Case Study

I have always been a keen learner, so going to college and university was second nature to me. Although I always had a passion for art, I pushed it away for a long time. It wasn’t until my second year of college I decided I wanted to pursue a career in it. I wasn’t ready to give up learning about the art world, or more importantly, my own creative practice. I think this was 100%, the best move for me.

The University of Sunderland was an easy choice for me. It was local, so I could travel there easily, but most importantly it has a brilliant art department. The facilities such as wood and metal work, printmaking facilities and the amazing studio spaces were very appealing to me. I also wanted to stay in the North East as it has a rich creative community.

The delivery of the BA (Hons) Fine Art course is very good. You receive a lot of one-on-one support and are pushed to try new techniques and develop your ideas. The studio spaces give you plenty of working space, and you are also surrounded by work from other students, which can be good for inspiration. My studio was my home away from home during term time, and I enjoyed surrounding myself with other creatives and having somewhere to experiment. There is also free access to traditional and state-of-the-art printmaking equipment, wood and metal work tools. The Fab Lab is also really helpful with bigger installations, for larger wood or acrylic projects.

If I was to give advice to future students, I would say make sure you pick the right course for you. You will only have a fulfilling journey if you pick the course that you will be interested in. Research is key before studying anywhere – make sure it’s where you want to go and what you want to do and you’ll get the best from your experience.

I really enjoyed my experience at the University of Sunderland. I think my course was very helpful for my personal and artistic development. I was never in need of anything the University didn’t offer and my lecturers were wonderful. Hopefully, I can return one day to study my master's Degree.”

Published 29 May 2020