Welcome to the Art program!

Chair: James A. Krauss, 847-635-1837 or jkrauss@oakton.edu

With facilities at Oakton’s campuses in Des Plaines and Skokie , the Art department provides art education in studio and classroom, offering course work in 2D and 3D fundamentals, painting, drawing, life drawing, ceramics, art history, and our newest area of specialization, museum studies. (Courses in Graphic Design and Photography are offered by Oakton’s Graphic Design Department.) Small classes and individualized attention assure that each student’s educational goals are met. Portfolio development is a key component of the program, with all studio art courses including portfolio review as the ultimate check of content, quality, and continuity. Oakton welcomes degree-seeking students who plan to major in art upon transfer to a four-year institution and those interested in study for personal enrichment. More than 1,100 students enroll each year in art courses at Oakton.

Oakton’s nine art faculty members are practicing artists who exhibit regularly in juried competitions at galleries and museums throughout the Chicago metropolitan area and beyond. Our students compete in the Skyway Conference and Illinois Collegiate Art competitions, where they have won numerous awards, as well as in the College’s annual student show, OakArt. The art program is centered in an institution with a recognized museum collection, the Koehnline Museum of Art, comprised of numerous commissioned and donated paintings, graphic works, and sculptures by modern and contemporary artists. Be sure to visit the collection online at www.oakton.edu/museum for a virtual tour.

At Oakton, we have challenged ourselves to create a learning environment that advances artistic work and academic inquiry within an outstanding community of faculty, staff, and students. Come, take a class with us, and find out for yourself!

James A. Krauss
Chair and Professor of Art