Discovering new artistic ambitions

Building the portfolio

When looking for a course, Rebecca’s checklist was simple but detailed. She wanted the freedom to work in any medium and to able to attend artist talks. She says: “I was attracted to the fact that the course focuses on contemporary art. This was something new to me at the time as my previous studies were in modern art.”

Rebecca’s time on the course has been thriving with opportunities. She says: “I got the chance to enter many open calls, building up my creative CV and increasing my job prospects.”

Her biggest achievement was being selected for the Cavendish art bursary as best student, which gave her a cash prize to put towards resources for her Year 3 major project.

During the part of the pandemic when we couldn’t be on campus, Rebecca had to change how she worked as an artist. But she saw through the challenge: “Having to work through coronavirus forced my work into a different direction as we no longer had the space and studio time to work in the way that we were used to. This was a positive for my new work.”

A new medium

Even coming in as a mature student, Rebecca developed and emerged from her course as a different artist. She says: “I explored new mediums. I started out thinking that I was going to be a painter. I developed my practice and I now work as an installation artist, using paint, photography, light and sculpture.”

Not only did she make new friends along the way, she was also awarded a first. Next up, Rebecca plans to study an MA and work from home as an artist.

Rebecca says to those thinking of studying BA (Hons) Fine Art: “You will find the course both exciting and challenging. It will help you to explore new directions for your work.“