Fine Art

MA Fine Art is a studio based programme dealing with the whole range of Fine Art, from painting and sculpture to video and live art, each supported by excellent facilities and taught by nationally and internationally practicing artists and including discussion of artists’ practice, exhibiting and curating.

Why study Fine Art?

The MA Fine Art course focuses on the artist, their own advanced practice and notions of expertise. It has been organised in conjunction with the Artist Teachers Scheme (itself organised by the National Society for Education in Art and Design with support from the Arts Council) through which specialist art teachers prepare for Master's level study.

 Frequently asked questions

Q: Who should apply?

A: Recent art graduates or mature students who are keen to develop their own work and deepen their understanding of contemporary art and the context in which artists work.

Q: What resources are available to us?

A: Full-time students have studio spaces and all students have access to the relevant well-equipped workshops and excellent technical support including paint, metal, wood, casting, photography, printmaking, digital imaging, video, and the specialist Art and Design library at Sion Hill.

Q: What is the dissertation requirement?

A: The dissertation stage (Master’s) of the degree takes the form of an exhibition of work accompanied by a written statement. The programme also includes one written essay for the Research Methods component at the start of the programme and a verbal presentation with visual material (Pg Dip).

Q: How many days a week is the course?

A: There is one key day each week when all students, full-time and part-time, attend together for lectures, critiques of work and seminars. Tutorials and other teaching can be on other days. The study week is 40 hours full-time and 20 hours part-time.

Course structure

This studio based programme is designed to develop your individual creative potential in a critically challenging Fine Art environment.

Through a critical understanding of your own practice and a developed knowledge of the discourses that surround your chosen idiom you will to be able to communicate effectively in your studio practice and in written and spoken presentations.

The course focuses on your own emerging practice and how it is situated in the world of contemporary art practice and the critical and changing world debates that surround artists’ practice today.

You will work with practitioners of national and international standing to establish and develop the core concerns of your practice across a whole range of Fine Art practices.

The programme runs for 45 weeks and is delivered as three 15 week trimesters – October to January, February to June and June to September and is offered in both full-time and part-time mode.

Modules

Research Methods

Studio 1: Re-establishment of Studio Practice

Studio 2: Developing Studio Practice

Aspects of Contemporary Art Practice/ Research Methods 2

Studio 3:  Advanced Studio Practice

Course assessment

At the end of each trimester the modules completed are assessed by internal staff, moderated by an external examiner. Assessment of each stage of the studio element of the course is by exhibition and all related materials and the research modules are assessed by an oral/visual presentation made by the student of their practitioner ‘position’ at the Postgraduate Certificate and Diploma stage.

On this practice-based Master’s programme an individual programme of studio work, negotiated with staff, will re-establish and then develop your work, potentially to professional, exhibiting level. Progress is guided by scheduled and optional group and individual tutorials, and by group critiques of work led by staff and visiting staff.

Teaching methods

An individual programme, negotiated with staff, will re-establish and then develop your work to professional, exhibiting level. Progress is guided by both scheduled and optional individual tutorials, and group critiques of work.

The context for studio work is informed and clarified by a programme of seminars and discussions which set out a wide range of practice, both in terms of individual artists’ work and contemporary museum, gallery, exhibiting and curating activity.

Study visits occur on a regular basis - there are more than five study visits to London and/or other UK cities each year between October and June as well as optional participation in overseas study visits. Recent visits have been to Rome, Istanbul, Berlin and Paris.

You will be supported by excellent workshop facilities and related technical expertise from across all departments of Bath School of Art and Design as well as the specialist Art and Design library at Sion Hill.

Academic staff and visiting lecturers

• Roger Clarke

• Professor Dexter Dalwood

• Robert Fearns

• Natasha Kidd

• Andrea Medjesi Jones

• Professor Maria Lalic

• Rosie Snell

• Ed Whittaker

• Mariele Neudecker

• Professor Mike Tooby

• Professor Gavin Turk

• Camilla Wilson

• John Wood

These staff will be supported by a team of visiting lecturers, who in recent years have included:

Tania Kovats; Philippa Lawrence; Stuart Cumberland ; Clare Woods; Joanna Bryniarska ; John Chilver; Martin Creed; Marcia Farquhar; Elpida Hadzi Vasileva; Mike Stubbs ; Katrine Hjelde ; Helen Sear ; Charles Danby; Nelson Diplexcito; Graham Dolphin; David Ward; Rob Leech; Andrew Grassie; Deirdre Nelson; Melanie Jackson; James Brooks; Sally O-Reilly; Audrey Reynolds ; Rob Holyhead; Matt Darbyshire; Lisa Lefevre; Glenn Brown; John Chilver; Mathieu Copeland; Andrew Cross; Alexis Harding; Kay Pallister; Barry Schwabsky; Xa Sturgis; Paul Winstanley; Richard Woods.

Application method

Application forms are available online and should be completed and returned to us either electronically or through the post.

Please ensure that you download both the application form and the application guidance notes.

We are pleased to have one fully funded AHRC studentship for a full time student on the MA Fine Art, which covers tuition fees and maintenance allowance (as a guide for 2012-13 it was £8,845). The application deadline for the AHRC studentship is Thursday 5th April 2013 and applicants have to obtain a place on the MFA course before applying. To allow time to interview applicants, we must receive applications to the MFA by Wednesday 20th March. If they have been received by this date, applicants will have the opportunity to be interviewed at the postgrad Open Day on Saturday 23 March 2013 so that they need only travel once to Bath. Please note that this deadline only applies to those wanting to apply for the AHRC studentship - we continue to accept applications to the MFA after this date.

With your application form you should provide a good photographic record of examples of recent work either on a disc or via a link to an online resource. If your work is time-based edited clips should be provided. All examples should be clearly marked with size, date and medium.
In your statement we would like you to tell us what you think are the questions currently of most interest to you in your practice and how this relates to your awareness of contemporary art, particularly art that you have seen at first hand.
At interview you would, where possible, bring actual examples of this work. The studio element of the course, four of the six modules, is driven by the writing of proposals for work and reflective statements and it is useful for us to hear how you think you might begin to develop your work and the facilities that would be necessary to carry this out.

Completed applications should be sent to:

Admissions Service - Student Services,
Bath Spa University,
Newton Park,
Bath, BA2 9BN,
United Kingdom.

Facsimile: +44 1225 875444.

admissions@bathspa.ac.uk.

Course enquiries

If you have any queries please contact the admissions department:

Telephone: 01225 875624.

Email: admissions@bathspa.ac.uk.

If you would like further information on the course content, please contact the Course Leader, Roger Clarke:

Telephone: (01225) 875697

m.lalic@bathspa.ac.uk.

Entry requirements

A good first degree in Fine Art or its equivalent in terms of learning or experience.

Fundamentally you will be selected on your ability, as demonstrated in a portfolio and interview, to succeed on the course.

Career opportunities

Bath Fine Art graduates from BA and MA Fine Art courses have worked and exhibited widely as professional artists, had work purchased by the Tate and other institutions, represented the UK in exhibitions such as the Sao Paulo Biennale and have been nominated for the Turner Prize. Graduates work as curators and gallery professionals in public and private galleries and for arts councils and organisations, and write for journals. With the connection to the Artist Teacher Scheme there is regular recruitment from the profession and a number of graduates return to teaching or become lecturers.

Since 2010, employers such as Woodford Litho, Idea Generation Gallery, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, GX Gallery, London, Arnolfini (Bristol) and The Nottingham Contemporary Art Gallery have recruited graduates from this course.

Recent graduates of the course have achieved the following;

Anne Deeming has been awarded a new commission with Hand in Glove, to produce a new work for the public realm in 2013

Jayne Lawless was awarded the Bridge Guard Residency in Štúrovo (Slovakia) 2012

Jenny Purrett was the Visual Arts in Rural Communities Artist In Residence , Northumberland 2010 – 2011

Mike Newton was shortlisted for the Celeste Prize 2010 exhibition in New York. He was the winner of the The Towry Heart Of England Prize at The National Open Art Exhibition, 2010; Finalist for the Celeste Art Prize 2006, Truman Brewery, London

John Chapman was one of four artists selected for the Picture This Virtue and Industry professional development scheme 2010

Alumni from the Department of Art include Glenn Brown who was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2000 and Paul Harrison and John Wood whose videos are exhibited widely in both Europe and America, and recently as part of a survey of British video art at Tate Britain.

Amongst our other alumni who exhibit widely; Stephen Brandes; Andrew Cross; Stuart Cumberland; Graham Dolphin; Meryl Donoghue; Laura Ford; Des Hughes; Will Kendrick; Chie Konishi; Nicholas May; Lucy Odlin; Nicholas Pope; Peter Randall-Page; Audrey Reynolds; Nigel Rolf; Michael Stubbs; Alison Turnbull; Richard Walker; Suzy Willey; Clare Woods.

Curators and gallery directors include: Kate MacGarry at Kate MacGarry Gallery; Kay Pallister at Gagosian; Jemma Hickman at Bo Lee; David Risley at David Risley Gallery; Amber Ablett and Eloise Jones with Details on Request; Colin Ledwith with Futurecity.

What students say...

Lydia Halcrow, MA Fine Art 2010

I chose to do the Master of Fine Art at Bath Spa because of the reputation of the course and the tutors. Also being based in Bath was a big bonus and linked closely to my practice. I combined starting the course with a permanent move to the South West. Bath Spa has some of the most beautiful and inspiring campuses of any university and the School of Art and Design has recently been refurbished with excellent facilities. I particularly liked the small size of the course, it meant it was more intimate with regular contact with tutors – not only the formal meetings, but some of my most valuable conversations were with tutors passing through the studio space. This was invaluable and something I think larger art schools might not provide. The visiting lecturers were great, as was the studio space – it meant I could work on huge canvases which was really liberating!

Since finishing the course I have been painting full time – working from an artist studio in Bristol. I have also been exhibiting work and developing my practice. Completing this course has given me credibility to apply for residencies, competitions and opportunities to exhibit. I now have a network of artists that I met through the course – we get together and critique each other’s work, and put on shows together.

If you are considering doing the Master of Fine Art I would advise you to get together a strong portfolio of work, research other artists, and have an idea of how you want to develop your practice and what you want to get out of the course.

Deborah Feiler, MA Fine Art 2009

I chose to do the Master of Fine Art in Fine Art as I wanted to devote time to focussing on the development of my work. I completed the programme part-time and liked the structure of the MFA at Bath Spa.  I particularly valued the small size of the group and the ease of communication with staff. Postgraduate study takes financial investment and I felt that the programme respected this and provided “value for money”. The nature of this course has given me the confidence and understanding of how to carry on developing my work. Since completing the course in 2009 I have made a successful application to join new studios in Bristol; been selected for two exhibitions; joint curated an exhibition; and have been invited to exhibit work in a show.