Our program emphasizes a conceptual fine art practice through the production of darkroom, digital, and hybrid work. Courses integrate socially situated projects with an understanding of both contemporary and historical visual culture by developing a vocabulary for effective communication within the photographic medium. Students address the impact of an image-mediated world through performances for the camera and straight documentation, by connecting formal and aesthetic elements to larger theoretical issues, as they establish an authentic sense of self as artists. Courses focus on developing technical and conceptual aspects of the medium, while emphasizing the photograph's potential to engage meaningfully with ideas and society. The area also encourages the exploration and redefinition of the role of photography within a contemporary fine art context, allowing for experimentation with image appropriation, presentation, and installation, as well as the creation of interdisciplinary collaborations among students, faculty, and the community.