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The Art Complex houses all art programs under one roof: a perfect place to collaborate and create. -
The courtyard is a flexible outside area for a variety of uses. -
The amphitheater staircase is a perfect place for a spontaneous concert, or a quiet study session. -
Our studios are spacious, light-filled, and designed to spark creativity. -
A DVC ceramics faculty member gives a demonstration. -
Up close on a DVC art student’s drawing. -
A DVC art student working in the foundry. -
The Art Gallery shows the work of DVC students, plus regional and international artists. -
A DVC student operating a Conrad Machine Etching Press. -
The virtual production studio, where you learn cutting edge technology used in moviemaking today.
Art Complex
The state-of-the-art 34,000-square-foot space houses all DVC art and digital media programs under one roof, creating a dynamic place for our artist community to learn, collaborate, and launch their careers.
Visit the new Art Complex.
Behind the scenes
The first floor houses physical art programs and our department office, art gallery, and courtyard. Here's what you'll find on the first floor:
Art Complex Office
Where you can get questions answered, learn about upcoming events, and learn about our many programs.
Art Gallery
A 1,000 square foot space dedicated to showing the art of DVC students, plus regional and international artists. More details below!
Ceramics Studio
The ceramics studio is equipped with four gas kilns, three electric kilns, a Raku kiln, 25 potter’s wheels, a glaze formulation lab, and an outdoor covered area providing students with a bright, spacious environment for pottery work.
Courtyard
The courtyard features a flexible outdoor area that functions as a lounge, classroom, or art showcase, and includes a large staircase connecting to the second-floor deck, creating an amphitheater setting for live events.
Jewelry Studio
The jewelry studio is equipped with six oxypropane soldering stations, two fabrication stations, and small metals casting facilities, enabling activities such as enameling, as well as silver, copper, and gold fabrication.
Photography Studio
The photography studio includes a 20-station black & white darkroom, two individual darkrooms, large format inkjet printers up to 44 inches, Mac computer labs, a production studio, and an equipment checkout offering DSLRs, 35mm medium and large format film cameras, lenses, lighting gear, and accessories.
Printmaking Studio
The printmaking studio features a dark room equipped with screen print and photo etching exposure units, screen washing stations, Mac computers, scanners, printers, three Conrad etching presses, and three letterpresses including a newly acquired Vandercook press.
Sculpture Studio
The facility includes a foundry for mold making and metal casting, a woodshop, a welding shop, blacksmithing facilities, and areas for plaster and armature building.
The second floor hosts spaces for digital art such as the production studio and computer labs. Here's what you'll find on the second floor:
Painting and Drawing Studios
The studio offers live, professional models along with beautiful, natural north-facing light, providing artists with drawing horses, easels, and drafting tables for their creative work.
Production Studio
The facility is equipped with a lighting grid, three TV broadcast cameras, an optical tracking system, a virtual production computer workstation, broadcast television featuring a live mixing board, DMX (Digital Multiplex) lighting system, and advanced technology for digital photography, virtual production, and filmmaking.
The Art Gallery
The DVC Art Gallery is a 1,000 square foot space dedicated to proudly displaying the collaborations between students, artists, curators, and faculty.
The gallery is the art department’s learning laboratory, a safe space to apply classroom learnings into a real-world context.
This allows students to deepen their understanding of art theory and practice while gaining exposure to the professional world of art exhibition, curation, installation, and criticism.
As a forum for the visual arts at DVC, the gallery’s mission is to inspire and educate the entire campus community about the vitality and importance of visual art.
As a physical space the art gallery features:
- 6' x 9' double door glass entryway
- Floor to ceiling windows at the front and back of the Gallery
- 28"x 48" Flatscreen monitor on our entrance wall
- 10' x 1' x 3' Display case built into the reception desk
- Six Floating movable walls that are 4' x 4" x 9', with wood panels
- 10' H Wood perimeter display walls
- State-of-the-art video projector for presenting high quality video installations
- Floor and wall sockets throughout the gallery with power and internet capabilities for multimedia presentations
- Polished concrete flooring
The building is an all-electric, zero-net-energy LEED-certified facility. Power is provided by an all-electric central utility plant as part of DVC’s sustainability and energy conservation goals.
Funded by the $450 million Measure E passed by Contra Costa County voters in 2014, the Art Complex is a great example of a local community that supports and invests in the next generation of artists.
Visiting the Art Complex
The art building is located next to the Kinesiology/Athletics Complex on the northeast corner of the Pleasant Hill campus. The best place to park is Lot 9, next to the tennis courts and the garden.
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