Course description
Content
This course investigates and promotes contemporary art practice. It seeks to determine and challenge the boundaries of art. We are committed to establishing the interplay between concept, process and realisation and to accommodate students' potentially diverse range of interests, backgrounds and ambitions. We seek committed and ambitious practitioners from diverse backgrounds who are interested in developing a critical art practice to inform and develop their future careers as international artists.
As both a full time and part time student your studio practices are scrutinised and enabled by critical discourse which is provided in seminar groups, group critiques, individual tutorials and the Critical Framework programme of lectures and seminars.
Critical theory is not utilised as a separate component but is included as a dynamic and integral aspect of practice - we are committed to locating theory at the centre of art practice.
As a graduating student you will realise your programme of study in the Degree Exhibition and the Research Paper. Both of these are unified for the award of MA.
The experience of the course will challenge you to develop your work to a high professional standard and to become aware of the currency available to international art. The aim of the course is that on graduation you will have developed a reflexive and highly professional practice.
The course has one award - Master of Arts (MA) which is awarded to those students who successfully develop their work through studio practice, research and debate. We are interested in utilising group interaction as a teaching and learning strategy with input from specialist tutors and technical staff.
Career opportunities for Fine Art graduates have expanded in recent years, proportionate with increased opportunities in contemporary arts generally both in London and internationally. Recent graduates from the MA Fine Art course have established high profiles: for example 2002 graduate Laura Belem represented Brazil in the 2005 Venice Biennale, 2002 graduate Cathy Lomax established and directs Transition Gallery, 2004 graduate Errol Francis is the Inspire Fellowship Programme manager for Arts Council England, which aims to diversify the profile of the curatorial workforce in London museums and galleries, 2007 graduate Mark Melvin won the Nationwide Mercury Art Prize 2007. Alternative pathways for graduates have been artist residency programmes, performance festivals, teaching and practising in the community, as well as opportunities in critical writing, curating and further research degree study.
Structure
The basis of each student's trajectory through the course is represented in the Study Proposal, this is a short written text that articulates your individual programme of work through to the award of MA. The intention is that the Study Proposal is continually reviewed and developed through the units of the course. Your research skills as well as your practice will develop with the assistance of tutorials, workshops, seminars and presentations.
The Critical Framework Programme of lectures and seminars is a central and regular aspect of the curriculum, which has its outcome in the submission of the Research Paper. The aim of this programme is to situate art practice itself as key to the relationship between art and theory and to explore the kinds of knowledge that are enacted through the processes of art practice.
The initial Research and Professional Development seminars aim to inform you as a newly arrived student about important aspects of professional practice and to encourage you to question notions of art criticism and research methods. Current artists and art professionals engage with the student group to explore and disseminate ideas of the art world and art market.
Part-time study
The course can be studied either full time, for those who wish to study intensively, or part time for students who wish to combine study with other personal or professional activities.
Course Length 1 year full time (45 weeks), 2 years part time (90 weeks)
