Art facilities

Art Practice Areas (APAs)

The Art Practice Areas (APAs) consist of eleven teaching workshops and facilities available for art students to support and expand their practice over a variety of disciplines. 

The APA’s aim to build their teaching around students' project ideas, helping them realise concepts discussed with their academic tutors and introduce them to new practices and techniques where necessary. 

All APA staff are specialists in their fields, many being practising artists having years of teaching and commercial/industrial experience.  

Explore the facilities available to our students below.

Constructed textiles

Situated on the top floor, the Constructed Textiles Art Practice Area offers a light, relaxed and inspiring space in which to work.

Fine Art Printmaking

The aim of our area is to provide students with guidance, support and facilities to produce and experiment with fine art printmaking in both traditional and digital print techniques. We also offer bookbinding guidance and workshops.  

Our facilities include Screenprint, Etching, Relief print, Mono print and Bookbinding. For digital print we have large format calibrated printers including a UV flatbed printer. We also stock a range of digital papers on the roll and various sheet papers for students to purchase. 

We provide introductions for traditional print techniques, bookbinding processes and help and guidance with digital output. 

Staff members 

• Eli Zafran  
• Clare Bryan 
• Dr Altea Grau Vidal  

Graphics and Time-based Media  

Photography 

The aim of our area is to provide students with guidance and support in all aspects of image capture, both digital and analogue. 

Our facilities include analogue darkrooms, two studios equipped with lighting and a range of digital and analogue cameras available for loan. We also stock a limited range of photographic film and paper for students to purchase. 

We can offer help and advice on original and ongoing photographic work; provide introductions to analogue photography and processes; help with using cameras old and new and assist with documentation of flat, 3D and performance-based work. 

Staff members 

• Ivan Coleman  
• David Ramkalawon 

3D Print APA

The 3D print APA provides the following fabrication facilities:

• 3D printing in plastic, resin or clay 

• Bookable hi-sec computers for digital modelling in the softwares:  
  Fusion360 and Zbrush 

• A structured light 3D scanner which can be used for scanning medium to large size objects 

We offer support, learning and advice for students and researchers across the Department of Art, helping bring projects to life from concept to fabrication.  

Staff expertise spans multi-material 3D printing, 3D scanning, 3D modelling, and digital fabrication. 

Staff

• Eva Sbaraini
• Byron Kalomamas
• Fred Gwatkin

Sculpture - Casting and mould-making 

This APA provides support and guidance for all areas of mould-making & casting including: sculpting, moulding, casting and finishing.  Often working in collaboration with the Metal & Wood APA’s we work with students to realise their ideas in three dimensions at all scales.  

We work with traditional sculpture materials like clay, plaster, concrete, resin, wax, composites and rubbers alongside more experimental less conventional making materials like bio-materials and food.  

The studio consists of three large open plan working areas and a separate resin room. We are equipped with a wide variety of hand and power tools to use in the APA and materials to purchase.  

Staff 

• Claire Baily
• Alexandre Searle

Ceramics

The ceramics area is equipped to support students in a wide range of sculptural projects and our aim is to provide technical assistance at every stage,from construction to firing.The main work area is designed to facilitate handbuildingtechniques, such as coil-building, slab-building, pinching and extrusion.

There are also 3D clay printers on site for students looking to explore thedigital workflow. Four kilnsallow for work to be fired toall temperature ranges in eitheroxidation or gas reductionatmospheres.We stock a range of clays, glazes and raw materials which are available for purchase.

Our goal is to accommodate all skill levels, assisting students to achieve original outcomes by encouraging an experimental approach to the material and allowing them to refine specialist techniques and processes

Staff

• Fred Gwatkin
• Ryan Barrett

Metal

We provide support and advise through many aspects of metalwork fabrication. Our focus is understanding an individual’s needs and equipping them with the necessary skills to progress their practice. We are constantly developing our own skill sets to expand the possibilities within the workshop. 

We have an extensive and varied array of equipment which will allow you to venture into many different aspects of metalworking. We are very open and encouraging to new ideas and methods.  

Staff

• Ben Wrapson
• Nicolás Rojas

Sculpture - Woodworking APA 

Tutors in the Woodwork APA offer support and guidance for all approaches to working with wood as well as, in conjunction with the other sculpture APAs, supporting a much broader range of making more generally. 

 All teaching in the APA is tailored to the work students come to undertake with us. Tutors will work through your ideas with you teaching the processes and equipment that are relevant to the work you are making. Learning in this way, students come to develop a skill set and understanding of processes that is relevant to their interests and informs their individual practice. 

 The APA is well equipped with a range of machinery, power, and hand tools conducive to the making of anything from intricate carvings to temporary architectural structures. We stock a range of material for student use and can advise on the sourcing of any more specialised materials. 

Stitch and fabric 

Large and well equipped, this area enables students to interpret and express stitch and fabric concepts in a variety of ways.

Textiles Print & Dye

Our area allows students to facilitate all aspects of traditional and digital textile printing and dyeing techniques. We run introductory group inductions as well as offering support to students on a one to one basis in the development of student projects. 

 The APA houses large scale screen-printing tables, a flat-bed heat press, exposure unit and other equipment used for processing silk screens, extensive dye facilities for both synthetic and natural dye processes, large format digital printers and a vinyl cutter, both textile specific. 

 We sell both consumable items used in conjunction with the processes we support as well as a large range of fabrics, both natural and synthetic, in our well stocked onsite fabric store. 

Staff