The Art Program at EOU

Mission and Vision Statement

Our mission is to actively contribute to aesthetic and conceptual dialogue that is visual art, both on campus and throughout the region. Our students are offered a broad and diverse selection of artistic experiences designed to help them develop as critical thinkers and producing/participating artists, with a firm awareness of both historic and contemporary issues within the field.

Additionally, the Nightingale Gallery serves the local, regional, and institutional needs for cultural enrichment in the visual arts. The gallery provides exhibition opportunities for student artists as well as regional and national artists of excellence. It is considered one of the premiere non-profit exhibition spaces in the region. Given La Grande's relative geographic isolation the role of EOU's Art Program as advocate and facilitator of the visual arts is crucial for both our students and the region.

The importance of visual art as a language and a means to express the human condition has been evidenced through history and within our contemporary culture. These ideas are also core to our program's vision. It is our intention to aid both majors and non-majors in a manner that will help them better understand the value of their own lives and of human potential. We strive to design courses and projects that allow students to experience how creative choices can enrich, broaden, and deepen their lives, community, and culture.