Contemporary Craft and Film & Visual Culture

Contemporary craft and film and visual culture is a distinctive combination that places the physical practice of making in dialogue with the critical study of moving image and visual media. Contemporary craft is concerned with materials, processes, and the design and production of objects that carry meaning and function through their making. Film and visual culture examines how moving images are constructed, how they generate meaning, and how they shape and reflect the societies that produce and consume them.

Both disciplines are deeply invested in questions of aesthetics, communication, and the relationship between form and content.

At Liverpool Hope University, this four-year degree with a foundation year gives you a supported entry into higher education before progressing into the main degree programme. The foundation year builds the creative, critical, and academic foundations you will need. In the main degree, the contemporary craft strand is built around hands-on design and making, developing a supportive community where emerging makers and designers can reach their creative potential through specialised craft works and innovative projects.

Film and visual culture modules develop your ability to analyse and interpret moving image and visual media through critical and theoretical frameworks. The degree includes a sandwich year in industry, a year abroad, and work placement opportunities, giving you extensive professional experience and an international perspective that grounds your creative and critical practice in real-world contexts.

Graduates of this combination move into careers in the creative industries, including craft practice, filmmaking, visual arts, gallery and cultural work, arts education, and arts administration. The critical skills developed through film and visual culture open routes into film criticism, cultural journalism, media studies, and curatorial practice. Many graduates develop independent creative practices alongside employed work, using the portfolio of skills developed across both strands to build a versatile professional identity.

Postgraduate study in fine art, craft, film, or media studies is a natural progression for those who wish to deepen their expertise.