A graduate of the South Carolina School of the Arts at Anderson University will be studying Art History at a prestigious university overseas.
Caroline Wright, who earned her B.A. in art and this September will start classes at the University of Edinburgh, one of the most selective universities in Great Britain.
“It’s definitely a competitive school,” she said, adding that the MSc history of art, theory and display program she’s entering is a comprehensive art history course covering many different time periods and art styles. There are also opportunities to intern in some of Scotland’s world-leading museums, galleries, libraries and special collections.
Wright anticipates her upcoming studies with a sense of awe for the place where she’s headed.
“The university is older than our country,” Wright said. While in Scotland, she also looks forward to exploring the older parts of Edinburgh and doing some hiking.
Wright credits Dr. Candace Livingston, associate professor of art history, for helping her get accepted into the internationally renowned graduate program. She enjoyed studying Art History at Anderson and feels that Dr. Livingston, along with Professor Peter Kaniaris and others are incredible artists and teachers in their own right, and that the SCSA art program is strong.
“I think AU does a good job of teaching those concepts and contemporary art thinking along with traditional art practice,” Wright said. “You learn how to be a good craftsman. You learn how to actually do the skill and then how to apply it in a contemporary setting That combination is a rare thing to find.”
Wright keeps in touch with her professors, displaying her work alongside some of them at ArtBomb Studios in Greenville, S.C.
As a student at Anderson, Wright also was involved in Baptist Collegiate Ministries (BCM), something she said provided needed balance amid the rigors of her studies.
“That was a special thing, to be studying art at a Christian university. You get a feel for that intersection. The world often tells you (faith and art) don’t go together, but I really think they do,” Wright said.
Wright, whose goal is to teach art history on the college level, adds that everyone should be aware of how experiencing art helps critical thinking skills.
“I feel like in today’s world we have so much media. Anytime you hear about a topic, we simply Google it and read an article that someone else wrote that tells their opinion on it; we almost don’t even think about what we’re taking in,” Wright said. “Art doesn’t do all the figuring out for you, it makes you just slow down and really think about what it is that it’s trying to convey; that’s super important just for your own critical thinking.”