At Albion College, every student, regardless of their major, is required to channel their inner artist by taking one unit in the fine arts. 

According to their website, the Art and Art History Department allows students to “consider a major or minor in studio art or art history, or step outside your comfort zone by taking classes for non-majors.”

Opportunity, Preparation for the Future

For Albion senior Sam Helmbreck, the arts became more than just a requirement. Initially an environmental science major, he said he added an art major his sophomore year to expand his academic experience.

“I did it to be able to walk out of Albion with more than just one major,” Helmbreck said.

He added that over time, he realized that “there’s opportunities there that other colleges don’t really offer for students.”

One such opportunity is the Philip. C. Curtis Artist-in-residence program, which provides “emerging artists the opportunity to pursue their work in a supportive environment within the Department of Art and Art History at Albion College.”

Albion senior Fox Dionysus said that visiting artists “have their own studio that we can go check out.”

Senior art majors are also required to take ART 296, a course designed to “provide the emerging artist with multiple experiences in preparation for professional opportunities in the fine arts.”

Helmbreck, currently enrolled in the class, said despite being “in only the third week,” it has helped prepare him for a career post-Albion.

Beyond coursework, Helmbreck added that he also accredits his post-graduate preparation with conducting summer research one-on-one with a professor.

Visibility Within the Department

Waterford senior Luke Whalen said that despite not being an art major, he still enjoyed taking an art history class with professor of art history Billie Wickre. 

“I learned more than I thought I was going to learn, and I enjoyed it more than I thought I was going to, too,” Whalen said. 

Visual arts professor Michael Dixon, who has taught art at Albion College for 17 years, said that students at a small college like Albion have access to an education that “functions more like a mentorship program.”

Dixon added that “students can come here and really do anything they want, with funding and resources readily available to support their creative endeavors.”

Saginaw junior Tuesday McBride said that they wish more students would take advantage of these opportunities and that the art department has given them “a safe space on campus where I feel like I can always fall back.”

For Dionysus, he said he appreciates the Albion Review for integrating student art, but that “we could use a lot more awareness of what’s going on in the art department.”

Unique Facilities for Student Use

The Art Department, which is split between Bobbitt and the Bobbitt Annex, includes an iMac computer lab, professional-grade printers and what McBride said is “sort of like a dark room, called the emulsion room.”

“A lot of our light-sensitive chemicals go in there, so we have a lot of chemical procedures we have to follow,” McBride said. “It’s not as extreme as biology, but it can get rough sometimes.”

Assistant professor of art Shauna Merriman said that the campus’s print collection “rivals large museums, and it’s at student’s fingertips.”

Dionysus said that students are taught how to handle all the equipment and that, “a lot of other places don’t have all of that.”

‘Take Advantage of the Opportunity’ 

“As somebody who wasn’t an art major until sophomore year, I think it’s super important to take an art class,” Helmbreck said.

Dixon said that he works to dispel the myth that when it comes to artistic acuity, “you’re born with it, or you’re not born with it.”

Dixon added that as a professor who also teaches students who may not see themselves as “artists,” he encourages them to embrace their creativity.

“Art making is definitely a skill set that you can learn, that anybody can learn,” Dixon said.

For McBride, they said the key to art for non-artists is to “think of it like a lab, except you’re not filling out paperwork.”

“Once you let go of the tenth, ‘oh, I’m doing this wrong,’ it’s fun,” McBride said.

Whalen said he advises talking to any art professor “who will help you ease into the class and make it more fun than you think it’s going to be.” 

Dionysus said he wouldn’t recommend drawing classes for non-majors. He added that his first venture into the art department was a 2D course and recommends those looking to fulfill their fine arts category to take either a 2D or 3D

class. 

For those still nervous about fulfilling their requirement, McBride had one final piece of advice: 

“Let go and just do something, take advantage of the opportunity and step outside your comfort zone.”