For candidates on the Painting pathway, the emphasis throughout the year is on interrogation and critically reflective exploration of the place of painting in 21st-century fine art practice; painting has experienced something of a resurgence in recent years as a field of practice; for this reason, the programme invites students who have chosen to dedicate a year to the advanced study of the medium to explore its distinctive place in fine art practice (historically, materially, and contextually); in addition to enabling students to direct their own practice in the context of a shared studio experience, the Painting pathway aims to enable students to develop an advanced understanding of the theoretical and cultural debates that have underpinned approaches to the medium in recent decades.