The Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture (CADVC) is located on the first floor of the Fine Arts Building.
The CADVC organizes comprehensive exhibitions, publishes catalogs, media, and books on the arts, and produces educational and community outreach projects. It offers extensive educational outreach initiatives and publication programs, often in partnership with other educational and cultural institutions. Disciplines represented through its exhibitions, public programming, and publications include painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, photography, graphic design, imaging and digital art, video, film, installation and performance art, as well as advertising, television, industrial design, architecture, critical theory, art education theory, and the study of art history and criticism. The Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture is ADA accessible.
Admission
All exhibitions and events produced by the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture are free.
Travel and Parking
UMBC is located along I-95 near the Baltimore Beltway, I-695, about 15 minutes from downtown Baltimore, and about 25 minutes from I-495. Traveling to the campus is easy and straightforward.
For the CADVC, when you plan to visit has an impact on where you should park. For additional information, including mass transit options and maps, please visit the campus visit site. If you need more information, please email us at artsatumbc@umbc.edu.
Evening (after 5 p.m.) and weekend visits — free parking
• From I-95 between Baltimore and Washington, take Exit 47B and follow signs to Route 166 and then signs to the campus, which is just off the highway. At the traffic circle, proceed 3/4 the way around to join the inner loop of Hilltop Circle. At the traffic light, turn right onto Hilltop Road, and then take an immediate left into Parking Lot 8. You are welcome to park here. The nearest large brick building is the Fine Arts Building. Head down the left side stairs, and the entrance to the CADVC will be on your right. (A ramp is also available.)
• From I-695, take Exit 12C — Wilkens Avenue West — and proceed to the roundabout. Go 3/4 the way around to turn left onto Hilltop Road. At the traffic light, proceed straight, and then take and immediate left into Parking Lot 8. You are welcome to park here. The nearest large brick building is the Fine Arts Building. Head down the left side stairs, and the entrance to the CADVC will be on your right. (A ramp is also available.)
• If you’re using Google Maps, search for UMBC Lot 8. If you use Apple Maps, search for UMBC Parking Lot 8A. (Update — Apple Maps has forgotten our location! You can search for Lot 9, which is on the other side of the Performing Arts and Humanities Building, and travel across to Lot 8.)
Monday through Friday daytime visits (arrival before 5 p.m.) — paid parking
• From I-95 between Baltimore and Washington, take Exit 47B and follow signs to Route 166 and then signs to the campus, which is just off the highway. At the second traffic circle, proceed halfway around, and then look for signs to visitor parking in the Administration Drive Garage.
• From I-695, take Exit 12C (Wilkens Avenue West), and then continue to the roundabout. Go 3/4 the way around to turn left onto Hilltop Road. Then turn right at the next traffic light onto the outer loop of Hilltop Circle. At the next roundabout, go 3/4 the way around, and look for signs to visitor parking in the Administration Drive Garage.
• Paid visitor parking at the Administration Drive Garage is $2.00 per hour, payable by MasterCard, Visa or exact currency (no change provided). Visitor parking is enforced Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. Pay stations are ADA compliant.
• You will then walk about 10 minutes to the CADVC. From the garage, walk down the main campus corridor. When you reach the pond, which will be on your left, immediately turn left and go up the steps to the second building. The entrance to the CADVC is along the side of the Fine Arts Building, midway up. (There are ADA accessible routes available as well.)
Dining Options
Limited on campus dining options may be found here. The nearby communities of Arbutus and Catonsville provide many other options, listed here, and we also encourage visitors to explore the Catonsville Arts District (a five minute drive with many dining options).
Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.
The Intermedia and Digital Arts Master's Program presents The Only Way Out Is Through: The 2025 Intermedia and Digital Arts (IMDA) MFA Thesis Exhibition. On view from March 25 through April 12, the exhibition features work by graduating students McCoy Chance, Ahlam Khamis, Ghazal Mojtahedi, Alexi Scheiber, and Mariia Usova.
In conjunction with the installation Conflux: Variation (2025) by Baltimore-region artist collective Collis Donadio, on display nightly through June 30, the Center for Art, Design, and Visual Culture presents a public talk featuring Shannon Collis and Liz Donadio.
The Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture presents the early-career survey Levester Williams: all matters aside, an exhibition curated by Lisa D. Freiman, professor of art history at Virginia Commonwealth University. The exhibition presents a selection of the Philadelphia-based conceptual sculptor’s work from the past decade, including sculpture, video, sound art, and installation.
The Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture presents the Opening Reception for the early-career survey Levester Williams: all matters aside, an exhibition curated by Lisa D. Freiman, professor of art history at Virginia Commonwealth University. The Opening Reception will including a public program featuring Levester Williams, Michelle D. Wright, and Lisa Freiman.
Please join us for an Artists Reception and Awards Presentation for the 2024 Visual Arts Senior Exhibition. Curated and designed by IMDA MFA student and CADVC graduate assistant Andrew Liang, this exhibition celebrates the extensive work of senior undergraduates.
The Department of Visual Arts presents the 2024 Visual Arts Senior Exhibition. Curated and designed by IMDA MFA student and CADVC graduate assistant Andrew Liang, this exhibition celebrates the extensive work of senior undergraduates.
The Intermedia and Digital Arts Master's Program presents the Opening Reception for Not Grounded, the 2024 IMDA MFA Thesis Exhibition, featuring four artists with diverse artistic practices and approaches: Elly Kalantari, Andrew Liang, Kristin Putchinski, and A. M. Zellhofer.
The Intermedia and Digital Arts Master's Program presents Not Grounded, the 2024 IMDA MFA Thesis Exhibition. Opening with a public reception on Thursday, April 4, from 5 to 7 p.m., the exhibition features four artists with diverse artistic practices and approaches: Elly Kalantari, Andrew Liang, Kristin Putchinski, and A. M. Zellhofer.
