The Art Academy’s one-year Fine Art Foundation is both an ideal preparation for further study and an introduction to many aspects of life as a professional artist. The course intake is small – no more than 15 students per year – ensuring individual attention from tutors at a hugely important time in an art student’s life. The course covers a very wide range of fine art disciplines and has an exceptionally high level of tutored time. It is based in its own dedicated space in the Academy’s central London studios. The tutored components run from Wednesday to Friday every week, and students have access to the studios on Mondays and Tuesdays for project work and self-directed study, but this aspect of the course is flexible and students may complete this work elsewhere on other days should they so wish.

 

Students on the Fine Art Foundation will:

 

• Discover the joy and power of creative expression

The course will give students the courage and confidence to start out on a life-long exploration of their creativity and to make an informed and authoritative decision to become an artist. 

 

• Develop existing skills and acquire new key skills

The individual components of the course are taught by tutors who are practicing artists and experts in their field. The skills are all taught in such a way that you will gain a real understanding of the techniques and creative opportunities within that medium, but we will also ensure that you understand how the skill is relevant within the broader context of your own creative practice.

 

• Contextualize their practice 

This element of the course is not dry or theoretical – in some ways it is the most exciting part, as students discover how their work relates to that of other artists in the past and present through practical ‘taster’ sessions in different media and techniques, talks, discussions, gallery visits and interaction with the Academy’s resident and visiting artists.

 

• Prepare their progression to future study 

This Foundation course is not just a bridge to future study – it is a real basis on which to build a life as an artist – but it does prepare students for the next step. The student body is small, so students receive individual attention to help with their specific needs, from portfolio preparation to interview technique, whether their aim is to stay on at the Art Academy and study for the 3-year Diploma in Fine Art or go on to another institution.