Welcome from John Wigley, Course Director, BA (Hons) Fine Art

Why apply for a fine art degree course? If you are imaginative, creative and enquiring and want to have the time, space and the support to fully develop your individual art practice in a way that allows you to better understand art, yourself, and the world around you, then this is the course for you.

The course is characterised as stimulating, open and broad-based, where in the studios and workshops you work imaginatively (in some cases exclusively) with painting, sculpture, printmaking, drawing, photography, film and video, digital media, sound, installation and performance. You will be introduced to a range of methods, materials and working strategies and will be encouraged to experiment, speculate, research and investigate approaches that are appropriate to your developing ideas and individual practice. An important aspect of the course is your ability to understand and contextualise practice, which will emerge through your learning and research in studio practice, and through Theoretical and Historical Studies (THS) modules, where you will attend lectures, write essays and present seminars.

Why do students apply to study fine art at BCU? Simply, the quality and breadth of the student work, resources and teaching staff. It is housed in a Grade 1 listed building in the heart of the city with excellent studio, workshop and library facilities (see resources). The course allows you to work both through and across approaches to practice. with a real  ambition (see galleries). There is a notably quality and experience among the academic teaching staff. Between them they cover a broad range of practice (see profiles);

What do students go on to do? At a time when all future employment is moving towards the culture of a flexibile rather than fixed workforce, the fine art course gives you the self-confidence and the appropriate transferable skills to respond to this. Students progress to a range of sequels including professional practice, further study and careers in, for example, teaching, gallery and arts administration, digital media, mural painting, conservation, illustration, theatre, television, film, music and design, etc. Remember, fine art graduates are versatile, resourceful, independent and self-motivated. 

   degree show 2008