Degree Programs

Staff

Department of History and Theory of Arts

Department of History & Art Theory offers a concentrated study on visual arts from the pre-historic era to present day in a multicultural and interdisciplinary context. The Department teaches both specialized and wide-ranging course units that enable students to be engaged in scholarly research, curatorial work, creative practices, and other contributions to national and international dialogues concerning the theories and histories of art and culture. This programme opens a space for the students to be Art Historians, Art Critics, Art Journalists, Art Theorists, Project Coordinators, Curators, Art Teachers, Researchers, or to practice as artists.

About Us

Department of History & Art Theory is one of newly establish departments in the Faculty of Visual Arts after upgrading the IAS into university status. Despite the fact that the department has a relatively short history, it has made a serious contribution to the faculty through a number of activities such as conducting the Student Research Symposium, organizing artists’ talks, launching publications, etc. Also, the department has a well-qualified academic staff who has earned their post-graduates in local and foreign universities.

Research

Every student who follows History & Art Theory programme has to complete a dissertation, which is the key study component of their degree programme. As a result, over 80 researches have been done by the students in the department covering various subject areas of visual arts and visual culture since after its establishment nearly a decade ago. Moreover, the department conducts the Student Research Symposium of the Faculty of Visual Arts annually contributing to develop the research culture of students who follow Visual Art subject streams (since 2015)

Awards

  • S.Udayangani, Best Results and Gold Medal of the Faculty of Visual Arts, UVPA, 2018
  • D.Suriyabandara, Best Results and Gold Medal of the Faculty of Visual Arts, UVPA, 2017

Facilities

  • The Department has its own collection of books/archival sources besides the main library of the Faculty, which contains the largest collection of Visual Art materials in Sri Lanka
  • Study environment with multimedia facilities