Fine Art

Art is more than a skill; it's a language of expression. Our course encourages you to delve deep into your creative psyche to develop art that is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also rich in meaning and context. Here, you'll learn to embed your personal experiences and perspectives into your work, making each piece a powerful reflection of your unique artistic voice.

On this interdisciplinary Fine Art course, you'll develop professional-level skills across disciplines such as drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, ceramics, photography, filmmaking, and digital media. Whether you prefer working with clay, paint, or digital tools, this course empowers you to experiment and express yourself through your chosen medium.

Our spacious studios offer dedicated spaces for your creativity, providing you with a blank canvas. Alongside a live drawing studio, we have fully equipped workshop spaces for 3D printing, ceramics, woodworking, metalworking, textiles, and printmaking. Our technicians are available for training and support in each workshop.

Our practicing artist tutors will support and inspire your studio practice, providing a deep understanding of Fine Art from historical, theoretical, and critical perspectives. You'll develop entrepreneurial skills and have opportunities to showcase your work locally and nationally, visit galleries, create your own space, and curate public exhibitions for valuable professional experience.

Course Overview

Pursue your passion and bring your creative ideas to life with our BA (Hons) Fine Art degree. Based in bespoke studios and workshops, our course is designed to help you develop a confident, independent art practice grounded in both technical skill and critical understanding.

Through a curriculum that weaves together practical work with modules in art history, critical theory and professional practice, you’ll be encouraged to challenge conventions, reflect on lived experiences and create culturally relevant work that speaks to today’s society.

Our socially engaged approach to art is supported by tutor-led workshops, one-to-one tutorials, group discussions and lectures, all designed to foster experimentation, dialogue and reflection. You'll also benefit from detailed feedback to help you grow as an artist throughout your studies.

In addition to developing your artistic voice, you’ll gain valuable business and entrepreneurial skills, essential for thriving in the creative industries. You'll graduate equipped with the practical tools and critical thinking necessary to navigate the contemporary art world with confidence.

Lecturers maintain strong connections with regional, national and international arts organisations, offering exciting opportunities for networking and professional exposure. You'll also be inspired by a dynamic programme of guest speakers, including contemporary artists, curators and creative professionals who bring fresh perspectives and insights into your studio practice.

Whether you're aiming to exhibit your work, progress to further study or pursue a role within the wider creative economy, our course provides a platform to launch your artistic career.

On this course you will...

• Study inter-disciplinary skills, learning ALL the techniques you need to become a brilliant artist. Including sculpture drawing, painting & printmaking, photography, filmmaking, and even performance.

• Be assigned a generous studio space on campus with access to specialist resources and equipment.

• Take part in Student Exhibitions from day one. Year 0 exhibition, First Year Drawing Exhibition, Three Minute Film Festival, Seconds Out & a Final Year Degree Show.

• Explore external exhibitions and artistic spaces. Our students run exhibitions across the city, arrange events and run workshops, contributing to the creative and cultural life of Carlisle.

You will develop an awareness of contemporary fine art practices and hone your ability to make, critique and discuss your work and that of others. Our close-knit and supportive community will inspire your creativity and shape your individual practice.

YEAR ONE
In your first year you will focus on the development of your skills across all Fine Art disciplines with practical work playing an important role in informing art theory, as well as critical and historic perspectives.

• Materials and Methods
  An introduction to the tools and skills needed to make art work(s).
• Cultural Contexts
  Introduction to the cultural, historical, and social contexts in which creative work from a range of disciplines will be discussed, examined, and analysed.
• Application
  Develop a personal Fine Art practice in response to the module brief(s), by means of studio practice & contextual research.
• Collaborative Practice
  Work with other students to explore and practise the skills involved in creative collaboration.
• Collaborative Brief

YEAR TWO
In your second year, you will develop your skills and address professional fine art practice and current issues. Plus, you will curate and organise a public exhibition of your work, gaining essential professional experience.

• Enquiry 1
  Learn to direct your own work and develop an awareness of your activity in practical, intellectual, and critical terms as part of the overall process of art-making.
• Intersections
  Explore Postmodern and Contemporary issues in Fine Art.
• Enquiry 2
  Develop independent working strategies underpinned by reflective, critical, and theoretical practice.
• The Professional Self
  Develop the necessary practical skills to present yourself and your work professionally and positively.

YEAR THREE
Your final year centres around a curated degree show, where you put your artistic and professional practice skills to the test.

• Practice 1
  Hone your strategies of research in making and thinking.
• Independent Research Paper
• Practice 2
  Carry out a self-designed, in-depth, and investigative personal project. The culmination of this module will be the public Degree Show for all final year students.

Assessment in Fine Art does not necessarily signal an end-point for a project. The assessment process, including self-assessment feedback, feedback tutorials, crits, and referral projects, are an opportunity for you to reflect, consider, and learn from your experience in order to continually develop your skills, awareness & practice.

Whilst assessment also functions to, eventually, provide an overall measurement of achievement in the form of the degree classification itself, it is, perhaps more importantly, part of the overall dynamic and continuum of the educational experience as a whole.

As a Fine Art student, you have the opportunity to learn during the assessment process, as you are invited to take part in the assessment process itself.

The presentation of a critical, self-assessment statement, and your presence at the assessment event, are important aspects of Fine Art’s learning and teaching dynamic. The expectation is that you will be in a position to compare your own self-assessment, with that provided by staff in feedback, as a means to reflect upon and to consider the development of your critical awareness with respect to your developing practice.

The experience should be viewed as an opportunity to ‘test reality’, in identifying common criteria used by us all on which to base our critical judgments of our work.

Summative and Formative Assessment
Assessment criteria have been established for each module in order to examine your understanding of the work that you have been set. These criteria are closely linked to the aims, objectives, and learning outcomes established at each stage in your course, and are published within the module briefs or descriptors.

More specifically, assessment seeks to measure your performance on projects, assignments, essays, and practice, and your developing ability to accept, gather, and process information, using it in an informed, relevant and critical manner.

For practical modules, assessment typically involves a viva voce examination during which members of staff will discuss your presented work with you. Members of the course team are involved in assessment procedures at all stages of the programme, and are also members of the Programme Examinations Board which considers the marking and progression of all students on the course.

Self-Assessment
Throughout the Fine Art course you will be invited to make self-assessment statements, typically at the conclusion of a module. This exercise provides tutors with the opportunity to monitor your awareness of the assessment criteria, and offers an insight into your own critical faculties. It is a valuable opportunity for you to explore your judgment relative to the criteria and assessment philosophy of the course.