Fine Art: Painting

BA Fine Art Painting at Camberwell College of Arts encourages you to explore the medium. You will be invited to embrace possibilities for its continued reinvention and consider its connection with social, cultural and political change.

Painting, as a fine art practice, has an enduring capacity for invention and reinterpretation. On this practical course, you will experiment using contemporary, traditional and expanded painting techniques. Drawing inspiration from your own curiosity, you’ll create artworks that present new ideas and perspectives on the world around you. 

By collaborating with your classmates across Camberwell's wider School of Art, you’ll be exposed to related disciplines including sculpture, photography, drawing and computational arts. This will enable you to expand your skillset and develop an interdisciplinary fine art practice.

As well as practical skills, you will learn how today’s painters navigate their careers in the contemporary fine art world. Looking at a range of diverse artists’ work, you’ll explore how topics like postcolonialism, climate change and feminism have inspired their studio practices. Through critical research, you will consider how your own work might respond to urgent contemporary debates, and to global art traditions and movements.

What to expect  • Studio work: Create a portfolio of new work inspired by your own artistic, social and personal interests • Ethical practice: Learn about the importance of sustainability and ethics to develop a socially responsible artistic practice • Workshops and demonstrations: Attend engaging practical workshops and live demonstrations hosted by professional artists and technicians. • Professional knowledge: Learn methods of managing an art practice and developing a career • Contemporary practice in context: Learn how artists and thinkers navigate histories, theories and practices of painting to rethink its concepts of art and society • Exhibition opportunities: Get the chance to exhibit your work to public audiences as part of UAL’s degree shows. • Access to facilities: Use Camberwell's large range of facilities including printmaking machines, photography and film studios and ceramics, wood and metal workshops

Industry experience and opportunities All our students have the opportunity and are supported in exhibiting their work to an external audience. Students can take part in a wide range of seminars and workshops hosted by a variety of professionals and external arts organisations. Students will be able to take part in the College’s international exchange scheme to study abroad. Third year students have the option to undertake a work placement, instead of a written dissertation or practical live project. Students and graduates can register with UAL Arts Temps, an employment agency, which offers students paid opportunities within the creative sector.

About Camberwell College of Arts Camberwell College of Arts is a renowned art and design college. Our courses will make you think about your social responsibility, as well as develop your critical and making skills. We give students the space to explore their creativity. Staff will support and challenge you to rethink current practices. Our facilities embrace both traditional craftsmanship and digital technology.

Our south east London location is also home to a thriving arts scene. The area hosts a variety of galleries, project spaces and studios that our students, staff and graduates work and exhibit in. These include on-site gallery Camberwell Space, Work Form, Garudio Studiage and DKUK.

Our international partnerships, projects and exchanges provide opportunities for our students and staff to broaden perspectives and knowledge. They also explore how art and design can support communities in a global context.