Apply now: Visual Arts programmes
West Dean College is still open for applications for full-time
Visual Arts programmes. See below for more information on the
various levels of study and details on how to apply.
Positioned within the School
of Creative Arts at West Dean College, the range of diploma and
postgraduate degree programmes in Visual Arts support creative
specialisation - in such areas as Painting and Drawing, Sculpture,
Tapestry and Textiles - as well as interdisciplinary practice. The
programmes offer a unique opportunity to study in an environment
informed by the rich cultural history of West Dean, supporting
skills-based making not only through collaboration with associated
activities in the School
of Conservation and an extensive provision of Short
Courses, but also the legacy of its founder, Edward James,
renowned for his support of individual artists and avant-garde
collaborations in a variety of creative fields.
The Visual Arts programmes
emphasise practical, studio-based skills during the academic year,
always underpinned by theoretical research, contextual study and
professional development. All Visual Arts students are provided
with large individual studio spaces, access to excellent technical
facilities and support, as well as various opportunities for public
exhibition, in many cases making use of the historic West Dean
House and Estate. The renowned West Dean Collection and Archive,
holding innumerable cultural treasures associated with Edward
James, for research-led and site-specific work.
The goal of the Visual Arts programmes is to support the
development of an informed and sustainable creative practice for
each student, encouraging a broad variety of practical and applied
skills in order to better prepare graduates to be the artists they
want to be. In making combining the beautiful setting of West Dean
with cutting edge resources, together with unique historical legacy
connections to the creative arts - from Surrealism to ballet, from
West Sussex to Mexico - we hope to train individuals to develop
unique perspectives on how contemporary art is informed by a vast
history of tradition and skill, there to be reinterpreted and made
new.
For further information and application forms, please follow the links to programme-specific pages on the West Dean website:
MFA (Master of Fine Arts) (2 year)
MA (Visual Arts) (1 year)
Postgraduate Diploma in Visual Arts (1 year)
Graduate Diploma Visual Arts (1 year)
All the above programmes are validated by West Dean's partner institution:
