The Visual Arts program at Rivers cultivates a lifelong involvement in the arts. The department teaches creative problem solving, fosters cooperation, and encourages risk taking. Students apply what they have learned to the creation of works of art. Through active participation, students develop imagination, self-confidence, self-discipline, self-reliance, visual literacy, and a honed awareness of the visual world. Through critique and the study of art history, students learn how images communicate and how to look critically at images.
Rivers has four art studios, an etching press, eight potter’s wheels, and two electric kilns. An extensive photography lab allows for complete film development and printing. Other facilities include a fully-equipped sculpture space and three gallery areas. Studio offerings include courses in drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, ceramics, computer graphics, and sculpture.