Fine Art

Fine art is the practice of making work that engages with questions of meaning, form, culture and human experience, without being constrained by the requirements of a specific commercial or functional brief. It is a discipline that encompasses painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, performance, digital and time-based media and hybrid forms, and at its best it trains you to think and make in ways that are genuinely independent and critically aware. At Teesside University this four-year programme includes a foundation year and a sandwich year with work placements, giving you both a well-supported entry into degree-level creative practice and substantial professional experience before you graduate.

You will explore the fundamentals of art-making across different media and approaches, developing your visual and conceptual thinking alongside technical skills in a range of materials and processes. The programme encourages you to develop your own artistic voice rather than simply following received conventions, while also giving you the historical and critical knowledge to situate your practice within the broader context of contemporary and historical art. The sandwich year provides the opportunity to test your practice in a professional setting, whether in a studio, gallery, arts organisation or other creative context, and work placements embedded throughout the programme develop your professional skills and connections.

Fine art graduates pursue a range of careers in and around the arts. Some develop professional studio practices, exhibiting independently and through galleries, while also teaching, engaging in community arts work or taking on other roles that support their practice. Others move into arts administration, gallery management, arts education, arts therapy, community art, curation and arts project management.

Many graduates find that the creative thinking, problem-solving and self-direction developed through a fine art degree also transfer well into design, advertising, digital media and other creative industries. Some go on to postgraduate study in fine art or related areas, deepening their practice or moving into research and teaching.