Art (Top-Up)

See your future in full colour with the BA (Hons) Art Top-Up Degree. Delivered from studio space in the creative quarter of Leeds city centre, it offers a supportive and creative environment to explore and develop your artistic style. It combines practical, academic and industry practices to help you find and establish your place in this thriving sector. Offering a robust programme that is reflective of creative and cultural industries, this course will support you on your chosen trajectory.

There’s never been a more exciting time to develop your artistic flair - the creative industries are booming, with previous growth in the industry up by 7.4% (five times the growth across the UK economy as a whole). The arts and culture industries contribute around £10.5 billion to the UK economy (House of Commons, 2019) and in 2020 the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the HM Treasury announced funding of £1.57 billion for cultural, arts and heritage institutions. This makes pursuing a career in the creative arts the perfect way to become a successful practitioner.

The BA (Hons) Art Top-Up Degree puts your creativity at the forefront and provides you with the opportunity to nurture a strong and coherent art practice. It offers multiple opportunities for self-promotion including: public exhibitions; working with gallerists and curators; self-promotion; collaboration with other artists, designers and makers; working with the public, exploring academic research; and creating an identity for your practice. The course is driven by the reality of being an artist in the real world and therefore is designed to offer real industry opportunities. The content has been developed with local galleries and art organisations, as well as freelancers.

You will develop your creative skills through technical supervision, critical questioning and individual agency; consolidating your creative identity with an increased understanding of social, cultural and theoretical art debates and influences. You will also prepare for life as an artist following graduation, receiving plenty of time with tutors to discuss your practice, ideas and creativity across a diverse range of course modules.