Facilities & Resources
The college views the study of the arts as a vital part of a liberal arts education and shows this commitment by offering many state-of-the-art facilities and venues for the creation, display, and study of art.
For art majors, the beautiful Katherine and Tom Belk Visual Arts Center serves as the academic heart of your experience at Davidson. It houses Davidson’s art gallery, permanent art collection, the bronze foundry, the digital art lab and Visual Resource Center, and senior studio spaces. Students enrolled in classes in the Visual Arts Center have CatCard access to facilities from 6 - 2 a.m. daily.
Find Yourself in Our Spaces
The VAC boasts several noteworthy spaces for students to enjoy including a bronze foundry, sculpture lab and ample studio spaces. Furthermore, students may take advantage of other arts resources around campus including the Makerspace, the Davidson Arts & Creative Engagement (DACE) Studio and the traveling ArtCart.
Location: VAC Bronze Foundry
In the outdoor Bronze Foundry, sculpture students have the opportunity to cast works in bronze through the lost-wax process, essentially creating hollow wax models of their pieces, which are cast in ceramic molds to be replaced by liquid metal. The foundry contains a furnace and kiln.
Location: VAC Individual Studio Spaces
Art majors with an emphasis in studio art are granted individual studio spaces on a competitive basis beginning junior year. Majors use this space for coursework and to prepare for their senior solo exhibitions, which they host in the Smith Gallery.
Location: VAC Sculpture Lab
Basic and advanced sculpture courses take place in the 6,500 square-foot sculpture area at the Belk Visual Arts Center. The equipment enables students to work in media such as wood, clay, plaster, metal, and 3D prints.
Location: Chambers Basement (B260) Studio M
Studio M is Davidson's makerspace, a community-oriented workspace designed to encourage collaboration between people with common interests. Students in all courses may experiment with 3D printers, laser engravers, VR simulators, vinyl cutters, shirt presses, and various other tools.
Location: Chambers Basement DACE Studio
In addition to weekly workshops for students, faculty and staff, the DACE studio offers a variety of materials available for student use including but not limited to: sewing machines, knitting machine, yarn and string, embroidery tools, paints, coloring utensils, paper and canvas.