| MA Fine Art: Contemporary Dialogues |
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Why choose MA Fine Art: Contemporary Dialogues and why at SMUThe programme is made up of four pathways facilitating ‘contemporary dialogues' at Masters level in Art & Design. If you come to study for your Art & Design Masters degree at SMU you will encounter a unique perspective on Art & Design education. The course philosophy is that of experimentation, offering a challenge to conventional notions of medium - specificity in order to properly facilitate your ‘style' of expression and your inherent interests. You will be challenged immediately with our thought experiment module, designed to open up your mind to the broad range of inter-disciplinary and multi-modal possibilities available to the creative practitioner. From that point on, you will be asked to consider forming contemporary dialogues and new discourses with whatever medium - specific background you bring. This is not a rejection of your specific discipline, but an elevation onto a new plane of practice. The module concludes with a Japanese - style pecha kucha presentation of your findings and process-based work. This module will set the tone for the rest of your study precipitating a spirit of enquiry that will take you through to the award. It is our intention that your studies here will take the form of an encounter at various levels: with your chosen medium; with Art & Design issues in general; and with the world as a whole. Questions of non-materiality will be addressed as well as questions of materiality. As soon as anything becomes recognisable we slip into habitual thinking. When we engage in an unfamiliar encounter, then we become inquisitive, we learn, and we build knowledge and confidence, as well as a more original voice. Fine Art pathway Staff and Research Over the past seven years the research in the Faculty has considerably increased in both quality and quantity. A high proportion of staff in the School of Research and Post-Graduate studies hold doctorates and all are highly research active regularly participating in exhibitions, events, conferences and academic publications at an international level. The most recent Research Assessment Exercise categorised 85% of our research work as being of international quality in terms of originality, significance and rigour, with a number of research outputs being world-leading. Further information can be found on our Research site Facilities/Resources The programme has access to well equipped workshops including a resin, plaster, wood, metal and ceramic. We currently have two research centres within the faculty. These research centres provide staff with research opportunities and access to high technology resources, they provide students with placement opportunity whilst also developing the creative industries infrastructure in the region, which will benefit graduating students. CIRIC The Creative Industries Research and Innovation Centre was established in 2005 and is a knowledge transfer centre for projects that support the creative industries in Wales. Current projects include Moving Image Wales, which supports the digital media industry, the Textiles Technologies Project, which supports the textiles and apparel industries, CIME, which supports business through creative intervention and SATnet, which provides a link between artists and businesses in the science and technology sectors. In addition, IPCRES is also based in CIRIC and is developing and disseminating research about durational and event based practices. Alongside the numerous projects operating within CIRIC, there is also a Design Bureau, with water jet cutting, laser cutting and fabric printing services. CLASI The Centre for Lens Arts and Science Interaction is a research centre based within The Dynevor Centre for Art, Design, and Media at Swansea Metropolitan University. CLASI aims to encourage and promote interdisciplinary research projects, which stimulate research, innovation, and experimentation across photographic, digital and electronic arts. A strong emphasis is placed on research strands where the histories, philosophies and practices of art and science intersect. The definition of art and science is intentionally broad and the centre is aligned with SATnet and CIRIC. Course structure & content The programme is divided into two parts, each lasting one academic year in full-time mode. Part-time timetables may be negotiated with tutors. Part One consists of two parts in which the two ‘drivers of creativity' are introduced and related to personal practice. In part one practical and theory modules interact to enable students explore the dialectical relationship between individual identity and the wider social group issues. In part two, the practical work is related to the second dialectic, which drives creativity: that between nature and culture. Modules relating art and design to the environment, and art and design considered as cultural communication inform the practice. Student-led presentations provide the opportunity to explore these relationships between theory and practice. Part Two consists of the Major Practical Project, which runs over the academic year. This is student-directed, under supervision, and, together with an integrated report of at least 6000 words forms the final submission for the MA. An option to submit a written dissertation of 25000 words in lieu of a major Practical Project is available. Student experiences & Employment opportunities Students use the Masters Programme for all kinds of reasons; to gain an extra qualification, to achieve a higher and more sophisticated level of practice, as well as to have supported research and development time in order to elevate themselves to a more professional plateau with their artwork. Students from the Masters Programme have gone on to many varied careers in teaching and lecturing positions, in community arts and the cultural industries in general. Lots have continued to practice as fine artists and some have progressed to PhD study. Recent graduates have included an architect who has developed a new artistic career incorporating the concerns of architectural space into the space of photography. A performance artist interested in the photograph as minimal trace of event, and another performer and researcher working on the potential performativity of the performance document. We have had a contemporary dancer making installation, and a couple of journalists exploring the interface between word and image. Graphic designers, taking their existing skills and attempting new discourses to create more personal and challenging documents, as well as many photographers, fine artists and designers honing their skills and developing new dialogues with their chosen medium, have all benefitted from this programme. Entry requirements, How to apply & Fees Study Options: 2 years Full Time/3 years Part-Time Information on Entry Requirements, How to Apply and Open Days can be found on our main Faculty Page To download an application form click here A bursary for this course may be available for this course, this could include your fees being paid and £110 per week for 46 weeks over the course of your studies, please contact us for further details. Further information on Fees can be found here Contact Robert Newell |