Art History

The Art History program at Rio Hondo College provides students with opportunities to study the visual arts across history and cultures, fostering critical thinking, visual analysis, and engagement with original works of art through museum and gallery visits and community-based experiences. Committed to accessibility, equity, and inclusivity, the program highlights diverse artistic traditions with a special focus on the arts of Mexico, Latin America, the ancient Americas, and Asia, reflecting the heritage and interests of our student community. The program emphasizes the vital role of public art in society, underscoring art’s power to shape civic life and collective memory.

Río Hondo students in this area of study learn to present, defend, and discuss the art they love. Join them to turn your artistic appreciation into a rewarding profession. Take your first step into the future. 

Turn your passion into a profession. Jump into a fulfilling career in the arts. You can become an:

Studying Art History helps us understand how art shapes—and is shaped by—the world around us. In our program, students explore how artists across time and cultures have expressed identity, belief, power, and emotion through visual form. You’ll learn to look closely and think critically, recognizing how works of art communicate meaning through their materials, composition, and style. Together, we’ll discuss art from diverse cultures and historical moments, situating each work within its social and cultural context. Along the way, you’ll gain confidence using art historical language and methods to describe, analyze, and interpret what you see—developing the tools to understand art not only as aesthetic expression, but as a vital part of human experience.

Begin your journey through art history at Río Hondo.

Dr. Cynthia Neri
Professor of Art History
[email protected]