Bachelor of Fine Arts

Program Overview

Whitecliffe's Bachelor of Fine Arts program fosters artistic growth through experimentation with diverse media and techniques. Students benefit from studio-based learning, individual studio space, and guidance from practicing artists. The program prepares graduates for careers in contemporary arts, equipping them with transferable skills for a range of creative professions. Graduates have achieved success as exhibiting artists and in various creative industries.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) program at Whitecliffe focuses on contemporary art and the growth of a meaningful artistic and professional journey. The program emphasizes the emergence and development of meaningful artistic practices through experimentation with various creative media and techniques. This is supported and reinforced by educating students on the essential skills, methodologies, and research methods for fostering their creative, practical, and contextual development. Students will be instructed by lecturers who are established practicing artists with local, national, and international reputations.

Outline:

The Fine Arts program at Whitecliffe investigates conventional and contemporary materials, methodologies, and approaches in relation to students' personal concepts and creativity. Education takes place within an integrated program of studio-based and contextual courses that prepare students for a range of creative professions. Whitecliffe provides individual studio space, which is accessible seven days a week. Students receive further support through technical equipment and assistance. At the end of each semester, students stage formal assessment exhibitions within their studio environments. These exhibits allow students to exhibit their work to the public and are crucial for resolving current concepts and investigating new directions. One of the unique features of the Whitecliffe Bachelor of Fine Arts is that it begins by blending the disciplines of Fine Arts and Photo Media (Photography and the Media Arts), allowing students to experiment with various working styles before focusing on a specialty for advanced study. This means that Whitecliffe graduates are better prepared to work across both new and traditional disciplines of contemporary arts, utilizing these highly sought-after, transferable skills in an expanding range of sectors after graduation. Whitecliffe's Form Gallery offers an excellent platform for students, alumni, faculty, and visiting artists to exhibit their work.

Teaching:

Whitecliffe's Fine Arts department prioritizes studio-based learning, providing students with quality studio space and a program designed to ensure regular contact with practicing artist lecturers. The Fine Arts Studios, along with the Form Gallery, serve as a hub for like-minded artists and an opportunity for students to observe and discuss the works of their peers, lecturers, and visiting artists. Students have access to their studio spaces seven days a week and are encouraged to use the studio not only as a making and thinking space but also as an installation site. In this way, the studios provide an opportunity for the testing and evaluation of work presentations. End-of-semester exhibitions serve as a time for formal assessment of work, but also as an occasion to open the studios to the public, reinforcing the cycle of developing, presenting, and reflecting on work that is essential to contemporary arts practice. Fine Arts students are trained to digitally document their studio projects, and these images are compiled with written research to form a contextual portfolio that accompanies each student's end-of-year assessment. This emphasizes each student's ability to discuss all aspects of their work and how it might be considered in relation to historical and contemporary modes of art practice.

Careers:

The context mentions that many of Whitecliffe's Fine Arts graduates have achieved success as exhibiting artists both in New Zealand and abroad. However, the program also prepares graduates for a broad range of professions, equipping them with essential abilities for the modern job market, including creative and adaptable thinking, the capacity to work independently or collaboratively, the ability to respond constructively to criticism, and the ability to participate in informed discussions. Graduates from the program have proven to be self-motivated individuals, with many becoming self-employed or owners of thriving creative businesses.