The Center for Art, Design, and Visual Culture (CADVC) is a forum for research, exhibition, publication, and public programming in the fields of art, design, and visual culture. Founded as the Fine Arts Gallery in 1989, CADVC was established in 2003 as a CAHSS research center that expands the mandate of the academic art gallery in alignment with the rigor and interdisciplinary of UMBC as a research institution and Honors University.
Historically, the Center has served as the university’s principal exhibition space. Today, CADVC is a forum for scholarship, publication, and experimental engagements in the fields of art, design, and visual culture. The Center also oversees the Joseph Beuys Sculpture Park and runs K-12 programs that serve Baltimore County and Baltimore City schools, among others.
CADVC serves as a forum for exploring the social and aesthetic issues of the day. The Center is committed to rethinking the relationship between art institutions and the public, placing special emphasis on
- Well-written, viewer-friendly catalog and wall texts
- Rigorously documented and researched catalogs
- Lucid application of cultural and social theory to build connections between visual culture and the society at large
- Creative exhibition and publication design
CADVC has enlarged upon and enhanced this mission by offering extensive educational outreach initiatives and publication programs, often in partnership with a variety of educational and cultural institutions. Disciplines represented through its exhibitions, public programming, and/or publications include painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, photography, graphic design, imaging and digital art, video, film, installation, and performance art, as well as advertising, television, industrial design, architecture, critical theory, art education theory, and the study of art history and criticism.
Land Acknowledgement
UMBC was established upon the land of the Piscataway and Susquehannock peoples. Over time, citizens of many more Indigenous nations have come to reside in this region. We humbly offer our respect to all past, present, and future Indigenous people connected to this place.