Fine Art

Fine art as a subject responds to the constant evolution of global issues and culture. The structure and content of the BA (Hons) Fine Art course at NUCA empowers you to make meaningful contributions to society through your engagement with your practice. Successful completion of the course will enable you to pursue fine art in a professional or postgraduate environment and will enhance your potential for employment within the expanding range of creative industries.

LEVEL ONE

Level One introduces you to the course and its resources and begins to establish individual studio practice in a challenging, critical environment.

The emphasis at Level One is on the acquisition and understanding of the skills, methodologies and conceptual framework within studio areas, the adjustment to degree level study, the questioning of the functions and institutions associated with fine art practice and the idea of fine art as a means of communication establishing the foundation for your own personal enquiry.

You may participate in an optional study visit. Recent destinations include Paris, Amsterdam, Venice and Berlin.

LEVEL TWO

In Level Two you will develop a deeper appreciation of the content and context of your work and will be exposed to the reactions and interpretations of others as the relationship between work and audience is introduced.

The curriculum is designed to provoke responses from you, which can be shared with the whole of your year group. A growing awareness of professionalism is engendered throughout the year.

Increasingly you will be required to articulate the content of your work and how you position it in relation to contemporary and historical practices within fine art. There are distinct learning and teaching methods employed at Level Two to provide different settings or forums within which to explore these issues: through student-led seminars and group critiques and through a public exhibition of your work.

LEVEL THREE

Level Three of the course is the culmination of your study. The emphasis is on developing your studio work towards an exhibition for the final assessment and producing a significant body of research and writing. The final exhibition sees the completion of the course: this is a major event where you will have the opportunity to exhibit your work in the same excellent space used by EASTInternational during the summer months. As part of the exhibition Level Three students work together to produce a publication to accompany the show.

Attended by curators, collectors, art buyers, business and the public, this showcase event is a major opportunity to promote yourself and start your career.

WHAT MAKES US SPECIAL

Our knowledgeable and skilled Fine Art staff consist of practising artists, writers and academics. They have a prestigious national and international track record of exhibiting, publishing and scholarship.

Recent graduates represent an array of achievements, from exhibiting their work in the UK and abroad, securing residencies such as the Salem Art Works (SAW) residencies in New York state, to gaining employment in galleries, schools, studios and workshops, colleges, publishing and arts administration. Recently, a number of graduates have launched their own studio/gallery spaces by securing Arts Council funding. Others have won internationally renowned prizes such as the Beck’s Futures award and have been shortlisted for the Catlin Art Prize.

You may prefer to undertake further study. Our students are regularly offered postgraduate places at renowned institutions such as the Slade School of Fine Art, The Prince’s Drawing School and the Royal College of Art. Alternatively you may choose to progress to a range of our own MA courses, subject to the fulfilment of entry criteria.