Studying Fine Art at Kingston School of Art: My Favourite Things!

When I was applying to university, lots of people used to tell me that studying a subject like Fine Art at university was ‘risky’, especially when there was so many other courses to choose from. But a year and a half in, I’m proud to say I’ve really enjoyed my time at KSA and wouldn’t change my course for the world. Here are just a few of my favourite things!

The studio spaces!
Right now, my second-year studio is located right next to the River Thames at Kingston University’s River House building, which I find offers a really peaceful change of scenery within only a few minutes walk from Kingston’s busier town centre; but one thing I love about studying Fine Art here at KSA is that your studio space changes - and gets bigger! - every year. This means you have the opportunity to constantly work alongside different people on your course (maybe ones you’ve seen in lectures but not really spoken to yet) and regularly develop new friendships and professional networks. Furthermore, I know I personally end up taking a lot of artistic inspiration from the style/themes of those around me, so this allows to me to be constantly change what I’m looking at in my practice and examine how I’m working with certain materials.

Flexibility
Unlike lots of lecture or lab based courses, one of the biggest perks of studying a creative course like Fine Art is the time flexibility. Fine Art studios here at KSA tend to be open from 8 in the morning to 8/9p.m. in the evening – which means even if you have a part-time job or other commitments, you can usually work them around your schedule and make up for any lost time a little later on in the day. Of course, there are still scheduled ‘classes’, such as artist talks, workshops, critiques and tutorials, but I love the sense of independence and control I have over my studies. :h:

The workshops!
KSA is home to tons of different workshops –including our state-of-the-art 3D metalworking workshop, the printmaking studios and the digital media workshop! No matter what you want to try out, the technicians are always incredibly helpful at giving you advice on how best to bring your project to life, and I’ve always found the booking process simple and speedy.

The ‘art school’ culture
One of my big requirements when I was choosing which university was right for me was that I wanted a school with a strong reputation for the arts – e.g. I didn’t particularly want to do a Fine Art course at a university that didn’t have a dedicated art school. Luckily, Kingston School of Art is a well-established London art school without the central London art school living costs, which means I get the art school experience without having to be your typical starving artist (just kidding!). :wink: