BA (Hons) Fine Art

Introduction

The portfolio review is an essential part of the selection process for this course. Here, you will find all the information you need to prepare you for the portfolio review.

The portfolio review is primarily an opportunity for you to share your work and your enthusiasm for the subject, but it’s also your opportunity to learn more about the course, meet the teaching staff, see our studios, and ask questions that will help inform your decision to study with us.

Make sure you include:

 

• A range of different artworks or projects
  We want to see the breadth of your ability, so please be sure to include examples in as many different media as you can. This could include works in drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, digital media, moving image, performance art, site-specific work, installation… If the work isn’t portable and it isn’t possible to bring it with you, please include good quality photo documentation of the work. We’d like to see works that have been set as projects on your current or previous course, and also self-initiated work that you have made independently.

 

• Evidence of development
  We are interested in seeing how a body of work develops from the beginning, through your experiments in the early stages, and on to completion. If you have project work from your BTEC, A Level or Foundation course, please provide images of how the work developed from early observations and sketches to finished pieces.

 

• Visual research
  If you can bring along your best sketchbook, then please do. If your sketchbook is too hefty (which is a good sign!) then please include some scans or photos of your best sketchbook pages, so we can get a sense of how your ideas develop, what inspires you, which artists you are most interested in, and which exhibitions and galleries you have visited. Please include around 200 words about an artist that you like, with images, telling us what inspires you the most about their work. This will most likely be part of the flow of your sketchbook, and doesn’t need to be typed separately.

•  

The BA Fine Art course at Staffordshire University is a practical course, so as part of the selection process we would like to see some of the work that you have already made either during your studies in an Art and Design subject and/or you have made in your own time.

If you would like to send in a digital portfolio in addition to a physical one, then you will need to send us a selection of the work in advance of your interview. Your portfolio can comprise either a PowerPoint presentation, images of your work in either a PDF or JPEG format or the URL link to an online website where you have uploaded examples of your work.

If you are sending in several different files, please number the files and add an index/contents page so that we know which piece is which.

• Please upload your portfolio to your applicant portal which you can access here.

• When you log in to the portal, click the ‘My Applications & Course’ tab at the top of

  the screen.

• On the next page, in the ‘Actions’ box, you will see the name of your course with a

  hyperlink asking you to upload your portfolio evidence, click that and it will take you

  to an upload page

• Select the file that you are uploading from your computer.

• You will be asked to name the file before you upload it; a simple file name such as

  ‘My Portfolio’ is fine.

Please arrive at the Henrion Gallery 15 minutes before your time slot to register.

A member of staff will collect and escort you to the subject area where you will have your portfolio review with an academic. You will discuss your portfolio, your interests and have an opportunity for you to ask any questions about the course and studying at Staffordshire University.

The work in your portfolio will be the main point of discussion in the portfolio review. We’d like you to ‘talk us through’ the work you have made. What was the project you were set, how did you develop it, and how did you bring it to completion? What creative decisions did you make on the way? How successful was it, and what would you do differently next time? What did you learn?

We will also want to hear about your interest in the subject of contemporary fine art. Which artists working today are you most interested in, and why? Which galleries have you visited? Which art magazines do you read, or which art podcasts do you listen to? How is your own work influenced by the artists you come across? If you were given a free rein and an empty studio, what would you make?

The material in your portfolio is there to help you talk about your interest in art and to promote yourself, so make sure you have thought about what you want to say about each piece. Be prepared to express your thoughts and feelings around your ideas and share your enthusiasm for the subject.

Make sure you also prepare questions to ask us about the BA (Hons) Fine Art course. If there’s anything you’re not sure about or want to know more about, this is your opportunity to quiz the teaching staff about it!

We promise to try to find the real you behind any nerves you may have at the portfolio review - so don’t worry, we’re looking for potential, not the finished article!