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Slade School of Fine Art Application Advice

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Original post by Vik_K
People, I'm really confused here.

What is so special about Slade? Please, PLEASE enlighten me.

I have interviews in CSM, GOLDSMITHS AND SLADE. So I'm not trying to cheer for any club here, like you guys, I wanna make sure i make the best decision, but this slade thing is starting to feel suspicious to me.

I have ALWAYS heard of schools like the UAL, Goldsmiths, Royal College but Slade, never heard of it until recently and nobody outside the UK EVER HEARD OF THIS SCHOOL (only if you mention ucl) I CAN PROMISSE YOU THAT.

CSM and Goldsmiths have super well know artists that been there, they are very active in social media (CSM student work is always featured in cool mags etc.) they have an active facebook page....

And Slade...

N-O-T-H-I-N-G.

1-No Facebook page
2 -no social media effort whatsoever to promote their students
3-never seen a cool art mag featuring something about them
4- NEVER HEARD OF ANYONE RELEVANT THAT HAS BEEN THERE AND IS A WELL KNOWN NAME

Even in wikipedia the list of artists that have been there are people from the ****ing 18th century or something, how contemporary!

So please, again, I kindly beg you to enlighten me WHY YOU THINK BEING IN THIS SCHOOL IS SO MUCH BETTER THAT CSM AND GS?

The only reason I can think of is the "If it is hard to get in then I HAVE TO GET IN" and I think the only reason they take few students is NOT because they are so much more demanding than CSM or Goldsmiths but maybe because the school IS ****ING SMALL unlike Goldsmiths and CSM that can take many many more students.

Since all the 3 schools focus on contemporary art and on independent studio work , please someone tell me if Slade has the BEST tutors, the BEST seminars, the BEST facilities and access to materials and teach you the best technical skills and are the most demanding. Are they? Or is it just the location and building that is cute and this difficulty to get in that is appealing?

Because if all of the above are not true I'LL PICK CSM OR GOLDSMITHS ANYTIME BECAUSE PEOPLE ACTUALLY KNOW THIS PLACES AND I CAN ACTUALLY NAME ARTISTS THAT BEEN THERE.



As you're from abroad I can understand why the Slade doesn't register so high in your opinion. It's an English thing, a bit like Oxbridge. Most people know of the Slade and recognise the artists that went there. The school is more conservative than most (if conservatism is possible in the art world) reflecting modern British values.

For starters Goldsmiths/CSM have an entirely different approach to student application to the Slade. They are riskier art schools. They gamble with who they admit and consequently create a lot of failures but also as the YBA's have shown (although Saatchi is entirely repsonsible for this*) a few successes. Thats why they are rightly percieved as the edgier art schools. But being edgy isn't everyones cup 'o' tea. For me edginess is fleeting and reserved for the select young few, the rest can fight over the scraps.

I think its important to understand the art world in relation to the 'real world'. The Slade with its alumni and traditions registers highly in peoples conciosness; when applying for a job in the creative sector (which I presume most people will end up doing seeming as fine art isn't for most people a sustainable buisness) the Slade is an instant 'Aha! a creative individual with some intelligence' (note the ABB requirement/selective policy) while imo Goldsmiths is an 'ah, an out of control performance artist, risky...' (thinks Emin, Hirst THIS documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIa-NtGV-ZM). In short it has a much better real world reputation than other schools.

However prejudices and reputations apart, the Slade is better equipped than most schools for fine art. It's in a high ranking zone 1 university with intimate class sizes. This makes it less insular and more open to other ideas from science etc. It also means you have more studio space, better oppurtunities to make closer friends and a great location to explore the metropolis. It has great studio equipment, good links to galleries and wonderful architecture. If you want these things then apply for the Slade.

*Personally I can't detect any movements coming out of the art world, to quote Grayson Perry 'we're living at the end of art...there is nowhere left to explore'. The YBA movement was simply a marketing campaign led by Saatchi to line his own pockets and make him a household name. EMin, Hisrt et al. are all great buisness people and importnat figures in art history and the art world but fundamentally aren't boundary pushers largely because there aren;t any boundaries left to push!

If you want fame, revolution and edge then go to Goldsmiths/CSM if you want security, a career and an education choose Slade.

Hope this helps
Reply 801
Anyway, Slade is clearly not for you.
it's a school for artists who want to be artists, not swag obsessed wannabe celebrities. Who cares about name dropping? It's supposed to be about the quality of teaching. No school will turn you in Damien Hirst and then every school can, because it's about you and not the student ID that you're wearing.
I have many friends who went to Chelsea, Golsmiths or CSM and you know what they say? That if you want to make sure that you actually can carry on with your work in peace, have unlimited access to tutors, spacious studios and workshops, then go somewhere like CASS, Laughborough or Northampton :smile: and then do you postgrad studies at Slade or RA.
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 802
Original post by Vik_K
Actually, the attacking came straight out from you that instead of answering my question in a straight forward way - or just ignoring it - decided to take this really personally and went on this institution-ass-licking crusade, as if me raising questions and simply questioning some methods is vacuous (just because i'm from abroad, therefore, not so familiar with the hierarchies you hold so dear). And worst, you completely failed to understand my premisses and jumped to conclude that i am against Slade. Less drama, more rationality.


If you re-read your posts, they're all quite obnoxious in nature. At least they would appear to someone from Britain. I understand that you wanted to ask questions, but they're all passive-aggressive in tone. Hope it helps.
Reply 803
Original post by bertiewallace123
As you're from abroad I can understand why the Slade doesn't register so high in your opinion. It's an English thing, a bit like Oxbridge. Most people know of the Slade and recognise the artists that went there. The school is more conservative than most (if conservatism is possible in the art world) reflecting modern British values.

For starters Goldsmiths/CSM have an entirely different approach to student application to the Slade. They are riskier art schools. They gamble with who they admit and consequently create a lot of failures but also as the YBA's have shown (although Saatchi is entirely repsonsible for this*) a few successes. Thats why they are rightly percieved as the edgier art schools. But being edgy isn't everyones cup 'o' tea. For me edginess is fleeting and reserved for the select young few, the rest can fight over the scraps.

I think its important to understand the art world in relation to the 'real world'. The Slade with its alumni and traditions registers highly in peoples conciosness; when applying for a job in the creative sector (which I presume most people will end up doing seeming as fine art isn't for most people a sustainable buisness) the Slade is an instant 'Aha! a creative individual with some intelligence' (note the ABB requirement/selective policy) while imo Goldsmiths is an 'ah, an out of control performance artist, risky...' (thinks Emin, Hirst THIS documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIa-NtGV-ZM). In short it has a much better real world reputation than other schools.

However prejudices and reputations apart, the Slade is better equipped than most schools for fine art. It's in a high ranking zone 1 university with intimate class sizes. This makes it less insular and more open to other ideas from science etc. It also means you have more studio space, better oppurtunities to make closer friends and a great location to explore the metropolis. It has great studio equipment, good links to galleries and wonderful architecture. If you want these things then apply for the Slade.

*Personally I can't detect any movements coming out of the art world, to quote Grayson Perry 'we're living at the end of art...there is nowhere left to explore'. The YBA movement was simply a marketing campaign led by Saatchi to line his own pockets and make him a household name. EMin, Hisrt et al. are all great buisness people and importnat figures in art history and the art world but fundamentally aren't boundary pushers largely because there aren;t any boundaries left to push!

If you want fame, revolution and edge then go to Goldsmiths/CSM if you want security, a career and an education choose Slade.

Hope this helps


Ok, I've only saw a excerpt of that doc in the past and now that i've seen full... what the **** is that school for? I mean, one thing is conceptual art (for which you still need techniques) another is that... I actually decided to decline my invitation to Goldsmiths, now. I don't need to pay 9k to have people saying stuff on my ideas.

Is SLade good at teaching technique, or is the modus operandi the same? send people to studio and thats it. Geez, at this point my hometown art school is starting to be appealing all of a sudden.
Original post by Vik_K
Ok, I've only saw a excerpt of that doc in the past and now that i've seen full... what the **** is that school for? I mean, one thing is conceptual art (for which you still need techniques) another is that... I actually decided to decline my invitation to Goldsmiths, now. I don't need to pay 9k to have people saying stuff on my ideas.

Is SLade good at teaching technique, or is the modus operandi the same? send people to studio and thats it. Geez, at this point my hometown art school is starting to be appealing all of a sudden.



May I ask you where you are from and which schools are you thinking of atm, apart from the UK?
Original post by Vik_K
Ok, I've only saw a excerpt of that doc in the past and now that i've seen full... what the **** is that school for? I mean, one thing is conceptual art (for which you still need techniques) another is that... I actually decided to decline my invitation to Goldsmiths, now. I don't need to pay 9k to have people saying stuff on my ideas.

Is SLade good at teaching technique, or is the modus operandi the same? send people to studio and thats it. Geez, at this point my hometown art school is starting to be appealing all of a sudden.


Gladto help you potentially save 30k. Tbh the BBC gives quite a biased view point but still for a masters course it really is 'shocking'.

The Slade does share Goldsmiths conceptual beliefs (as do all art schools bar the odd independent few *watch this space*) but it places an emphasis on art history and proper theory that the others don't. It respects the past and thats why I like it.

As someone mentioned earlier hometown art schools like Northampton etc. are great if you want to be really independent, make the most out of good studio space and thererfore the best out of the 30k. But its an insular art scene and ultimately not one that will help you the most in the long term (degree show wonbt be well attended, few contacts etc). So thats really why an art school with a good rep is worth it, for the contacts!
lol, y'all so angry. chill.
Has anyone had their interview yet? if so how did it go?
Well I had my interview and it was decent, not fantastic or brilliant but a solid 5/10.

As the thread starter rightly said the feel is informal so you 'relax' (if that's even possible) into it.

It lasts what feels like a matter of seconds largely because you are talking so fast trying to explain all your ideas , half of which you'll forget as is the nature of stress. And tbh there was a lot of stress. A. Lot.


Any chance of going through an organised portfolio was futile. I had mine neatly prepared, numbered etc and it all ended up just scattered which meant I had to rummage around to find the supporting work. Several pieces were picked out which I then talked about until they wanted to talk about another piece so again ideas were left half explained. Some, mostly my drawings weren't even looked at which to be fair to them it was a traditional observational sketch , not anything interesting. My showreel which lasted 8 mins had to be cut down to 4 which meant my best work (personally) wasn't fully digested. Annoying.

Frankly I buggered up on the why do you want to study at the slade and why the BA etc. I said things like 'well there's some parks round here which are nice and the Thames and stuff' and for some reason started talking about doing the BFA(???) instead of the BA which I applied to. One of the interviewers was like well it seems like you'd be much better off doing the BA and I started disputing that! I mean what the hell was I thinking! If anything it'll be the part that'll haunt me for the rest of my life.

What is worrying though was how none of them really heavily criticised me or challenged me. As one of the 'informants' has told us In previous posts a challenging interview is a good one and frankly I didn't feel challenged enough, perhaps that's to lull you into a false sense of security for the inevitable rejection. Who knows

The ambivalent/best part (surprisingly there were some positives) was the remark from what I think was 'the bad cop' figure in the room telling me that my work 'is very humorous', which, I hasten to add, was not told in a sarky tone but a genial smiling one.

All in all it was mediocre and as I initially stated a real 5/10 interview (and This was my first one)




It's all in the lap of the gods now though.
Hey hey, I had mine yesterday too. Don't worry they absolutely didn't press me either it didn't feel like, so I was worried about that too.. Can I ask why they suggested you were more suitable for the BA? I said I wanted to definitely do the BFA because I'm going to be 25 at the beginning of the course (I actually said "well I'm not getting any younger" haha, why?!?) and they didn't dispute anything I said. Came out of the interview feeling quite positive but the embarrassing parts keep creeping back and making me cringe...
Original post by bertiewallace123
Well I had my interview and it was decent, not fantastic or brilliant but a solid 5/10.

As the thread starter rightly said the feel is informal so you 'relax' (if that's even possible) into it.

It lasts what feels like a matter of seconds largely because you are talking so fast trying to explain all your ideas , half of which you'll forget as is the nature of stress. And tbh there was a lot of stress. A. Lot.


Any chance of going through an organised portfolio was futile. I had mine neatly prepared, numbered etc and it all ended up just scattered which meant I had to rummage around to find the supporting work. Several pieces were picked out which I then talked about until they wanted to talk about another piece so again ideas were left half explained. Some, mostly my drawings weren't even looked at which to be fair to them it was a traditional observational sketch , not anything interesting. My showreel which lasted 8 mins had to be cut down to 4 which meant my best work (personally) wasn't fully digested. Annoying.

Frankly I buggered up on the why do you want to study at the slade and why the BA etc. I said things like 'well there's some parks round here which are nice and the Thames and stuff' and for some reason started talking about doing the BFA(???) instead of the BA which I applied to. One of the interviewers was like well it seems like you'd be much better off doing the BA and I started disputing that! I mean what the hell was I thinking! If anything it'll be the part that'll haunt me for the rest of my life.

What is worrying though was how none of them really heavily criticised me or challenged me. As one of the 'informants' has told us In previous posts a challenging interview is a good one and frankly I didn't feel challenged enough, perhaps that's to lull you into a false sense of security for the inevitable rejection. Who knows

The ambivalent/best part (surprisingly there were some positives) was the remark from what I think was 'the bad cop' figure in the room telling me that my work 'is very humorous', which, I hasten to add, was not told in a sarky tone but a genial smiling one.

All in all it was mediocre and as I initially stated a real 5/10 interview (and This was my first one)




It's all in the lap of the gods now though.


That's exactly how I felt OMG. Slades was my first interview as well. haha, I had mine on the same day as you I think, I went in and they told me I had 10 minutes, so me being absolutely silly, tried to speed talk through all of my work. I felt like explained an OKAY chunk of each work, but definitely didn't show one of my best work (ran out of time, they actually had to cut me off). And everything just felt rushed, and they would ask me questions and I would answer but there wasn't anything beyond that so it didn't feel like a group crit, which someone said was what you should be aiming for. Also, a lot of stronger video works weren't explained and watch to the depth that I had wanted. A lot of my work was based around science and schtuff so they asked me what's the difference between me and an actual scientist and I answered and they just nodded so hopefully that was okay. They didn't say anything that indicated their feelings towards my work though, like if it's good/bad/or funny like urs, just asked me questions. anyways I'm repeating myself. basically I think I mucked up the first part as well. :frown:


I think the last 10 minutes went absolutely fine though and I answered everything well, but yeah. Just wished I had pick less work to talk about so that it would've more in depth but yeah again. CSM went very very well today for me tho.


just up to White Jesus now than.
Original post by Omniscellula
That's exactly how I felt OMG. Slades was my first interview as well. haha, I had mine on the same day as you I think, I went in and they told me I had 10 minutes, so me being absolutely silly, tried to speed talk through all of my work. I felt like explained an OKAY chunk of each work, but definitely didn't show one of my best work (ran out of time, they actually had to cut me off). And everything just felt rushed, and they would ask me questions and I would answer but there wasn't anything beyond that so it didn't feel like a group crit, which someone said was what you should be aiming for. Also, a lot of stronger video works weren't explained and watch to the depth that I had wanted. A lot of my work was based around science and schtuff so they asked me what's the difference between me and an actual scientist and I answered and they just nodded so hopefully that was okay. They didn't say anything that indicated their feelings towards my work though, like if it's good/bad/or funny like urs, just asked me questions. anyways I'm repeating myself. basically I think I mucked up the first part as well. :frown:


I think the last 10 minutes went absolutely fine though and I answered everything well, but yeah. Just wished I had pick less work to talk about so that it would've more in depth but yeah again. CSM went very very well today for me tho.


just up to White Jesus now than.


haha yeh white jesus can deal with it.

I bet they get applicants like us the whole time and are just so used to a jumbled mesh of ideas that they don't really care, besides artists are by their very nature inarticulate and messy people a 10 minute high pressure slot isnt the best time to get a full sense of how you express yourself as an artist.

Good to hear bout st.Martins, solid art school


also did you get a bad cop vibe from the slightly smaller man? (thats if you had the two men and a woman teacher) I certainly felt like he was there to really question and subvert your ideas.
Original post by bertiewallace123
haha yeh white jesus can deal with it.

I bet they get applicants like us the whole time and are just so used to a jumbled mesh of ideas that they don't really care, besides artists are by their very nature inarticulate and messy people a 10 minute high pressure slot isnt the best time to get a full sense of how you express yourself as an artist.

Good to hear bout st.Martins, solid art school


also did you get a bad cop vibe from the slightly smaller man? (thats if you had the two men and a woman teacher) I certainly felt like he was there to really question and subvert your ideas.



I did have two men and a woman, however, I didn't really get that vibe. None of them really subverted or questioned my ideas, they only asked me about it and just general questions. I think she asked me what the difference was between two bunch of my work, which I didn't really answer correctly ( I only realised that after the interview, so that sucks) I think they just seemed I don't know kind of 'bored' or unimpressed ? like they asked me questions about my work, but there were like one question per piece and not a proper discussion. I think one question that could be counted as questioning my practice was the one about how I differ from an actual scientist and kind of why I just no do psychology instead. There was one guy who said he had a cold, and I think that might be the one you were talking about. He didn't really say anything, he was just kind of quiet which I don't know what to take from that. he asked me what artist I was inspired by and I told him about this one, but than tried to explain anther but I couldn't remember the artist's name but they were just like yeah that's fine. but yeah idk, I guess I wanted a good discussion about my work but I felt like I was just talking at them a bit. hope that answers your question haha
Reply 813
Curious when will you hear back from them. Hope youse lot get in.
just worked out that they must interview around 160 students for 45 places, meaning we have roughly a 1/4 chance of making a place (reasonable odds).

My math ran as follows: interviewing from 9-5 (probs more likely 11-6 or something) so 7/8 hours, this is then multiplied by 5 to equal around 150 students all applying for 45 places so roughly 5/18ths odds, which aren't actually that bad odds when you reach that stage.

Yh bizarrely Andrew Stahl seemed the interested in mine, did the woman talk much to you? For my interview she just read my writing and flicked through the portfolio in the background. Perhaps it is she that holds the most power and Stahl and the other chap are merely decoys. the worrying will begin again!

Btw when do we find out? is it between now and the end of the month?
Original post by eei
Curious when will you hear back from them. Hope youse lot get in.


Thanks! :-) No idea but will keep everything crossed...
I thought one of them was David Burrows? Head of media? Do correct me if I'm wrong.
Only just come back to this. My interview was on Wednesday and it was so stressful. I spoke to my tutor and he said it was to test me - they kept cutting my answers off halfway through to ask me another question when I hadn't properly answered yet. One of them refused to shake my hand when I arrived/left. I made a few jokes too and they just looked at me with a really unamused expression. It was my first interview too, and I definitely messed up a couple questions but seeing that other people did too makes me feel a bit better about that. All their questions were logical/reasonable but just totally unrelated to what I was saying so it was hard to jump from one topic to the next, especially as most of their questions were one I wasn't expecting/hadn't really been asked in crits, although they did pick up on things my tutors had discussed with me too.

i think I said some good stuff though, in amongst it all. And they did some things which sounded positive like two of them (including the bad cop one) said they had the name of one of my pieces written down, and there wasn't really any awkward silence, they seemed interested in my work all the way through and kept showing bits to each other and stuff. It's such a blur, it feels like waking up from a night out and you can only remember half of what happened, and half of that is embarrassing. I'm just trying not to think about it until I hear back. I think I'm about a 5/10 too, maybe 6/10..
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by Frankengine
Nice maths! But when I asked the woman why they needed to take a photo she said "because we interview 120 students in total so we want to be 100% sure we remember you." You weren't far off though, and in fact it means our odds are slightly better...

The woman spoke the most to me, but Andrew Stahl is a Senior Lecturer and head of painting (been geeking out on the Slade website); the other two part-time lecturers. Tbh who really knows, they probably debate it out at the end. From previous threads it looks like 2-3 weeks; but the longer the better! It sounds good that they suggested you were more appropriate for the BA though I reckon? Do you know why they thought that?



120 interviewed! those are 1/3 odds, great!!!!!

How strange that the head of sculpture (I think it was Melanie Counsell) spoke to you most and you specialise in painting and for me the head of painting spoke to me most but I sort of specialise in sculpture!
Bizarre but could it be that the one that the department head that has least investment in you (Stahl in your case) leads the line with questions and the one that has the greatest investment (Counsell(?) for you) takes a back seat and sits like a bird spotter just observing you and your work in silence. This was certainly the case for me, I confess i didn't notice Counsell much, she was behind a pillar for the most part just reading my notes and when it came to questions she didnt ask me anything.

Tbh the longer the worst, as we've seen in the past few posts waiting for decisions is incredibly stressful. I'd have a rejection sooner rather than later and get the whole mourning process over and done with.

Basically I applied for both courses (BA and BFA) and kind of accidentally withdrew my BFA application. Although I am sort of academic and wrote widely about that in my personal statement I feel maybe I'd do better in the BFA but frankly I don't know and thats what, I think, would have come across in my interview hence the dispute which was totally pointless!

Guergh, every time I think of the interview I think shoulda/coulda/woulda thoughts and just regret.
Original post by ieestok
Only just come back to this. My interview was on Wednesday and it was so stressful. I spoke to my tutor and he said it was to test me - they kept cutting my answers off halfway through to ask me another question when I hadn't properly answered yet. One of them refused to shake my hand when I arrived/left. I made a few jokes too and they just looked at me with a really unamused expression. It was my first interview too, and I definitely messed up a couple questions but seeing that other people did too makes me feel a bit better about that. All their questions were logical/reasonable but just totally unrelated to what I was saying so it was hard to jump from one topic to the next, especially as most of their questions were one I wasn't expecting/hadn't really been asked in crits, although they did pick up on things my tutors had discussed with me too.

i think I said some good stuff though, in amongst it all. And they did some things which sounded positive like two of them (including the bad cop one) said they had the name of one of my pieces written down, and there wasn't really any awkward silence, they seemed interested in my work all the way through and kept showing bits to each other and stuff. It's such a blur, it feels like waking up from a night out and you can only remember half of what happened, and half of that is embarrassing. I'm just trying not to think about it until I hear back. I think I'm about a 5/10 too, maybe 6/10..




Generally I get the impression from this that this was a good interview for you! If they had the name of one of your pieces written down then that must be a sure sign that they were interested in your work.

If someone didn't laugh at your jokes it doesn't make you a bad artist or uninteresting person just means that someone didnt get your humour!

Bizarre about someone refusing to shake your hand, I think I only shook one persons hand (stahl's) in and out but I honestly can't remember much except the bad bits (again it was all a blur), perhaps thats to test you or that they have a belief about handshaking that is unconventional, who knows but tbh I wouldnt attach much significance to the handshaking bit.

Did you have like I did (and I think Omniscella and Frankenegine also did too) Stahl, Melanie Counesll (I think) and David Burrows (cant forget a guy like that)? I've no idea who the other interviewers were but did you have any of these three?

I definitely messed up a couple questions but seeing that other people did too makes me feel a bit better about that.

hahahsaaa human relativism at its finest . (its human nature dw)

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