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BA (Hons) Fine Art is a studio-based course in which the practices of painting, drawing, installation, and digital fine art are integrated with 20th century art history. Students develop one (or hybrids) of the four studio practices – determined by staff expertise – in depth over the period of study. Underpinned by appropriate technical skills, a diversity of approaches and styles within the practices are encouraged, from the conventional to the highly experimental. A historical perspective underpins studio activities and enables students to understand their work historically and conceptually.
Students use their study as a means of developing their own creativity. Some go on to higher degrees, others set up their own studio, while others use this time as a more general qualification for a range of careers in education, museums and galleries, management, community work or healthcare for example.
Fine Art balances studio based work with academic study. Year 1 is composed of three subjects, our students take a studio practice course (Art101) and a history of modernism course (LICA100). Additionally you can choose another subject from within the department such as Film or Design, or from a wide range of options across the University, some you might have studied at A-level, others which might not have been available, such as Media and Cultural Studies, and Women's Studies.
The course comprises eight modules in your second and third years: at least four of the eight are your own studio practice – painting, drawing, installation or digital fine art, or any combination of them. Two modules deal with art history: in year 2 'Art After Modernism' sketches out some of the main tendencies and ideas in art from the 1960s to the present; and in year 3 your dissertation enables you discuss the context for your own work, mapping your own work onto contemporary practice, and fully become an informed practitioner. The other unit, spread over years two and three, deals with Curatorship and Professional Practice and provides you with the sort of professional skills you will need beyond your degree, whatever your chosen career.
One of the strengths of our approach is that it is flexible. In your second and third years you can focus just on art, or if you want to increase your range of study, it is possible to reduce the amount of studio practice if you are particularly keen to take a course outside art.
| In the first year we teach essential skills in the techniques and processes of Fine Art and encourage you to begin to develop your own ideas and creative practice. By the middle of the year you will have begun to specialise in a discipline: digital art, painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, or a combination of them. You can change your main practical discipline if this arises naturally from the direction of your studio work. A parallel sequence of Art History lectures and seminars introduces you to the key artists, ideas and movements of Modernism, essential to developing your historical and critical understanding of your own practice. All students have a dedicated studio space with access 24/7.
Fine Art is part of the Lancaster Institute of the Contemporary Arts, and as a student in LICA you will benefit from its interdisciplinary environment, within which you will learn about Fine Art’s relation to the other arts and acquire skills in digital media.
LICA also offers additional training in digital editing, including video, to give you the basis for creative work across the arts. History and the contextualization of art works are the subject of the LICA-wide module Modernism in the Arts, which looks at the arts from 1850 to the 1970s and includes case studies drawn from art, design, film, music and theatre. This module, unique in its scope at this level in British higher education, will provide you with an interdisciplinary approach that will enable you to become an informed practitioner in the contemporary arts.
Studio Practice will enable you to develop your own creative work in digital art, painting, drawing, sculpture, installation or in whatever hybrid you choose – studio practice is student centred. Art history and theory courses deal with key artists and issues of art from the 1950s to the present and provides a greater understanding of the aims and values which have influenced the practice of contemporary artists to better enable you to critically position your own practice. Professional Practice introduces you to the museums and galleries system, including the development of alternative sites and locations, whether real or virtual. The course also nurtures your professional skills, such as giving presentations about your own work, CV writing and applying for jobs and exhibitions.
Your personal creative work continues with Advanced Studio Practice but you also write a 10,000-word dissertation that enables you to explore your own practice in relation to recent history so you become an ‘informed practitioner’, understanding the historical and conceptual underpinnings of your work.
Our approach is distinctive in that it integrates studio practice, with thinking and writing about art. It is this integration that gives our degree its distinctive flavour and nurtures the informed practitioner. Studio practice and art history are taught by the same staff, so that you can understand how ideas and practices influence each other. This integrated approach utilises art history as a mechanism to understanding your own creative output – you will be able to understand and explain the historical sources of your practice, and the values and assumptions about art that underlie it.
This is important not just because it is a worthwhile thing in its own right, but because it enables you to have a critical perspective on what you are doing. The problem for many conventional art students is that they make work that is merely fashionable, then get marooned in that style or approach. Our approach gives you a higher level of conceptual and critical understanding.
The skills you acquire during your study are truly transferable and make you eminently employable. As well as your creative abilities, you will develop transferable skills such as analysing visual or textual material, carrying out research, exhibition planning and organisation, making presentations on your own work, participating in group discussions, reviewing peer progress, and communicating effectively. Some graduates become professional artists, but many are in demand for related careers in arts administration, galleries, teaching, art journalism, television, art therapy and web design.
The application procedure for BA (Hons) Fine Art has changed. Please be sure to read the Application Procedure below carefully.
We seek applicants with genuine commitment and motivation. However talented you might be, these are still essential. Our applicants need to have a good quality portfolio and a willingness to learn. You need to be passionate about art, realising that the more you think about and discuss art, the more likely you are to become an informed practitioner. If you aren't interested in thinking and writing about art as well as making it, this isn't the right place for you! Some of our students have taken a foundation year, others haven't. We happily cater for both groups. If you have done a foundation year, you won't find that the first year is a repeat of your previous course.
You will be required to submit an e-portfolio as part of the short-listing and selection procedure. This should comprise exactly 15 images of artworks that demonstrate, through a combination of finished work in any media, working drawings, and sketch books, your potential and suitability for our course. We are looking for evidence of practical skills, such as good drawing and use of techniques, technology and materials, and also evidence of creative thinking, the ability to take an idea and transform it imaginatively.
If short-listed you will be invited to attend an interview at which you will be required to bring an edited version of your portfolio. This will comprise 10 artworks and 2 sketchbooks.
We would strongly encourage you to start the application process early so that you can upload your portfolio to our online application screening system (PASS), as there is little advantage gained in waiting; volume of artwork is not a key driver in our decision making as it is the balance between a closely edited selection of work and the qualities evident in your UCAS form that we are interested in.
If short-listed you may decide to present different work which you feel, on reflection, strengthens your application.
In the interview we aim to uncover the best in you, not trip you up! We want to know about your skills, commitment and curiosity about contemporary art, and our questions are designed to reveal your independent opinions, understanding and knowledge and ability to debate and communicate. Typical questions would be...
All applications to undergraduate courses are made through UCAS, the UK central organisation through which applications are processed for entry to higher education.
We place high importance upon the application process and invite all suitable applicants to visit Lancaster for an interview at one of our UCAS open day. During the UCAS open days there are opportunities to learn more about the course, student life at Lancaster, graduate career options, and a chance meet with course staff. There are also a guided tour of our facilities and an opportunity to meet with current students. If you are shortlisted for a place upon BA (Hons) Fine Art, you will be invited to one of the following UCAS open days:
We expect you to bring a portfolio of work. This should, through a combination of finished work, working drawings, proposals and sketch books, demonstrate your potential and suitability for our course. We are looking for evidence of practical skills, such as good drawing and use of techniques and materials, and also evidence of creative thinking, the ability to take an idea and transform it imaginatively.
In the interview we aim to uncover the best in you, not trip you up! We want to know about your skills, commitment and curiosity about art, and our questions are designed to reveal your independent opinions, understanding and knowledge and ability to debate and communicate. Typical questions would be...
BA (Hons) Fine Art, 2007
"The studios are open 24 hours a day 7 days a week which is extremely important to me as art is a subject that can’t always be refined into a structured timetable."
"I love the studio culture within the art department. Working closely with the other students every day allows you to form relationships and make new friends easily on your course."
"I love the family atmosphere of the college system on campus which groups everyone into a certain sector within the university and gives you a sense of home."
BA (Hons) Fine Art, 2007
"When I first visited Lancaster I was attracted to the idea that the art studio was available twenty four hours a day and like the flexibility of being able to work at any time."
"The course offered at Lancaster means that you gain a historical knowledge of modern art and the ability to look at contemporary work in an explorative and critical way, thus informing your own individual practice."
"The art tutors here are really dedicated to pushing you to be fully engaged in your practice and really consider you as a future artist as opposed to just a student who needs to pass their degree."
"The studio centred teaching means that both you and your tutors are active and physically involved with your work. The studio culture has given me a new found critical awareness and understanding, where I can question and develop my existing practice."
BA (Hons) Fine Art, 2007
"I found the city of Lancaster welcoming. It isn’t too big and busy to be intimidating, but it is not so small that’s its claustrophobic. It’s buzzing but cosy!"
"The art facilities make it really easy to get immersed and energised in your studio practice. 24 hour access means that you can get things done whenever you feel like."
"There are so many places to meet people that it’s easy to make friends. The range of pubs and clubs allow you to have different experiences every time you go out."
BA (Hons) Fine Art, 2007
"I came to Lancaster as I was inspired by the art works around the studio when I visited. When I was interviewed, the tutors were interested in my ideas which was really encouraging."
"The studio environment is the best you could find anywhere. The people in the studio make working fun but also we motivate each other."
"I have made several of the best friends in my time here. One minute you’re meeting someone for the first time, the next time you feel like you have known them for years."
BA (Hons) Fine Art, 2008
"My final project consisted of 200 cocoon-like forms made from sugar and latex. Through embracing organic processes and using simple materials with tactile temptations, my practice re-evaluates and re-validates beauty through imperfection and impermanence. "
Part-time study is possible. In Part I this equates to around 10hrs per week for 2 years. In year 3 you would be expected to study around 20hrs per week, in year 4 15hrs and in the final year we advise you study full time. Decisions on module choice and finding a route through your degree are made on a case-by-case basis.
50% studio practice, 50% theory in first year; 60% studio practice, 40% theory in second year; 70% studio practice, 30% theory in final year. These are rough guidelines only.
We recommend that you book online for a Visit Day or Campus Tour. Details can be found at: http://www.lancs.ac.uk/undergraduate/uk/visit.htm. On certain campus tour dates you can also ‘drop in’ to the department you’re interested in for a talk and tour. Remember though that if you apply to Lancaster you will be invited to an Open Day / Interview which includes a talk, tour and the opportunity to chat to current staff and students.
Start by searching for your course via the Online Course Search tool on the website: http://www.lancs.ac.uk/coursesearch/ . Once you have reached the summary page for your course, click on the link to the Online Courses Handbook. This will take you to a detailed course description including links to individual modules and their reading lists.
We may be able to offer you an alternative. However, due to the amount of applications we receive this may not always be possible.
If you have completed your first year at another institution you may be able to enter direct into Part II for all LICA undergraduate degree schemes. In most cases this requires you to submit a marks breakdown / transcript from your current institution as additional information when you apply.
