Fine Art Mixed Media BA Honours

Program Overview

The Fine Art Mixed Media BA Honours at the University of Westminster fosters creativity, individuality, and a transdisciplinary approach to contemporary art. Through experiential learning, students explore boundaries and develop a body of work that reflects personal commitment and autonomy. Supported by state-of-the-art facilities, visiting artists, and industry placements, the program prepares graduates for a diverse range of roles in the art world.

Program Outline

The program encourages students to work across disciplines or within more traditionally defined areas of practice while referencing relevant critical and theoretical debates. The program emphasizes experiential learning and encourages students to bring highly individual approaches to studio practice. It fosters creativity, individuality, and personal growth, allowing students to negotiate their own individual program of study with tutors once they have acquired basic skills. The program is designed for dedicated and creative students who have the energy, enthusiasm, and commitment required. It is based at the Harrow Campus, where students work alongside students from film, photography, music, fashion, and journalism in a unique hothouse of creative opportunity. The program provides students with a permanent studio space, depending on the type of work they engage with as they progress through the program. Students are taught by practicing artists with national and international profiles working in and across the mediums of sculpture, painting, moving image, performance, photography, and sound. The program's teaching and learning methods encourage students to create a body of work characterized by personal commitment and an increasing sense of autonomy. Teaching methods include lectures, tutorials (individual and group), presentations, crits, workshops, and gallery visits and talks.

Outline:

The program's emphasis on creativity and individuality is supported by regular tutorials and studio discussions. Contemporary fine art practice is the focus of debate in both lectures and the studio, supported by the program of visiting artists and lecturers. Students develop increasing insight into the exciting and diverse contemporary London art scene. In Years 2 and 3, students continue to focus on their chosen area of practice. Experimentation and innovation are consolidated, and students undertake a work placement within the creative industries to test their emerging aspirations. Contextual studies, theory, and practice are allied, with students defining the topic through tutorial discussion for their Dissertation. The final year culminates in the degree show, and students engage in fundraising, promotion, and curation of this public event.

Level 4 (Year 1):

• Introduction to Fine Art Mixed Media Practice
• Creativity and Collaboration
• Contemporary Fine Art Practice Experimentation
• Sources of Contemporary Fine Art Practice

Level 5 (Year 2):

• Contemporary Fine Art Practice 2.1 Exploration & Development
• Concepts of Contemporary Art Practice
• Contemporary Fine Art Practice 2.2 Presentation
• Contemporary Fine Art: Ideas & Form
• Work Based and Placement Learning
• The Critical image
• Photography in Context

Level 6 (Year 3):

• Contemporary Fine Art Practice: Research and Development 3.1
• Research Project
• Contemporary Fine Art and Professional Practice: Realisation 3.2

Assessment:

The program includes a wide variety of assessments, typically falling into three broad categories:

• Practical: Presentations, videos, podcasts, lab work, creating artifacts
• Written exams: End of semester exams
• Coursework: Essays, reports, in-class tests, portfolios, dissertation

Teaching:

The program's teaching methods focus on active student learning through lectures, seminars, workshops, problem-based and blended learning, and where appropriate practical application. Learning typically falls into three broad categories:

• Scheduled hours: Lectures, seminars, practical classes, workshops, supervised time in a studio
• Placement: Placement opportunities, live projects, or virtual activity involving employers
• Independent study: Non-scheduled time for independent study, including preparation for scheduled sessions, follow-up work, wider reading or practice, completion of assessment tasks, or revision

Careers:

The program prepares students for a range of roles, including:

• Advertising executive
• Artist
• Arts educator
• Curator
• Features writer
• Journalist
• Gallery owner or director
• Moving image production professional
• Museum archivist

Other:

• The University of Westminster is ranked in the Top 10 in the UK in the Guardian University Guide 2023 Fine Art subject ranking.
• Westminster is ranked 2nd in the UK in the Complete University Guide 2023 for ‘Research Quality’ in Art and Design.
• Students have access to specialist facilities including professional darkrooms and processing facilities, a photographic green screen and film studios, moving image editing suites, 3D workshops, digital facilities, and traditional printing areas.
• Students have the opportunity to take part in field trips abroad and within the UK.
Past destinations have included New York, Berlin, the Venice Biennale, and the Kassel documenta.
• Students exhibit their work regularly throughout the course, culminating in their degree show at the internationally acclaimed central London gallery space, Ambika P3.
• The University's Careers and Employability Service has built up a network of over 3,000 employers around the world, helping students explore and connect with exciting opportunities and careers.
• The program's dedicated professional practice modules help students develop strong links within the fine art sector in London and beyond.
• Students benefit from exhibiting their work regularly with the University, culminating at the acclaimed gallery space Ambika P3 in the heart of central London.
• Graduates from this course have found employment at organizations including Annka Kulty Gallery, Artists Damien Hirst and Phyllida Barlow, Bluecoat Gallery, Liverpool, Camden Art Centre, and Tate Modern.
• Students develop strong links within the fine art sector in London and beyond through the program's dedicated professional practice modules.
• The teaching staff are active practitioners in their field, producing and showing work internationally.
• Students are commissioned each year by Travis Smith, a City of London law firm, to provide works for display in the law firm's public-facing London offices.
• Students from both the Royal Academy and the Royal College of Art visit the Fine Art Mixed Media BA course every year, delivering workshops and artist talks, offering a unique perspective of young, up-and-coming professional artists.
• The program has a wide range of guest speakers, which in the past has included Dan Hays, Dexter Dalwood, Francis Sommers, Grayson Perry, Hayley Newman, Ian Davenport, Jem Finer, Jeremy Deller, John Hill, John Smith, Karen RussoLabita Clayton, Larry Achiampong, Laure Provost, Lindsey Seers, Maggie Ellis, Matt Collishaw, Molly Soda, Oscar Murillo, Phoebe Cummings, Rupert Ackroyd, Simon Faithful, Uriel Orlo.

UK fees: £1,540 (Price per 20-credit module) International Fees: £2,570 (Price per 20-credit module) When you have enrolled with us, your annual tuition fees will remain the same throughout your studies with us. We do not increase your tuition fees each year.