Our studio programme encourages practices that are speculative and reflective, encouraging work in a range of media. It is concerned with ways of learning that are experiential – embodied through and understood by the acquisition of a practice.
Students produce artworks and projects in a family of media, adapting approaches drawn from an increasingly wide array of subject disciplines. The programme also involves the theoretical study of this family of media and approaches, drawing on related fields and methods.
Media-related disciplines supported by the programme include sculpture, painting and printmaking, photography, a/v and new media. The programme also encompasses approaches to practice that are non-media-specific, including intermedia, time-based arts, performance, installation and sound based work.
The programme is aimed at professional artists who want to develop a more ambitious artistic practice by extending their practical, theoretical, organisational and economic knowledge. It develops from a broad to a specialist understanding of the technical resources and validating contexts in which artists work today, drawing inspiration and nourishment from the experience of our international student cohort.
A unique approach
A defining aspect of our programme is the emphasis it places upon speculative scepticism - not proceeding from the position of knowing what art is; rather, being motivated by speculation on what it might be. We generate an atmosphere that supports mutual co-operation, a dynamic, intellectually ambitious environment in which staff and students can learn together.
Our students often work collaboratively, therefore we are very eager to select applicants based on their ability to work well as part of a creative team as much as we are interested in their artistic and academic potential. The focus on building a supportive creative community, on the rigorous and experimental combination of theory and practice and the international profile of the student body makes our Masters programme unique.
Where it will take you
The School of Art contributes to Edinburgh’s contemporary art sector. Students benefit directly from our partners’ teaching and research input into their work, as well as from the considerable resources and experience they offer. Postgraduates exhibit their work with external gallery partners.
The School invites prominent artists, critics and curators to deliver our Friday Talks. Visitors also run workshops for our masters students and lead critiques.
