory, studio art, and curatorial practices.
The Hite Endowment and several other endowments have allowed the department to continue
to excel by providing support for academic programs, library
acquisitions, student scholarships, faculty and student research, visiting artists and scholars,
and exhibitions.
Facilities
The
Hite Art Institute’s studio art program is presently located in three
buildings, two on Belknap campus and one off-campus. Schneider Hall is
home to the studio art programs with studios in foundation design,
foundation drawing, painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, graphic
design, fibers, interior architecture, and art education; along with
computer labs, galleries, art library, and departmental offices.
Sculpture and ceramics are located in the HPES/Studio Arts Building and
the glass program is housed in the Cressman Center for Visual Art in
downtown Louisville. The art history program, together with the Visual Resources Center and the Print Collection, is located in the Lutz Hall.
Galleries
The Hite Art Institute maintains six art galleries which feature rotating exhibitions by nationally and internationally renowned artists and designers, as well as students and faculty of the Institute.
Schneider Hall, on the Belknap campus of the University of Louisville, is home to the Morris B. Belknap Gallery, Dario A. Covi Gallery, and Gallery X, as well as a library dedicated to fine arts scholarship.
The Cressman Center for Visual Arts, located in the heart of the downtown arts district, houses the John B. and Bonnie Seidman Roth Gallery, Leonard and Adele Leight Gallery, and the Alice S. and Irvin F. Etscorn Gallery for ongoing exhibitions, and provides the public with an opportunity to observe the daily operations of the glass studio.
