Opening Reception: Friday, April 8th

The First Year Program in Art and Design at Peck School of the Arts, UWM pr ovides all first-year art students with a broad background in basic drawing\ , 2-D and 3-D concepts, and the digital arts. It also helps them develop an understanding of contemporary art practice and exposure to various major op tions. The first year is a time of artistic and personal development during which students choose their areas of concentration and begin to see themselv es becoming practitioners in their fields.

Each year the Fir st Year Program faculty selects a theme around which instructors may link as signments and readings. This year's theme is ‘Art and Community’. It is our belief that by exploring this theme and our own layers of community we becom e more engaged as citizens and individuals as well as more true to our indiv idual and collective voices as artists and designers in society. With their first year of reflection upon this theme coming to a close, we present the students’ creative findings in a variety of media and approaches and united as a First Year community.