Department of Art

Kiehle Visual Arts Center

overview of Kiehle on the Mississippi River

The Kiehle Visual Arts Center (KVAC) overlooks the Mississippi River on the eastern edge of campus. The three-story building houses a comprehensive range of spaces and tools for the making and studying of art. KVAC hosts:

  • All department classes
  • Four Computer Labs
  • MakerSpace Lab
  • Painting and Drawing studios
  • Large Printmaking studio
  • Sculpture and Ceramics studios
  • Photography Facilities and Inkjet Printers
  • Auditorium
  • Woodshop
  • Lighting Studio
  • Advanced student studios
  • Art Galleries
  • Faculty Offices
  • Large deck with stunning views of the Mississippi River

Basement Level

Houses critique spaces, an auditorium, student gallery wired for time-based work, audio/video equipment checkout including DSLR cameras, Wacom tablets, lighting and audio equipment, a woodshop with hundreds of tools, a metal shop and foundry, a ceramics area with 20 throwing wheels, glaze room and 8 kilns.

Main Level

Houses the art office, a professional gallery with new exhibitions curated every semester, art education classroom and lab, graphic design classroom and critique spaces, a student lounge, a MakerSpace with trained student workers operating 3D printers, cnc machines, and laser cutters, a digital lab complex with 75 Apple work stations including four Epson inkjet printers and video editing stations, a print trimming area and critique spaces within 3 classrooms.

Top Level

Houses the printmaking studio which includes seven presses, silk screening, a darkroom, common work areas and a critique space, painting and drawing studios and classrooms, a traditional photography darkroom with film developing area and common work area and an experimental gallery space for student projects.

Faculty offices and individual student studios can be found throughout the building.