ARTS: Seats open: zero

By Joseph A. Ramirez
Bridge contributing writer
Published Friday, April 25, 2025

The University allows art students to express their creativity, but due to its small size, it can strain both faculty and students.

Due to space, a professor cannot fit more than 15 seats per room in a standard art class or 12 students in advanced courses.

“In a photography class, there are only eight enlargers for exactly eight students,” Director of the Fine Arts Program and Associate Professor of art Jesse Shaw explains. “So the seats can be unavailable quickly.”

“With the number of [students] we have, we do need bigger rooms,” Visiting Instructional Assistant Professor Sandra Amoabeng said. “I don’t think the class needs to be larger than 15; the maximum should be 20—that is, if it has space. This is … if the students have enough room and it wouldn’t be too much for the professor.”

The smaller Texas A&M International University fine arts class size, however, leaves further opportunities for each student to have enough time for one-on-one discussions and for professors to grow along with the students while receiving opinions.

“We’re mentoring our students one-on-one,” Shaw said. “Getting to know their point of view … [and to] help them communicate what they want to express—and it takes dialogue.”

“If there [are] any underlying issues with a student, like a learning aspect … social … or home-environment issues … the professor would need to be educated enough to realize what is unfolding and handle it accordingly,” adjunct faculty Sandra Martinez said.

Though there can be dialogue and communication among the students, some may not like the smaller art class because it could make them uncomfortable.

“A student will not feel comfortable enough to stand out—express themselves—or go beyond due to the student being shy … This type of student would prefer a larger, more-populated studio because they would recede into the background,” Martinez offered.

However, even though the class is smaller and more communication is relayed, classes must maintain an equilibrium of students.

“… with a really small class, there’s less ideas,” Shaw explained. “If there [are] less students, there [are] less outside voices. If it’s too big, then nobody gets enough time. That’s why our classes are generally where the class average is.”

The Fine Arts Program offers fewer classes than some departments due to fewer resources. There is an increased demand for vast mediums TAMIU doesn’t offer yet.

“There needs to be a drawing studio, painting studio … a sculpture studio, a wood shop, a metal shop … students can explore with all these materials … to bring out the best in them,” Amoabeng said.

Shaw added, “We do offer digital media, but there’s a demand in our students for computer animation … I’m hoping we grow in the field of computer animation or video games or digital media … We need to train our students to be competitive. While we are strong in our foundation, we are sufficient in what we have, but there’s more room for growth.”

Sometimes, the smaller class sizes allow professors to get to know their students better.

“[Instructors] should never forget that they once used to be students … be empathetic and put themselves in their shoes—especially when students are going through turbulent times,” Martinez offered.

Though the Fine Arts Program may not yet have the resources it would like to offer TAMIU students in the future, the University offers a strong foundation for students to grow.

“There’s more room for growth,” Shaw said. “We’re limited by our building space. The program is relatively young.

“We work within the parameters we have. We welcome more resources … We want to provide the best experience for our students.”

Fine arts faculty work to ensure that students’ interests and needs are prioritized.

“I personally come from a background where my institution didn’t have studio space for the students to work in, and that was a challenge,” Amoabeng recalled. “Improvisation is one of the best ways [to] help creativity to come up. Having limited resources and challenging yourself to create the best out of the limited resources is a very important attitude and skill that I would say that artists need.”