UNC Charlotte Art + Art History

Home
United States
Charlotte, NC
UNC Charlotte Art + Art History

The Department of Art & Art History at UNC Charlotte aims to foster innovative and thoughtful artistic practice, scholarship, and education.

The Department offers three undergraduate degrees, two majors, and a minor in art history.

07/21/2026

Congratulations to Hank Foreman '86 for being named our 2026 Art & Art History Distinguished Alumni!

06/03/2026

🎓 // Morgan Alexander, B.F.A. in Studio Art with a concentration in 3D Interdisciplinary Studies, is currently a Fellow and Artist in Residence at Pocosin Arts School of Fine Craft!

"This program allows me to have two weeks of uninterrupted studio time to work on self guided projects," she shares.

Morgan began her work-exchange fellowship on June 1 and will take classes to enhance her woodworking and ceramic skills. The residency ends on July 26.

"I am most excited to learn from artists like Kyungmin Park and to be in a space surround by creative people!" she continues. "Having the opportunity to work across disciplines at UNC Charlotte allowed me to broaden my horizons in the way I approach art-making. This is how I discovered my love for woodworking and ceramics with the hope to integrate them one day."

Congratulations Morgan! We can wait to see what you create!

05/27/2026

🎓 // Eliza Stallings, B.F.A. in Art with a concentration in Art Education, was offered a full-time art teacher position at Jackson Park Elementary School in Kannapolis, NC!

As the art teacher at Jackson Park Elementary, she will be responsible for teaching elementary art to Kindergarten through fifth graders – nearly 500 students!

"I am most excited about inspiring the lives of the next generation and showing them they all can be artists!" she shares.

Eliza contributes her student teaching during her last semester as what most prepare her for this new role, sharing that "my clinical/student teaching experience has been the best preparation to having my own classroom."

Congratulations, (.stallings_art)!!

05/15/2026

Three CoA+A faculty receive Creative Renewal Fellowships from the Arts & Science Council 🌟

Professor of Dance Kim Jones, Professor of Art Marek Ranis and Assistant Professor of Dance Ashley L. Tate are among 10 local artists awarded the fellowship, which is designed to "reinvigorate experienced artists by offering the time, resources and freedom to explore new directions, deepen their practice and sustain their long-term creative vitality in Charlotte-Mecklenburg."

Ashley will attend the Versa-Style Dance Intensive in Los Angeles, a six-day immersive program in hip-hop and street dance with master choreographers, deepening her practice in house, locking and whacking while developing new choreographic work that integrates street dance with contemporary and interdisciplinary approaches.
Marek will expand "Landscape of Identity," his long-term project exploring how landscapes shape personal and collective identities in the context of environmental change and human migration. He began the project in 2024 in Norway and this summer will expand it to Finland through two artist residencies, collaborating with multi-generational farming families, Sámi community members, and immigrants and newcomers.

Kim will travel to NYC and Korea for mentorship, observation, documentation and artistic exchange with elder practitioners who are recognized as cultural heritage carriers as part of "Echoes of the Drum: Reconnecting Korean Folk Lineage in Contemporary Dance Practices." This builds on years of research into the life and work of Choi Seung-Hee, an artist who is regarded as the first Korean modern dancer.
Congratulations, Ashley, Marek and Kim 👏
📸: Toby Schuetze, Marek Ranis, Botticelli Foto

05/13/2026

On April 9 and 10, UNC Charlotte hosted this year's National Student Advertising Competition 🏆

Organized through the American Advertising Federation, the annual competition provides more than 2,000 college students with the real-world experience of creating a strategic advertising/marketing/media campaign for a corporate client. This year, the competition was sponsored by the National Football League.

UNC Charlotte falls into Division 3 for the competition, alongside other universities including Bob Jones University, Liberty University, UNC Chapel Hill, University of South Carolina, University of Virginia, and Washington and Lee University. The winner of each division proceeds to the national competition in Austin, Texas.

Graphic Design senior Landry Hutchens was awarded the "Most Impactful Presenter," competing against all participating universities and their respective members.

UNC Charlotte faculty Nathaniel Underwood and Samira ShiriDevich lead the NSAC student team, which was comprised of Landry Hutchens (Creative Director), Hope Halloran (Associate Creative Director), Giselle Carrasquilla (Art Director), Jaiden Davidson (Director of Marketing), Brandon Jimenez, Ryan R. Black, Sarah Carson, Emma Cathey, Eric Dang, Karli Heffelfinger, Maya Hutagalung, Patricia Lopez, Josiah Martin, Raymond Matthews, Gabriella Richardson, Alex Schauble, Adam Servas, Angelina Blaise Uy and Ren Zan.

Congrats to Landry and all involved!

05/07/2026

Graduation Spotlight 🎓 // Long after Rue Thi graduates from UNC Charlotte, her work will still be there for the campus community to enjoy.

Through a year-long internship with Auxiliary Services, she created two large murals in the food court of Upper Prospector: "Niners in Transit" and "Niner Nation."

"It was such an amazing opportunity for me to walk into Prospector and see my work being up there and just knowing that I created that," she said.

For Rue, who grew up in Charlotte and comes from a family of Charlotte alumni, choosing this university felt natural, and, on top of that, " I heard that it has a really good graphic design program,” she said.

She came in thinking design was purely about aesthetics, until a print production course with Professor Dave Brodeur gave her, "a reality check of what graphic design is."

That deeper understanding carried into her thesis project.

Her project, "SaOiCon," meaning "eat, my child" in the Montagnard language, explores how food, nutrition and culture can bridge generational gaps within her Southeast Asian community.

Inspired by her Montagnard roots and her family's journey from the highlands of Vietnam to Charlotte, the project includes a social media campaign, a meal kit and a mobile app designed to preserve traditions and strengthen family connections.

"I want my attendees to feel hungry when they look at my project. I want them to feel a part of the food culture we have. I want them to feel warm and to feel like they have reached a place where they can feel at home."

Rue graduates May 8 with a B.F.A. in Graphic Design. She plans to continue freelancing in Charlotte and hopes one day to lead a team of creatives, giving back the same opportunities she's been given.

Happy graduation, Rue!

Photos by Toby Schuetze and Katherine Pacheco
Full article written by Aushja Cotten, communications intern

05/04/2026

Congratulations to our graduating BFA seniors on their thesis exhibitions!! 🎓🎨

On Tuesday, April 21, we celebrated the hard work of our BFA seniors studying graphic design and studio art in a gallery reception and artist talk.

We are so proud of their accomplishments!

📸: Toby Schuetze

04/15/2026

2 Exhibitions. 37 Artists. Don't miss this year's BFA thesis exhibitions!

Graduating seniors receiving their BFA present their final thesis projects in two exhibitions.

The BFA Exhibition in Rowe Galleries, on view April 7-24, features work by those studying Studio Art, Digital Media and Illustration.

This semester, there are 25 exhibiting artists: James Bingham, Ashley Briggs, Lucy Burch, Emma Cathey, Kayhe Duerson, Dale Eastman, Michelle Flores, Jordan Leigh Harper, Maya Hutagalung, Patricia Nicole Lopez, Josiah Martin, Jade Marteau, Mia Nguyen, Leah Parker, Alejandra Valle Ramos, Lily Sadoff, Lena Shakhtour, Cattie Smith, Aiden Stanford, Jacob Alexander Taylor, Leah Travis, Vic Wasko, Jackson Wells, Kim Poewah Zan and Kevin Zhou.

Our graduating seniors in graphic design also present a thesis exhibition in Lambla Gallery, on view April 15-May 1.

Join us on Tuesday, April 21 at 6 p.m. for a reception that celebrates their accomplishments and invites the artists to talk about their work.

📸 Katherine Pacheco

04/09/2026

TWO WEEKS until CoAAPalooza!!! 🚚🎨🎉⁠

Celebrate the end of the semester with your peers in CoA+A with an afternoon of arts activities led by student organizations, games, student performances and, of course, free food!

Participating student organizations include , , .mag, , , , , , .clt49 x , , , , , , , , , , the Society of Urban Design Students and the Dance Department Advisory Group.⁠

Food truck ticket reminder: Tickets are for CoA+A majors only. Visit our check-in tables in the back of Robinson Hall the day of the event to claim yours with your student ID.

We'll see you Thursday, April 23 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Arts Quad!!!

04/08/2026

Students in the art history curatorial seminar, taught by Professor Jim Frakes, have been working hard on the 1st Biennial Exhibition of Recent Acquisitions to the UNC Charlotte Art Collection! 🖼️

Installed over the weekend in the Popp Martin Student Union Gallery, the exhibition features 38 works in a wide range of mediums and includes famous artists like Romare Bearden, Barbara Morgan, Maud Gatewood, Audrey Flack and Ben Owen III. Faculty artists are well represented, too!

The show is on view through April 25 with a reception on Thursday, April 16, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Pro Tip: Make it an artsy evening. Stop by the gallery reception on April 16 before heading over to Robinson Hall for the opening night of Cabaret!

Address

Charlotte, NC

Telephone

+17046870200

Website

https://coaa.charlotte.edu/art-art-history

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when UNC Charlotte Art + Art History posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Want your establishment to be the top-listed Arts & Entertainment in Charlotte?