Let’s think about your future as an artist. Look ahead five, maybe six, years.
Your art work has already been exhibited in Australia and you are attracting attention at home now as a talented artist. An artist whose work is international and contemporary, but also able to tell the story of your own life and that of your community.
or maybe you imagine your career in Design:
You have already had professional experience in design: you have seen your designs put to work in the real world in Australia. Now you’re employed as a designer, and clients are beginning to take notice of your innovative ideas and persuasive presentation. You know what you want to achieve and you are confident in your ability and know-how.
Choosing to study art and design at an Australian university was the best choice you ever made!
Right now, perhaps, you are thinking that studying in Australia would be fun. Great city life, fabulous beaches, awesome landscapes. Australian culture is a rich, complex tapestry of many cultures. Australians you’ll meet are likely to be open to new experiences, positive about cultural diversity, and friendly and encouraging to newcomers.
Our art and design reflects our dynamic cultural history and multicultural fabric. Here, the most ancient indigenous culture in the world generates to the most exciting contemporary art. Australian artists and designers keep their Aussie accents when they play on the international stage!
This is what we offer you: to develop your creative work to a professional standard while exploring your personal and cultural experiences to find your own distinctive voice.
In Australia the top art and design schools are found in the universities. Undergraduate and postgraduate courses - from Bachelor to Masters by coursework or research to Ph.D. - combine the studio art, craft and design education with the intellectual and professional approaches of a world-class university system (Eight of the ‘best 50 universities in Asia’ are in Australia, says a recent Asiaweek review).
Most universities encourage students to take advantage of the wide range of subjects and services they offer, complementing focussed studies in art and design with subjects from other faculties. All universities offer library and information technology resources, and student support services, including accommodation, language assistance, counselling and entertainment. When you study at a university, you experience student lifestyle, and you take home a university qualification that is recognised by employers and community worldwide.
Australian university Art and Design schools provide quality education in all areas of the visual arts, crafts and design. There are differences between the courses, so you need to investigate them. Choose between courses which offer specialised discipline majors and those which offer more generalist art and design education; between those which offer flexibility and choice and those which offer a more structured program. University courses all provide strong conceptual foundations for your art and design practice through art history and theory studies, and lay the foundations for your career through ‘professional practice’ subjects.
Outward-looking attitudes and professional orientation are fostered through artists’ residencies, conferences, field trips, student exchanges, exhibitions and industry placements. As leaders in contemporary art and design, as well as in curating, criticism and scholarship, lecturers offer role-models of successful practice.
Art students take intensive studio-based courses in Painting, Drawing, Printmaking, Sculpture, Installation and Performance, Photography and Photomedia, Time-based and Multimedia, Animation, Jewellery, Glass, Ceramics, Gold, Silver and Metalwork, Furniture and Wood, Tapestry and Textiles. Craft - also known as Object Design or Applied Arts - may be taught in the context of art and/or design.
Design students take Graphic Design, Visual Communication, Advertising, Interior Design and Architecture, Industrial, Product and Object Design, Fashion and Textiles, Theatre and Costume Design, Furniture Design, Environmental Design and Design Management. In some courses, the creative connection between art and design underpins the education program. In some, there is a strong interface between Design, Architecture and the Built Environment. Some universities build in a connection between the science and engineering disciplines and design and craft. In some universities, visual arts and design are located in Creative Arts or Visual and Performing Arts schools.
Art and Design Schools also educate students for professional careers as arts and design administrators, curators, critics, historians, educators and writers. Graduates find employment in schools, museums, art galleries, auction houses, and public arts authorities. What is distinctive about these courses is their integration into the studio-based art and design programs. Graduates have a close working knowledge of creative practice and a familiarity with and respect for artists and designers.
With such diversity and wide choice, it’s important to know the profile, strength and distinctive character of the courses you are considering. That’s where ACUADS comes in.
ACUADS is the peak disciplining body - the Australian Council of University Art and Design Schools. Representing over 30 university art and design schools in Australia, ACUADS promotes quality art, craft and design education. It provides leadership in tertiary art and design education and research, and a forum for senior staff to identify major issues and set the direction of Art and Design education in Australia. Staff from across the universities participate in ACUADS’ regular conferences and seminars. ACUADS supports art and design research and vigorously advocates policies and resourcing to support art and design education and research.
One of the strengths of university art and design schools is the ACUADS network. It means that when you study with one of our universities, you can make contact with students and staff from all of them. National conferences, student exhibitions, and even, in some cases, cross-institutional enrolments are direct benefits to our students. Many of the most significant achievement of ACUADS are less tangible, but just as real for all that. They relate to the dynamic culture of the university art and design schools, where staff are committed to excellence in teaching and research; are deeply involved in the art world and design industry; and maintain their professional practice to the highest levels nationally and internationally.
