Course summary

Based around the development of your individual practice, the core ethos of this master’s is to enable you to harness your personal development and creative ambitions. We want to help you discover what kind of artist you want to be, so that you can flourish within the scope of contemporary painting and the broader cultural realm. During the course, you will take two dedicated painting modules in which you will develop your personal painting practice. We aim to extend your knowledge of paint as a material and process, introducing a range of disparate approaches to painting – from realism to abstraction, material to conceptual. Guided and supported by accomplished practitioners, you will test and explore a range of ideas and issues relating to the traditions of painting. We encourage you to work in a range of media, including paint media, print, photography and digital technologies, as appropriate and depending on your own interests. You will also undertake modules in contextual studies and professional practice, which are part of the wider Creative Arts MA programme in the Design and Visual Arts section of the School of Art and Design. These modules help you contextualise your practice, gain research skills and undertake professional activity. The course culminates with the common MA Project module, which comprises one-third of the course and takes the form of a personal project. Your final project will be tailored to your own area of professional practice and your personal creative passion, which will form the basis of an exhibition of your work in the end-of-year MA Degree Show. With a view to developing your professional profile, these shows are open to the public and attended by curators and other art world professionals.