University of Westminster
Studying Photography at the University of Westminster Lucy Soutter, David Moore, Andre Pinkowski & Rachel Cunningham There is a rich history of photographic education at the University of Westminster. The first courses in Photography were offered at what was then the Royal Polytechnic Institution in 1850. The Institution educated many of London’s earliest photographers, including a remarkable number of women, some of whom went on to open their own studios. The first BA degrees in Photography were offered in 1976, by which time the name had changed to the Polytechnic of Central London. Under the influential conceptual artist and writer Victor Burgin, PCL trained many prominent photographers and educators including Olivier Richon, Karen Knorr, and David Bate. University status came in 1992 along with the Westminster name. The photography and media departments moved to their current Harrow campus in 1995. Students study different photographic contexts at different levels, including BA Photography, MA Documentary and Photojournalism, MA Photography Arts, Creative Practice MRes (which may involve a photographic specialism) and PhD study (both practice-based and theoretical) through CREAM, the University’s Centre for Research and Education in Arts and Media. The courses each draw on the University’s extraordinary facilities, which span historic and cutting-edge technologies. The University has colour and black and white darkrooms and supports alternative processes, as well as pursuing state of the art new equipment including digital cameras and scanners, post-production facilities, and 3D printing. The courses each have their own distinctive character, and it is possible to pursue documentary subject matter and methodologies on each of them in different ways. As well as sharing technical facilities and some members of staff, the courses come together for the Wednesday lunchtime Photography Forum series (open to the public), which features talks by prominent photographers, theorists, and industry professionals. Recent speakers have included Vanessa Winship, Mark Neville, Mark Sealy, Lua Ribeira, Gideon Mendel, Nigel Shafran, Michelle Henning, Mishka Henner and Dafna Talmor. 98
