Fine Art BA (Hons)

Introduction:

• You’ll have the opportunity to complete a work experience placement of up to a year in length. Dependent on the duration of your placement, you could gain an additional Diploma or Certificate in Professional Practice.
• Attend our Live Lecture Series, featuring national and international artists, creative practitioners and theorists. You will also benefit from our extensive links with festivals, art organisations and artists’ groups, nationally and internationally.
• Go on optional study trips to destinations such as Berlin, and Copenhagen. You can also apply to study part of your degree abroad through our European or international exchange programmes.
• Be inspired by Nottingham’s artistic community and creative places to visit, including Nottingham Contemporary, New Art Exchange and Lakeside Arts. You will also create connections with Nottingham’s wider art community through our alumni and staff network.

Careers and employability

A high proportion of graduates stay in Nottingham to pursue artistic activities. Many go on to become artists or work in roles such as curators, teachers, gallerists, animators, musicians, community artists, photographers and filmmakers. Some go on to use the skills and experience they’ve gained to enter careers in journalism, media, photography, web design, interiors, landscape design, and education.

Successful and notable graduates from this course include:

• film director Simon Ellis
• painter Nigel Cooke
• artist and illustrator Jon Burgerman
• curators Hannah Conroy and Ashley Gallant
• artists Tim Noble and Sue Webster
• award-winning landscape designer Sarah Price
• video artist Marianna Simnett
• artist Yoko Hayashi
• sculptor David Batchelor.

Professional practice and internship opportunities

You’ll have the opportunity to complete work experience or longer placement with external art organisations, galleries, and collectives, with the chance to gain an additional Diploma or Certificate in Professional Practice, dependent on duration. Course tutors and our Employability team are on hand to support you in applying for placement and professional practice opportunities. You’ll have access to:

• a database containing contacts for potential work placements
• collaborative opportunities for project development, exhibitions, and shows of work.

You will benefit from opportunities to collaborate on projects and exhibitions with a range of prestigious Nottingham institutions, including:

• Nottingham Contemporary
• New Art Exchange
• Broadway Cinema
• One Thoresby Street
• Primary
• Backlit
• Surface Gallery
• Nottingham Castle Museum & Art Gallery.

Fine Art students at NTU also benefit from collaborative opportunities with our staff and technicians.

YouFirst – working with our Employability team

Studying a creative degree in a large university has many benefits, none more so than having access to a large employability team.

Our friendly, experienced careers consultants will work closely with you at every stage of your career planning, providing personal support and advice you won't find in a book or on the internet. You can benefit from this at any time during your studies, and for up to three years after completing your course.

Creative Industries Federation

We are members of the Creative Industries Federation (CIF), which means students in the Nottingham School of Art & Design have the opportunity to sign up to free student membership. Creative Industries Federation are an organisation that represents, champions and supports the UK’s creative industries and membership grants students exclusive access to their selection of resources and events to help advance your career and connect with industry.

Links with the creative community

This course is set against the backdrop of Nottingham’s exceptionally strong contemporary art community. The city is internationally recognised as a centre of world-leading artistic innovation and creative business.

Over recent years, Nottingham has become a vibrant hub for new and emerging artists, boasting a diverse and thriving network of galleries, art spaces and artist led initiatives – many of which our graduates are involved with. A high volume of our graduating students choose to stay in Nottingham, developing career paths within the city’s art scene.

You’ll benefit from NTU’s wealth of contacts and links with regional and national art organisations, galleries, and collectives. Our Fine Art students have recently exhibited publicly at venues like Surface Gallery, Backlit, and One Thoresby Street, as well as other pop-up galleries in Nottingham and Internationally.

Live lectures

Our Live Lecture programme runs throughout all years of the course. It welcomes national and international artists, creative practitioners and theorists, including:

• Rachel Pimm
• Jeremy Deller
• Richard Wentworth
• Esther Leslie
• Pil and Galia Kollectiv
• Hetain Patel
• Rehana Zaman
• Harold Offeh
• John Newling

Competitions

Our Fine Art students enter competitions as available and relevant to their areas of practice. The main focus of this course is on developing collaborative relationships with external art organisations and practices.

Recent examples of competitions students have taken part in include the Woon Foundation Painting and Sculpture Prize, Harbin International University Snow Sculpture competition, the Saatchi Gallery's New Sensations, Bloomberg New Contemporaries, The Jerwood Drawing Prize, and the ING Prize.

What our students are doing now