Prospectws Coleg Celf Abertawe 2023 Swansea College of Art Prospectus

SWANSEA COLLEGE OF ART UWTSD

We asked our students, staff and alumni to define an Art and Design education at Swansea College of Art. The responses inform this book.

BELONGING: WITHIN A COMMUNITY OF LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE

JOY IN THE PROCESS: THE VALUE OF EXPERIMENTATION & COLLABORATION

ART IS A CAREER: CHANGE THE WORLD BY DESIGNING THE FUTURE

SWANSEA COLLEGE OF ART:

is a place of belonging; is a creative family; is social; is diverse; believes in students; is a place to decide who you want to be; is where you learn to value your ideas; is where you learn to value your contribution to our communities; allows you to discover your creative identity; offers a sense of purpose; offers a wide and healthy perspective; enables you to discover yourself as an artist: enables you to discover yourself as a person; helps you to grow as a person; draws out potential; is a community of like-minded people.

WITHIN A COMMUNITY OF LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE

WELCOME TO ART COLLEGE

An art college education is unlike any other form of university education. Its uniqueness lies in the way in which it fosters, directs and encourages individuality, creativity and innovation. The UK has an amazingly rich and diverse range of art colleges

with a distinguished heritage of producing globally recognised artists, designers, animators, filmmakers and performers. Swansea College of Art, as the oldest and most established art college in Wales is a well respected part of that tradition.

Although we place great importance on developing employability skills, we also recognise that an art and design education is a voyage of selfdiscovery. We believe passionately in allowing our students time and space to explore and find their own direction and it really is amazing what evolves. Our friendly campuses are a great place to study, and our studios are a hive of activity.

We invite our students to make themselves at home, and encourage them to surround themselves with their work and inspiration. All of our courses share a common philosophy; to enable individuality, creative freedom and academic flexibility, all of which we believe are essential in finding your own voice within your chosen creative field.

We respect and celebrate our traditions. This is why we have retained traditional equipment and processes in the areas of ceramics, printmaking and photography. But we are also forward looking, and our buildings are bristling with the latest technology.

We encourage our students to investigate a wide range of processes throughout their time with us. Many of our facilities are open access, and available to all students, no matter what course you are on.

Many of our course areas also benefit from specialist facilities such as our Automotive clay studio. These offer students a rare opportunity to learn the true craft behind their subject.

OUR CAMPUSES

BELONGING

Swansea College of Art is situated across a number of city centre locations. Our Dynevor and Alex buildings are just 5 minutes walk to the town centre, and our IQ and Y Fforwm buildings are positioned in the vibrant maritime quarter. Swansea’s beautiful beaches are just a short stroll away.

STAFF CONTACT BELONGING

Our student-staff contact hours are among the highest in the country, and through formal lectures, seminars or informal one-to-one chats in the studios, we really take time to get to know you.

Our small class sizes ensure our staff are approachable and available to help, aiming to give each individual student the right balance of challenge and support. Our teams are research active, whether that be through exhibiting nationally or abroad, or through their involvement in projects with their industry connections.

Top 10 in the UK

In 2023, we have achieved a top ten ranking for our lecturers and teaching quality in the Whatuni Student Choice Awards.

Swansea College of Art is a closenit campus within a wider University; big enough to offer you the space you need and small enough to make you feel that you belong.

Being part of our creative community offers wonderful opportunities to forge friendships, collaborators and connections in the industry you step out in to.

[Swansea College of Art] does a great job at supporting you throughout your course, from constructive criticism, always promoting opportunities for you to grow by getting some experience in the field, and generally checking in every week to make sure you’re all good. Every single day you learn something new whether it be big or small, which is why I will forever miss stepping into that building now that I have graduated.

The lecturers have unreal experience in the field and above all are nice people, friendly to approach, and they will happily help you in any way they can. The facilities are second to none. If you look at the portfolio of graduate success it simply speaks for itself. Everyone offers help, suggestions, and ideas. The friends I’ve made here make me a better person, have the same interests, and I truly believe i’ll know them for life.

THE FRIENDS

“

I’VE MADE HERE MAKE ME A BETTER PERSON, HAVE THE SAME INTERESTS, AND I TRULY BELIEVE I'LL KNOW THEM FOR LIFE

Swansea is a seaside city and a great place to live and study. It’s full of possibilities and like-minded people. Whether your inspiration comes from the bustle of city life, or the tranquility of the beautiful outdoors, we have it all.

A CREATIVE CITY BELONGING

Our city is home to multiple galleries hosting major exhibitions as well as supporting emerging talents from the local area. Our campuses are also a short walk from a wide range of independent bars and creative spaces such as The Elysium Gallery, Studios and Club and Volcano Arts Theatre.

Creative Meet-ups

Design Swansea is a free monthly social meet-up for creatives, businesses and students with guest speakers. Hosted in HQ Urban Kitchen, behind our Alex building.

The Glynn Vivian Gallery

Positioned directly opposite our Alex building, The Glynn Vivian is a centre of excellence for the visual arts and a world class gallery for Wales. This year it hosted an exhibition celebrating the longstanding relationship between the gallery and Swansea College of Art, displaying artworks from both alumni and lecturers.

INSPIRED BY OUR COMMUNITY

BELONGING

Our art college campus is fully integrated into its wider community; from giving you opportunities to work with live clients in the local businesses, to getting your work out there and seen across the city and beyond. Here are a few recent projects our students have engaged with:

Pattern the World Surface Pattern students have used their skills for promoting urban regeneration within the city centre and wellness in the Royal Glamorgan Hospital.

Surface Pattern Design

The Ten Mile Mission

Second year Graphic Design students are asked to step into someone else’s shoes and to consider Graphic Design as a weapon to effect change.

Graphic Design [ Summer Davies ]

Vertical Street Billboard (Motion graphic)

INSPIRED BY OUR COMMUNITY BELONGING

Coronation Tea Party

Our illustration students produced portraits of Holocaust survivors, and went to a Coronation event in London to present their work to the survivors themselves. A day they’ll never forget.

Supportive Community

When one of our staff was commissioned to create murals for Pride Month, she had no idea how much of a statement they would become. After being repeatedly vandalised, the Art College community stood by her, coming together to make repairs.

Illustration [ Nancy Akuffobea ]

Natasha John [ @tash.art ]

The Big Canvas

Our public art initiative gives all students in the Art College the opportunity to get their artwork out there. A piece is selected each term, and put up on the front of our Dynevor campus building, aiming to inspire passers by and celebrate the great talents of our students.

is a place to find joy in the process of making; values experimentation; is social; is all about ideas; is transformative; is now; is experimental; is where you question, create and innovate; is a place to let loose and surprise; is a creative test space; offers the freedom to think & find your path; is about finding your own direction & voice; provides inspiration from others around you; is where you go to enjoy ‘being there’; is a place to collaborate; is about seeing what happens.

SWANSEA COLLEGE OF ART:

JOY IN THE PROCESS: THE VALUE OF EXPERIMENTATION & COLLABORATION

EXPERIMENTATION

JOY IN THE PROCESS

We offer a wide range of workshops and facilties offering a huge spectrum of opportunities. Here are just some of the options available to you:

Forge and Cut: We have state of the art lasercutters, CNC machines and even a waterjet cutter for use with all sorts of materials.

Ink, Print, Repeat: Our printrooms are home to a wide range of processes from etching to silkscreen, letterpress to risograph.

Compose, Create, Collaborate: Our students can record, and perform HD audio exchange between studios, at home or on campus.

Latest Spec Tech: Our digital suites are packed with the latest machines and industry standard software.

Capture and Develop: From darkrooms to our lighting studio, the photography department is home to a full spectrum of processes.

Throw, Print and Fire: From throwing a pot or glazing a cast, to firing and ceramic printing we have just the place to engage in messy creativity.

EXPERIMENTATION

JOY IN THE PROCESS

Raku Firings

Once or twice a semester, we hold a raku firing in the quad garden at Dynevor. This exciting and dramatic process results in unpredictable finishes, where no two ceramic pieces will ever come out the same.

On Your Marks

Using materials from sketchbooks to smart phones, our Foundation students are asked to consider what a drawing might look like, and how they can further extend their visual vocabulary.

Art and Design Foundation

The Reality of Design

Our Product & Furniture students are challenged to design and build a stool to survive an impact loading of 100kg. It challenges the understanding of material properties and the architecture and assembly of the design. Not all stools survive!

Developing Your Ideas

Sometimes it’s the happy accidents, the ‘seeing what happens’ that allows you to break new territory and find your own ways of working. We want our students to be fearless, to jump in and enjoy the process.

LATEST TECHNOLOGY

JOY IN THE PROCESS

Immersive Space

Our state-of-the-art immersive room allows students to experience immersive virtual reality and 360° imagery. Our Automotive design students recently used this space to pitch their design ideas to Jaguar Land Rover, and view their concepts at their true scale.

2D & 3D Printing

Our studios have excellent print facilities to help show off your final work. From large format banner printers to ceramic 3D printersand printers that prints directly on to fabric, wood and glass.

Mac Suites

We have a number of fully equipped digital mac suites across our campuses. These are regularly updated with the latest industrystandard software, which many students can also benefit from on their own machines at home.

COLLABORATION

JOY IN THE PROCESS

Image: Katie Davies

The Festival of Quilts

The Surface Pattern and Textiles bicentennial project “Cwilt 200” brings together the far reaching and diverse UWTSD community, extending across campuses, towns and cities, to our friends, graduates, schools and colleges through a collaborative 200 block quilt.

Jazz is Diverse Students from across Illustration, Fine Art, Foundation and Surface Pattern worked together to bring street pianos to life, working with Jazz Heritage Wales and the theme of diversity. Creative Music Technology students also worked on the sound for their week long festival of live music.

The Big Draw

Each year the first year Fine Art students spend a week working with Professor Sue Williams on the expansive experience of drawing. They work with the small intense scale eventually developing their confidence to experiment with the large scale.

Communities of Choice

Communities of Choice is an India-Wales collaborative project between Chennai Photo Biennale Foundation, India and Ffotogallery in Wales. As part of this partnership, students from Ahmedabad, India were invited to respond to a task set by our Foundation Art & Design course, focusing on the idea of space in the context of community. The Foundation students were then invited to respond to these ideas and concepts in a process of creative exchange.

Design Testing

Our design and engineering students share an Automotive workshop space, giving our students the opportunity to work together to test ideas, and bring their design concepts to life.

COLLABORATION

Mini Print Wales

This year we hosted a number of workshops as part of the Mini Print Wales project. Students from all courses were able to apply for these days, collaborating with professional printmakers from across Wales.

The Aliens Have Landed

Our visual communication courses jump aboard vintage double decker buses and head off to the nearby Gower beaches where they are invited to pick up rakes and spades to make a collaborative artwork in the sand. At the end of the day, we all climb the cliffs for the big reveal.

STUDIO ATMOSPHERE

I loved the community atmosphere of working in the studio - I didn’t see this at any other University. The broad variety of workshops and skills to be learnt, working on live briefs with external companies as it gave the course that realistic element to how life could be post uni. One of my favourite parts of SP&T was getting to work on design briefs set by real brands. It required us to really think about a specific client their customers and current trends, in a way which is very similar to how I still pitch work to clients now, 7 years later.

I also loved how all 4 year groups were in a studio together. Helping each other, inspiring each other, working together in a very similar way to how I’ve worked when in house for a brand. SP&T gave me so much confidence going into the design world. The varied teaching styles and broad subject areas covered across the course is what I believe has resulted in me having such a multi-disciplinary working life now, there are too many exciting areas of design for me to choose just one!

I LOVED THE COMMUNITY

ATMOSPHERE OF WORKING IN THE STUDIO - I DIDN’T SEE THIS AT ANY OTHER UNIVERSITY

CIARA LONG GRADUATE

INDUSTRY LINKS

JOY IN THE PROCESS

Live Projects

All of our courses have employability at their core, and we host a wide range of live industry projects each year. This year our Surface Pattern & Textiles students worked with iconic wallpaper design brand Mini Moderns, culminating in professional feedback and an impressive display of work.

Onsite Industry

Swansea College of Art has an impressive history when it comes to Architectural Stained Glass. Our Alex building is home to The Architectural Glass Centre, a team of industry professionals working on restoration and conservation projects, as well as with our students. This year also sees us launch an exciting apprenticeship programme.

END OF YEAR SHOWS

For over 160 years we have exhibited the very best talent from our range of leading art, design and media courses. Our annual summer shows promise to be a series of exciting and colourful events that showcase everything our students have to offer. Our shows take place in various venues across the city, as well as further afield in London graduate events.

Check out the latest Summer Shows by scanning here.

EVENTS

JOY IN THE PROCESS

Each year we are home to a wide range of events, from solo and course exhibitions and touring shows, to our annual design and film festival.

Design Week

‘Design week’ offers students the opportunity to engage with prestigious designers and companies. Talks are often given by our graduates working within the industry. Recently these have included graduates who now work for Lego, Sky Creative, Landor & Fitch and Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness.

Stiwdio Griffith

Swansea’s newest contemporary art gallery is located within Swansea College of Art’s Dynevor Campus. Regular events and exhibitions are held in our beautiful new on-site space, welcoming touring shows as well as playing host to student exhibitions throughout the year.

OUR STUDENTS ARE: important to society; driving positive change; future facing; changing the world; making images & objects that become culture; informing our humanity; essential to a healthy and informed society; changing people’s lives for the better;

ART IS A CAREER: CHANGE THE WORLD BY DESIGNING THE FUTURE

AWARD WINNERS

ART IS A CAREER

National Awards

A number of our courses offer extra opportunities to exhibit in London at the end of the third year. Some courses exhibit alongside other UK graduates in showcases such as New Designers, others set up their own independent shows. These events offer great exposure to employers. Our students continue to gain recognition at these shows, winning awards, internships and very often, full time employment straight out of the gate.

Kira Roberts - PepsiCo Design & Innovation Award | Erin Jeffreys - Sky Creative ‘Believe in Better’ Award

| Adam Higgins - Lego Heart & Joseph & Joseph

02

Global Platform

Each year in New Zealand’s capital of Wellington, the spheres of fashion and art collide. An epic show descends on the capital for three weeks, stopping the city in its tracks and bringing in crowds of up to 60,000 people per year. It was here that Agnes Olah, a third year Graphic Design student found herself when her design scooped up a prestigious global prize, the 2022 World of WearableArt Student Innovation Award.

Beneath, Agnes Olah, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, United Kingdom

2022 WOW Awards Show, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Digitally Grown, Dylan Mulder, New Zealand

GRADUATE FAMILY

ART IS A CAREER

We are very proud to say that we have graduates in employment all across the world. Many of them stay in touch to let us know what they are up to, feed into our teaching through workshops and guest lectures, as well as offering the next wave of graduates employment opportunities as they move upwards in their places of work.

Ten Graduates in Ten Years

Our courses have well-established links with industry. One such example is Sky who have employed ten of our graduates over the past ten years, meaning we now have graduates working across Sky News, Sky Sport & Sky Creative. This year, they came into our Design Week Festival, and ran student workshops on the hunt for the next recruit.

Interns and Live Projects

Recent graduate Rebecca Davies secured a 12 month internship at Rolls Royce, during which she came back to us to run an exciting live project with our Surface Pattern students. It was such a proud moment to see Rebecca as part of their team, and wonderful to hear her sharing her experience with the current students.

Graduate Dan Alcorn - Founder of The Birmingham Design Festival

GRADUATE STORIES

ART IS A CAREER

DREAM CARS PATRICK CARTON

Patrick is another success story from our Automotive and Transport Design course. From the first day he showed great passion, a humble attitude, the willingness to learn and superb commitment. These are the perfect ingredients to succeed, not just in this trade but anywhere. It was no surprise to us that Patrick was selected by Forbes Magazine as

RETAIL BRANDS ROSIE COOK

Rosie initially worked as a self-employed Designer, launching herself at New Designer’s prestigious One Year On profile. She has since gone on to have products in several ranges with the Interior company Made.com, and settled into her role as Print Designer for Swimwear at H&M Stockholm.

IN PRINT KARL JAMES MOUNTFORD

Former Illustration student Karl James Mountford is a successful award-winning illustrator who works in both traditional and digital media. Karl is represented by the Bright agency who have offices in London and New York. He makes picture books and prints, products such as t-shirts, stickers, posters, and phone cases for clients from all around the world, all from his studio in a small village in Carmarthenshire.

Follow Karl on Instagram [ @karljamesmountford ]

GRADUATE STORIES

ART IS A CAREER

TRAILBLAZING

ANNA JEHAN

Shortly after graduating from Graphic Design, Anna was voted into the UK’s top ten most influential digital designers. This award looks to celebrate women trailblazing within the digital industry. She now works as Design Director at Matter of Form in London, helping timeless brands design whats next.

Check out Anna’s website [ www.littlejehan.com ]

FROM THE FRONT LINE

RYAN THOMAS

Graduating from BA (Hons) Documentary Photography in 2020, Ryan Thomas has worked as a freelance photojournalist with a range of charities and editorial commissions including: Huck Magazine, WalesOnline, Daily Mom, Oxfam UK, and DeafBlind UK. Ryan has been shortlisted for the RPS International Photography Exhibition164 2022, Vol. 5's from both of the British Journal of Photography's Portrait of Britain and Portrait of Humanity Awards 2023 as well as Arizona's Congressional Photo Competition.

Follow Ryan on Instagram [ @ryanthomas.photography ]

PRODUCTS WITH PURPOSE KIERA GWYNN

During her fourth year, Kiera’s work was picked up by R82, a company that specialises in high-quality aids for children with special needs. With the aim of providing stability without preventing movement, the Scallop chair was brought to life, and Kiera headed over to Denmark to oversee its production.

Find out more about the product [ www.etac.com ]

BA SURFACE PATTERN & TEXTILES

COURSE OVERVIEW

Surface Pattern and Textiles is a vibrant programme where we explore textiles, materiality, pattern and making. The programme provides a multidisciplinary practice-rich experience, focused around creating exciting and innovative textiles and surfaces for a breadth of contemporary design contexts. Students work towards defining their individual niche as the programme unfolds, ultimately applying their ideas to their preferred career route - Fashion, Interiors, Stationery & Gift, Craft and more.

The programme is housed in a lively, light, large-scale design studio, accommodating all years of study. This makes it the heartbeat of the SP&T community, offering a personal desk space for the duration of your time with us. Surrounding our studio, and throughout the campus, are our wellequipped workshops where you can explore the unique range of materials and processes available to you.

From the outset you will participate in a broad range of workshop and learning environments supported by a dedicated team. These open out the design process so that it becomes second nature - they include study visits, research, drawing, designing, making, digital and analogue printing and cutting methods on cloth, paper and hard materials, dyeing and colouration, tutorials, contextual practice, live projects, competitions, industry experience, exhibitions, self- promotion and portfolio preparation. When you leave us, you are workplace ready!

You will undertake a plethora of live project opportunities and engage with our industry links during your time with us. Recently design companies such as Patternbank, Mini Moderns and Rolls Royce have worked with our students. Every year we seek out new live brief opportunities, ensuring the spirit of challenge and creative discovery continues to characterise the programme, our students and our graduates. Graduates go on to a variety of excellent employment roles, including working with the following; Monsoon-Accessorize, Jayne Pierson, John Lewis, Hallmark, H&M, Zara, Rolls Royce, Nobody’s Child & many more.

SURFACE PATTERN & TEXTILES EXAMPLE PROJECTS

Rolls Royce

Through combining traditional craft processes with state of the art digital applications, this live project saw our students work with one of the biggest names in luxury vehicles.

Reimagining the Archive

Our students were challenged to deconstruct the objects they found in the archives at St Fagans National Museum of History and use them as basis for new work.

Image: Catrin Young

Image: Zara James

The Essence

This project seeks to promote inclusivity and female empowerment, through devising a pre-season activist collection of textiles for fashion.

Image: Rebecca Davies

This year, we celebrated 25 years of our BA Graphic Design course. To mark the occasion, the university put together a retrospective exhibition - celebrating all the wonderful work and achievements of the 25 graduating groups. All previous students were invited to our opening night, which was a very special night.

BA GRAPHIC DESIGN

COURSE OVERVIEW

Our Graphic Design course prepares students for dynamic and diverse futures in the ever-widening world of visual communication. The programme provides you with a broad education in Graphic Design and, with an inbuilt degree of flexibility, it enables you to pursue individual interests whether in the fields of corporate graphics and brand identity, publishing, design for print, packaging or interactive screen-based design.

The course is delivered by a passionate staff team, nurturing students in a supportive, friendly learning environment with a professional, industry-reflective work ethic. Your personal aspirations are very important to us, and we will strive to empower you with a graduate portfolio bursting with the creative confidence you need to make a smooth transition into the working world of design.

Links with business and industry are an essential ingredient of the programme and are maintained and developed through ‘live’ projects, work placements, visiting professionals, educational visits and an annual ‘Design Week’ event. Our graduates have an outstanding employment record with students attaining some of the most exciting national and international careers on offer, this ranges from starting a design company on the beach in Byron Bay, Australia, to Apple design in New York.

The Human Race

Presenting ways to slow down in life and live more presently, for the benefit of the reader and the wellbeing of the natural world.

Lydia Irving

Versus A Personal Reflection on the embodiment of culture in South Africa, alongside my blissful naivety of growing up as a white South African in Africa.

Erin Jefferys

First Year Typeface

Our first years each contribute a character to a collective typeface which is then made into woodtype for letterpress. Future students can access this unique typeface for use in their work.

BA ILLUSTRATION

COURSE OVERVIEW

Our Illustration degree course offers a broad and dynamic programme designed to develop both creative and professional skills, blurring boundaries with Fine Art, Graphic Design, Animation, and other disciplines. The course reflects and embraces the diverse nature of contemporary illustration and encourages students to challenge the concept of what illustration can be while developing an understanding of the needs of this rapidly evolving and vibrant industry and enjoys a reputation for producing a diverse and eclectic range of graduating illustrators who are confident using their own creative voice.

Students have access to the most up-to-date equipment and facilities including dedicated studio space, printmaking studio for lino, screenprint, etching & collagraph, a letterpress studio with four Adana letterpress machines and bookmaking equipment, risograph printing, laser cutters and a dedicated digital illustration suite with iMacs, Wacom tablets and Cintiq screens.

‘Live’ commercial projects are a focus of the course, this experience is an important part of your final year of study. You will also have the opportunity to enter illustration competitions. Our students have enjoyed competition success, such as the Penguin Design Awards, The Great British Postcard Competition, ‘On the Cards’ greeting card design competition, Rising Stars and the Hallmark Design Award at New Designers.

Graduate employment includes Moonpig, Usborne Books, LEGO, The Great British Card Company, Tokyo Disney Sea Park, Lush & M&S. Many also become freelance illustrators represented by top London Illustration agencies.

ILLUSTRATION

EXAMPLE PROJECTS

01

Picture Books

We have a strong emphasis on storytelling and character design, and with regular visits from practicing writers and illustrators, our students often land commissions.

Image: Ocean Hughes

Illustrated Object

From packaging through to objects that enchant and delight, illustration challenges our

BA AUTOMOTIVE & TRANSPORT DESIGN COURSE OVERVIEW

Our Automotive & Transport Design courses will give you the opportunity to develop the technical and intellectual abilities and knowledge to undertake the design and development of new vehicles (cars and motorcycles, boats, trucks, public transport & transport systems.) based on a clear understanding of proportion, volume and surface design principles.

Industry engagement is crucial in our course which has been designed to facilitate the development of an automotive designer through the replication of a professional environment. During your second year for example, you could undertake a group live industry supported project with a major automotive manufacturer. This is a fantastic opportunity that will give you a chance to gain valuable experience and exposure. Guest lecturers and live tutorial sessions from industry professionals, often former students, are another great way to gain knowledge and enhance your technical and intellectual abilities and your portfolio. Students have access to studio space and specialist workshops including dedicated clay and digital modelling studios, spray facilities, traditional hand tools, laser cutting, milling, turning, CNC machining & 3D printing (Ultimaker, Objet & Stratasys machines), digital scanning technologies (Artec, Roland) , Wacom Cintiq workstations and VR.

Our graduates find employment with some of the world’s leading automotive design studios and design consultancies such as: Jaguar Land Rover, McLaren Automotive, Icona Design, RollsRoyce, Morgan, Pininfarina, Kiska, Saic, Futura Design, Nissan, Callum Design, Envisage, Gordon Murray Design, Aston Martin, Daimler Truck USA, Tesla, Renault, Great Walls Motor & Lotus.

AUTOMOTIVE & TRANSPORT DESIGN EXAMPLE PROJECTS

Pininfarina Stile di Vita

Pininfarina Stile Di Vita (Lifestyle) is a Maglev concept that explores the symbiosis of Nature against AI whilst pushing Pininfarinas Design Language into the future. Its a fully autonomous vehicle which allow people to reach a positive state of mindfulness to heighten creativity, in a mundane task such as sitting in traffic.

Red Bull Air Racer 2030

This project investigates an aircraft concept developed for the Red Bull air racing. The purpose of this concept is to raise environmental awareness within urban areas by gathering live data and presenting it to the audience in real time.

PHOTOGRAPHY

BA Photography in the Arts & BA Documentary and Visual Activism

We offer two routes into Photography - Photography in the Arts and Documentary Photography and Visual Activism.

The Photography in the Arts degree course at Swansea College of Art, UWTSD is all about exploration, self-discovery and innovation. We encourage you to experiment and challenge convention, to pursue your personal interests and develop a unique vision to take you forward into a successful career in the creative industries.

Our Documentary Photography and Visual Activism degree course at Swansea College of Art, UWTSD teaches students traditional, practical documentary and photojournalistic skills alongside contemporary strategies for becoming visual activists, who empower their subjects whilst engaging with communities and networks to raise awareness about inequality and injustice as a means for social change.

As a student you will have access to industry standard facilities and store facility. In addition to extensive traditional photography facilities and darkrooms, our digital provision includes a specialist colour-managed digital suite running the latest Adobe software. This includes high resolution Hasselblad film scanners, medium and large format portfolio and exhibition printing.

The department has excellent connections with the photographic industry, from the gallery network through to documentary and advertising agencies. Students will regularly interact with professional contacts through the exciting series of visiting lecturers, where artists, photographers, curators, editors, writers and agents present their work and talk about their professional experiences. Graduates are employed in a wide range of photographic and fine art activities, including fashion, portraiture, editorial/documentary, and gallery contexts.

Graduate Exhibition

Against the backdrop of accelerating climate catastrophe, digital revolutions, pandemics, and a cost of living crisis, ‘Overly Blueish’ saw our students produce a graduate exhibition which asked important and challenging questions of the times we live in.

Telling Stories

Our second years work independently to create a concept for a photobook, exploring notions of complex juxtaposition, rhythm and narrative.

BA/BS c PRODUCT & FURNITURE DESIGN

Product and Furniture designers by their very nature are visionaries, they define the world around us, giving it form and material quality. Our vision is to produce design professionals able to respond creatively to the changing needs of society in a commercially and environmentally sustainable manner.

We can offer the best training and facilities to prepare you for the challenges within the product, furniture, industrial and engineering design industries. Both pathways are delivered together with the BA (Hons) projects focusing on the user experience, and the BSc (Hons) projects focusing on the reality of designing for today. We are proud to be able to run concentrated, small teaching groups and regular one-to-one tutorials, where, as a student, you will have the opportunity to focus on your creative development and individual professional growth.

We have excellent facilities that integrate the traditional studio and workshop practices with state-of the-art digital and prototyping tools. These include: personal studio space, 3D printing & CNC, Wacom Cintiq workstations running the industry-standard 3D design and visualisation software (Autodesk Fusion 360, Adobe Creative Suite). You can also access laser cutting, ceramics, screen printing and photography in our Dynevor Centre for Art, Design & Media just two minutes walk away.

Throughout your studies: You will be encouraged to learn and grow the skills and knowledge to produce both digital and physical products; You will engage with industry in live projects; You will push the boundaries of your intellectual capacity; You will develop innovative ideas and You will have fun. We see You as Individuals and help you explore ways to achieve your full creative potential.

PRODUCT & FURNITURE DESIGN EXAMPLE PROJECTS

Learning Through Play

This project teaches future generations that not everyone is the same. Whether it’s physical, emotional, sexual, racial or anything else, we are all different. The figures help educate children through play to understand that everyone is unique and different is normal.

Daniel Hancock

No glue required!

The Tom Chair, a combination of traditional Welsh heritage and locally resourced materials, with the modern influence of flat pack furniture.

Hannah Evans

The Tom Chair

DESIGN CRAFTS

BA DESIGN CRAFTS: GLASS, CERAMICS, JEWELLERY

Design Crafts gives you the opportunity to learn the design and creative 3D making skills you need to work professionally with Glass, Ceramics and Jewellery. Allowing you to discover your creative voice whilst developing traditional hand-making skills and contemporary approaches such as laser, waterjet cutting and 3D printing. This broad programme offers the opportunity to work with specialist materials or enjoy a mixed media approach to craft.

The degree offers you a host of exciting opportunities to work on live briefs and take part in placements with industry partners from the worlds of interior design, the gallery sector and architecture. Our teaching team of professional practitioners, with extensive networks of industry contacts, will support your future career and professional development beyond graduation.

Our excellent specialist equipment and facilities for glass, ceramics and jewellery, includes glass cutting, painting and leading rooms, unique acid etching facilites, ceramics studio and kiln rooms in both glass and ceramics, throwing wheels and a fully fitted jewellery workshop. These are supported by an array of general and digital workshops, giving you the opportunity to explore ideas through materials and making. The course also offers individual desk space in our vibrant creative studios.

Graduates from our Design Craft course will develop strong creative, problem-solving, design and making skills which can be applied to a wide range of employment opportunities, from self-employment (as independent artists, designers and makers) through to working for established companies in a variety of roles.

DESIGN CRAFTS EXAMPLE PROJECTS

01

Exploring Materials

Our three main specialisms are ceramics, glass and jewellery which frequently cross over and fuse together. Students are encouraged to traverse the lines and be as experimental and innovative with materials as possible.

What is Jewellery?

Constantly striving to define and redefine what jewellery actually is, jewels are interpreted through a broad range of material, far beyond that of the usual precious metals.

FINE ART

Our Fine Art degree course has an established reputation of recognised excellence. Experimentation, research and exploration are vital to the students’ development and to this end we encourage awareness of theoretical debates, contemporary art practice and the cultural and historical contexts within which we find ourselves.

As a Fine Art student you will have access to your own dedicated studio space, and our excellent workshop facilities. These include inductions to the uses, processes and potential of metal, wood, resin and other sculptural materials as well as the availability of laser and water-jet cutters. There is also access to digital studios and darkrooms, regular life drawing sessions and printmaking facilities.

One-to-one tutorials are an established part of the course and are available throughout the three years. You will be taught by internationally practising and recognised artists, which draws the professional world closer to your educational experience. This ensures that our course enjoys an excellent working relationship with local and national galleries and museums where there are opportunities to participate in residencies, internships and training and mentoring activities to help develop your career.

Recent graduates from Fine Art have gone on to pursue a range of career options, including working as freelance artists, arts administrators, curators & educators as well as developing various artist-led initiatives.

BA FINE ART: STUDIO SITE AND CONTEXT

The Borders of Things

How do we define a space? What purpose does it have? This project grew into a fascination with edges. ‘Edges are magic, too; there is a kind of forbidden magic on the borders of things’.

Hannah Henson

A Way of Life

As we explore the potential of the imagination and its ability to construct a visual language, we aim to reflect the realities of the world as we find it. As we create forms and images through a myriad of processes, we realise too that the thinking of art is a way of life.

BA FILM & TV COURSE OVERVIEW

Designed to provide you with the necessary creative abilities and professional skills relevant to working in the film industry, this course aims to give you an understanding of the many roles in the production process. The course provides a multitude of opportunities to create practical production work, whilst providing you with the underpinning theoretical knowledge and understanding to thrive creatively. A range of carefully designed practical film modules aim to give you an understanding of film form and the current film industry together with the creative tools and professional skills to realise your personal visions.

The course provides a framework upon which you can build appropriate academic, artistic, technical and professional skills relevant to working in the either the film or education sectors. It will provide you with an intensive series of practice-based modules that allow you to develop higher order skills in, for example, directing, editing, writing and cinematography. There are a range of lively theoretical modules to consolidate your creative output. We collaborate with a variety of professional partners and offers opportunities for students to work with live clients and on industry standard briefs as part of their learning. We offer a variety of onlocation opportunities for students to thrive in a degree experience which goes beyond the realms of the classroom. The course offers a variety of masterclasses from industry professionals that have included ITV, Into Film and Aardman Animations.

Our graduates have found production roles across the Film & TV industry, with recent graduates working on projects such as Mission Impossible, The Grand Tour, His Dark Materials, Paddington 2, Guardians of the Galaxy and many more. Other graduates have landed jobs with established industry heavyweights, including BBC, Sky, Amazon and Milk VFX other have found success as freelancers or creating their own production companies.

Learning on Location

We offer a unique learning experience, with an exciting and innovative blend of taught and practical sessions that take place at a variety of venues –cafes, churches, shops etc., bringing you closer to where stories are told.

The Debutante

Our students were tasked with adapting a Surrealist Short Story ‘The Debutante’ about a girl who befriends a hyena at the Zoo. The week-long project was a collaboration between students from BA Film & TV and BA Acting courses. Students were assigned roles such as writers, directors, editors, and cinematographers and worked out on location in Cardiff Museum and Plantasia, inspired by both the surrealist story and the locations.

Memorial Project

Our students created a series of short videos entitled ‘be the light’ to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day. These short films were commissioned by Swansea Council as part of their own remembrance of the holocaust.

BA CREATIVE MUSIC TECHNOLOGY

COURSE OVERVIEW

Our Creative Music Technology programme has been designed to provide its graduates with the artistic, technical, creative, and professional skills relevant to the music industries. The programme is designed for students with a creative flair, developing competencies and confidence in working with music and technology in a wide range of contexts and settings. We encourage creativity and innovation through providing opportunities to develop artistic, technical and production skills to expert levels in preparation for employment.

Students are exposed to many subject areas within the application and production of music. The project-based and practical nature of the programme allows students to tailor the assignments to their interests within the broad subject area of music technology. We pay particular attention to the development of listening skills which allows students to tune into their distinctive and unique sonic voice. In a very competitive industry of music production, the challenge is to maximise the student’s opportunity to develop a “unique and individual voice” through the realisation of the creative projects.

The course offers access to specialist facilities including four industry-standard recording studios. One of these studios is the historic BBC Hall, which has one of the best acoustics for recording in the UK. Graduates have an excellent range of technologically advanced transferable skills that enable them to gain employment in a diverse range of contemporary media and production companies as well as becoming directly employed in the music industry.

ART & DESIGN FOUNDATION

CERTIFICATE OF HIGHER EDUCATION

Our Art & Design Foundation is an experimental, investigative and diverse learning experience that provides an introduction to study within art and design. The course is delivered through incremental modules that utilise practical workshops, contextual project introductions, group and individual tutorials, critiques, lectures and seminars.

The learning focus within each module is characterised as enquiry and learning through drawing, making and process, writing, research, presentation and discussion. All modules are designed to promote progression to employment as well as further study. Our students engage with a broad introduction to art and design and go on to specialise in a wide range of disciplines including Fine Art, Visual Communication, Lensbased Media, 3D Design, Fashion & Textiles.

The course is all about establishing a strong basis for a creative future, taught entirely at Level 4. This course represents a clear progression from A-Level whilst still permitting students the time to consider BA specialist options in the context of a full art school experience.

Based in a beautiful large open plan studio in the ALEX building where the course originated over 100 years ago, students are able to access purpose-built workshops, facilities and resources. Swansea College of Art boasts some of the best facilities in the area with both traditional and state of the art equipment including, photography darkrooms printmaking, wood and metal workshops, 3D Printing, Laser-cutting, Ceramics, Glass and Digital suites.

Neostalgia

For this year’s major project, our students were challenged with responding to the word Neostalgia. They were simply given the definition: The combined emotions of nostalgia and newness at the same time. Often feels like rediscovery and has more of a positive connotation than nostalgia.

Space & Place

Our students are asked to respond to space and place in its broadest sense. The project combines process with socially engaged practice, broadening the students understanding of arts practice and its place within culture.

HOW TO GET IN TOUCH, APPLY AND OTHER INFORMATION

Our MA Contemporary Dialogues Portfolio creates a unique learning platform from which students are encouraged to broaden their creative experience through experimentation, collaboration and interdisciplinary discourse. Based in our dedicated studio spaces at the ALEX Building, opposite Swansea’s Glynn Vivian Gallery, students are prompted to explore a wide range of interdisciplinary approaches and materials, via excellent workshop facilities, together with the ongoing development of theoretical understanding.

We also have an exciting research culture supported by academics who hold doctorates and associated expertise. We offer several research degree options, including the master’s by Research (MRes), a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). All students contribute to the vibrant postgraduate research forum of experimentation, philosophical enquiry and practice-based exploration. Supervision is offered for research through practice and/or via a written thesis, in a broad range of subjects.

Contemporary Dialogues (18 months)

MA Design Crafts

MA Fine Art

MA Glass

MA Graphic Design

MA Illustration

MA Moving Image

MA Photography

MA Textiles

Contemporary Dialogues (12 months)

MA Design

MA Visual Communication

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A RICH HISTORY

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An Art College Experience

Celebrated in The Visual Culture of Wales as ‘the most successful and prestigious art school in Wales’, Swansea College of Art has a long established reputation for excellence.

A Contemporary University

Our innovative academic philosophy that focuses on adaptability, project management, critical thinking, and communication skills ensure that the students’ educational experience continues to flourish.

BILINGUAL OPPORTUNITIES MORE INFORMATION

Mae Coleg Celf Abertawe yn lle arbennig i astudio. Mae cael cyfleoedd i astudio trwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg yn fanteisiol. Swansea College of Art is an excellent place to study. For Welsh speakers, the opportunity to study aspects in Welsh is advantageous.

Owain Sparnon Celf Gain ac artist preswyl Fine Art Graduate and Artist in Residence

We aim to embed the culture and heritage of Wales within our teaching and learning, creating the opportunity for students to interact bilingually within a local & global context. Swansea College of Art works with the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol to increase learning opportunities through the medium of Welsh for all students.

Ein nod yw mewnosod diwylliant a threftadaeth Cymru yn ein haddysgu a dysgu, gan greu’r cyfle i fyfyrwyr ryngweithio’n ddwyieithog o fewn cyd-destun lleol a byd-eang. Mae Coleg Celf Abertawe yn cydweithio â’r Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol i gynyddu cyfleoedd dysgu trwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg i fyfyrwyr ar sawl lefel.

Caitlin Littlejohns

Owain Sparnon

Owain Sparnon

INTERNATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

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Travel, immerse yourself in a new culture, meet new friends, and try new foods, all while working towards your degree. Funding is open to UWTSD students on many different programmes with numerous exchange opportunities across the USA, Canada, China, Europe, and more.

We have a long-standing study abroad programme and a number of reciprocal exchange programmes with partner institutions.

For more information, please visit: www.uwtsd.ac.uk/international

Robert Preuss

HOW TO APPLY

How to Apply

All applications to study for a full-time undergraduate degree at UWTSD are made through UCAS (unless otherwise indicated). Swansea College of Art comes under the University of Wales Trinity Saint David code T80. Applications for our Postgraduate programmes should be made directly to the University. For alternative application routes please see our website or get in touch.

Open Days & Taster Days

University Open Days are a great way to find out what it’s really like to live and study somewhere. We really recommend you come for a visit and get a feel for the place. Open days are held throughout the year and booking forms are available on the website. If you can’t make one of the dates available, we’ll try our best to make arrangements for you to visit on a day that is suitable, just get in touch!

Interviews

Our interviews are friendly and informal and you will also be offered a tour of the studios and facilities. We would always perfer to meet you in person, but we understand that is not always possible, so we do also offer online interviews. We love to see your portfolios, as well as your working process through unfinished work and sketchbooks. We want to see your passion!

Scan here to start your journey with us at Swansea College of Art, UWTSD

Please take a few minutes to read some important information about this publication, important legal information:

The contents of this publication relates to the 2024 admissions cycle and are correct at the time of going to press in September 2023. However, there is a lengthy period of time between printing this prospectus and applications being made to and processed by us, so please check our website - www.uwtsd.ac.uk - before making an application, in case there are any changes to the course you are interested in or to other facilities and services described here. Where there is a difference between the contents of this prospectus and our website, the contents of the website take precedence and represent the basis on which we intend to deliver our services to you. Any offer of a place to study at UWTSD is subject to the University’s terms and conditions, which can be found on our website: www. uwtsd.ac.uk/apply/terms The terms and conditions set out, for example, when we might make changes to your chosen course or to student regulations. It is therefore important you read them, and understand them, prior to making an application to study at UWTSD. If you are not able to access information online, or have any questions, please contact us.

VISIT: WWW.UWTSD.AC.UK/ART-DESIGN

An art college education is unlike any other form of university education. Its uniqueness lies in the way in which it fosters, directs and encourages individuality, creativity and innovation. The UK has an amazingly rich and diverse range of art colleges with a distinguished heritage of producing globally recognised artists, designers, animators, filmmakers and performers. Swansea College of Art, as the oldest and most established art college in Wales is a respected part of that tradition.