There’s no doubt that the Arts Department at the University of Wisconsin is top notch. With our #1 national ranking in printmaking and #31 national rank in overall arts programs, Badgers are in for a quality education when they choose to study art at UW.

While the UW Arts Department has many valuable tools in their repertoire, one particular asset that helps the Art School shine is their two student art galleries, Gallery 7 and Art Lofts.

While the two galleries are both spectacular, many UW students never get the chance to visit, or hear of them, at all. For this reason, the art galleries have taken on the reputation as underrated hidden gems on the UW campus.

But what exactly is it that makes our student art galleries so special? Art student Rachel Betters attributes this to their easy accessibility to students and availability to showcase all art styles.

“I love that we have a place to consistently showcase student work on campus,” Betters said. “Our campus galleries rotate frequently and showcase every type of student work. At our campus galleries, everything from metalworking to painting to graphic design is given the chance to be shown.”

Printmaking professor Faisal Abdu’Allah cites UW’s art galleries as unlimited creative spaces where students can take on larger societal problems through their art.

“Artists in the 21st century see the art gallery now as a platform to question societal norms, explore innovative ways of seeing and provide opportunities for hard to reach communities to create projects beyond the white walls of the gallery,” Abdu’Allah said.