Webb's diverse Fine Arts curriculum exposes students to exciting, groundbreaking work from around the world and throughout history -- and then challenges them to create their own. Whether it's translating Hindu myths into puppetry or composing original Greek tragedies based on the rules of Aristotle's Poetics, Webb art classes encourage students to find unique, unconventional ways to articulate their ideas, as they hone their understanding of theory and technique.

Most Fine Arts electives are co-ed, but the introductory Theater courses are single-sex, with lesson plans tailored to capitalize on boys' natural competitive drive and support girls' creative problem-solving abilities, while giving both sexes the space to express themselves more freely.

Webb's visual arts studio is a large open expanse with interior and exterior spaces--the perfect classroom arrangement to encourage student artists to experiment with mixed-media and collaborate with other artists.

From theater and visual arts to sculpture and electronic music, Webb's Fine Arts program teaches students to turn knowledge into action, preparing them and empowering them to transform themselves and the world around them.

Sculpture Class Lamp Project:

For twelve weeks during the spring term, sculpture classes worked on an assignment to design and fabricate a lamp.  The intent of this project was to have the students explore concepts that relate to the design and production of three dimensional utilitarian objects. In the process, they got to work with different kinds of wood and synthetic material while they were taught how to safely use various power and hand tools.  Such useful basic skills like working with electricity, cutting glass, or sawing intricate cut-outs were among the lessons learned by the sophomores in the class.

To complete the project, students had to draw upon a variety of disciplines. For example, they used their mathematics knowledge to figure out angles and take accurate measurements. Time was spent looking through various design books and catalogs to understand functionality and practicality of nontraditional design. They had to develop unique methods of joining objects by exploring what adhesives work best on different materials.  The students found numerous challenges in each of the materials they chose to work in: wood, plastics, and metal. Each of these materials have properties that have inherent aesthetic and physical properties that when used properly can enhance a work of art. 

Finished lamps on display in Copeland Donahue

Fine and Performing Arts students at Webb have facilities to learn and develop skills across a broad spectrum of visual, dramatic, musical and digital arts.

Copeland Donahue Theater and Digital Media Studio

Created through a gift by Jim '42 and Lin Burke, the Copeland Donahue Theater is truly “unbounded” in many ways. The theater is a type often called a Black Box because of its plain, black interior. This style allows for a more flexible performance space and is a favorite for non-traditional theater productions. In addition, the theater holds a hi-tech digital media studio for creating cutting-edge digital works. Yet perhaps even more forward-thinking than these features is the design of the theater itself. From concept through construction, both the building and grounds were planned with sustainability  as a priority. The theater and the art installation on the adjacent hillside each won on an Excellence in Design Award from the City of Claremont in 2009.

The theater has quickly become a new center for the Fine and Performing Arts at Webb. It has hosted plays, concerts, art shows and guest artist lectures as well as theater arts and digital media classes.

Art Studio

Visual arts students use drawing, painting, sculpting, ceramics and other techniques to explore and reflect upon their world with creativity. The art studio also includes wood-working equipment, a smelting furnace, a ceramics wheel, a kiln and student gallery space.

Susan A. Nelson Center for the Performing Arts

With an expanded emphasis on arts in the curriculum comes a need for more modern and functional spaces for the visual and performing arts to rehearse, experiment, create, perform and display their work. A reconfigured and renovated Mudd Building will complete an entirely new Performing Arts Center to be dedicated in 2012.