Arts Initiatives
Mission Statement for the Arts at Bentley
At Bentley, we seek to cultivate in our students not only practical knowledge and moral wisdom but also creative ability, recognizing that leadership in the world of business requires more than deep knowledge in a single field and technical proficiency. The creative arts teach students to find inner sources of inspiration, to take risks, to anticipate new possibilities for expression and understanding, and to appreciate ambiguity and uncertainty as opportunities for creative action. Active participation in creative art develops facility in qualitative, collective, interpretive, and nonlinear thinking.
In a world increasingly characterized by multicultural interaction, social change, and multidimensional communication, the leaders of business and community will be those who have the creative vision not merely to tolerate and cope, but also to shape. For these reasons, Bentley offers a range of opportunities for students to study and engage in music, art, dance, theater, photography, film, video, graphic design, and creative writing.
Curricular and co-curricular programs
The arts program at Bentley balances curricular with co-curricular areas of study. We offer opportunities that enable students to explore new areas of performance and art-making or to continue to develop in areas where they have previously studied.
Bentley’s arts curriculum focuses on media studies, including courses in mass communications, international media, design as communication, web design, graphic design, screenwriting, film, video, and photography. Among traditional art forms - dance, theatre, music, visual art - those mediums that inform and support media studies (such as drawing, acting/improvisation, creative writing, electronic music) will carry course credit.
Experiences in other mediums will be available through co-curricular programs such as workshops, private instruction, and partnerships with area arts organizations, such as the Hovey Players (a highly regarded Waltham community theatre with a 67-year history of production); the Waltham Philharmonic Orchestra (classical music); and Artists West of the Waltham Mills Artists Association (professional artists cooperative - painting, ceramics, etc.). All three of these organizations are located within one mile of campus.
