MFA/MA Art & Ecology

Course details

The MFA in Art & Ecology provides an immersive education in the development of a professional practice as an ecologically oriented artist. As an MFA graduate you will produce a final exhibition of both personal and collaborative work, which will demonstrate that you have acquired the skills necessary to survive and thrive as a practicing artist. You will demonstrate capabilities for critical enquiry through fine art, with the ability to evaluate your work through an informed grasp of the social, cultural and theoretical concerns shaping discourse on contemporary art and ecological issues. You will also propose and implement an achievable, interdisciplinary collaborative project that engages with ecological / environmental concerns in the Burren or on a global scale.

The MA provides you with a master-level education in ecologically oriented art that is appropriate to a perse range of applications. As an MA graduate you will produce a final exhibition, the quality of which will demonstrate that you have acquired a masters level in artistic practice.

Programme Description

Studio research provides for the development of artistic practice alongside students of the MFA / MA in Studio Art. These modules provide for studio-based experimentation and innovation leading to the production of a substantial body of work.

Studio methodologies are a series of taught studio courses examining the methodology of Art & Ecology with reference to historical examples.

Theory and Art & Ecology consists of seminars contextualising the theoretical framework of Art & Ecology. In addition, Environmental Studies draws on expertise from within the College of Science at NUI Galway in engaging with scientific approaches to ecology, with the first module led by an environmental scientist. In the second, lectures and fieldtrips provide first-hand experience of the Burren as a microcosm of environmental and ecological issues. The third, a distance-learning module, examines the social and political context of global environmental issues.

Course Structure

MFA / MA Art & Ecology

Semester 1

• Studio Research 1 : Creative Strategies, 10 ECTS
• Theory and Art & Ecology 1 : Land-based Art, 5 ECTS
• Studio Methodologies 1 : Materiality and the Land, 10 ECTS
• Environmental Studies 1 : Ecosystem Science, 5 ECTS

Semester 2

• Studio Research 2 : Refinement and Coherence of Enquiry and Practice, 10 ECTS
• Theory and Art & Ecology 2 : Socially Engaged Practice, 5 ECTS
• Studio Methodologies 2 : Relating Art & Ecology - Inpidual Responses to Issues in the Burren, 10 ECTS
• Environmental Studies 2 : Ecology in the Burren, 5 ECTS

Semester 3, Summer Term, For MA in Art & Ecology only

• Studio Research Project : The MA Exhibition, 30 ECTS
• A studio-based, independent studies module for students seeking to graduate with the award of MA in Art & Ecology. Students develop a body of work for exhibition supported by a written Artist's Statement.

TOTAL FOR MA IN STUDIO ART : 90 ECTS

Semester 3

• Studio Research 3 : Preparing an Exhibition, 5 ECTS
• Theory and Art & Ecology 3 : Essay, 5 ECTS
• Studio Methodologies 3 : Collaborative Project, 10 ECTS
• Environmental Studies 3 : The Global Conversation, 5 ECTS
• Professional Studies, 5 ECTS

Semester 4

• Studio Research 4 : The MFA Exhibition, 15 ECTS
• Studio Methodologies 4 : Collaborative Project 2, 15 ECTS

TOTAL FOR MFA IN ART & ECOLOGY : 120

Admissions

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. The application deadline is 1st February annually, although late applications may be accepted if all places have not been filled. All eligible applicants are interviewed either in person or by phone.

Applicants should have a Bachelors Degree with first or upper second class honours in Fine Art; or a Bachelors Degree with a major in Fine Art with a GPA or 3.50 or above; or evidence of equivalent achievement. In the case of an outstanding portfolio, a Bachelors Degree with a lower second class/2.2 honours/GPA of 3.0 may be accepted.