Fine Arts Courses overview
Fine arts is a broad umbrella, covering visual arts of all mediums, in both theory and practice. Contemporary art, dance, musical theatre, production, design, and various other artistic focuses can make up your curriculum.
Fine arts allows you the space, time and encouragement to evolve your craft and artistic potential. Are you are an artist with a vision the world needs to see, or a curator who can collect works from a collective voice that needs to be heard? Want to understand the people behind an art movement, or get to know the inspiration of your favourite artworks in great depths? The world of fine arts gives you a chance to explore how people find meaning in their lives.
Is fine arts for me?
Fine arts is the ideal course for you if you live, breathe and embody art in your everyday life. It is not an easy profession to pursue. The demands are real. You could potentially have to deal with physical constraints from creating your work, financial constraints from the limited well-paid positions in the industry, not to mention the pressure of having your work - whether art, curation or research - critiqued publicly.
However, if you really can’t imagine yourself being happy doing anything else, and you have the gumption and talent to stick it out, a career in fine arts could be the source of much happiness in your life.
Study pathway
Just as each artist has a unique voice, there are many paths you can take within academic fine arts.
The admissions process for fine arts degrees varies a lot per degree and institution. For example, some universities require submission of a portfolio for prospective students to be accepted into their fine arts programs. Many institutions also require an interview and a written application that outlines your direction as an artist.
You can use your undergraduate degree in fine arts as part of your application process, but it is also possible to apply with industry experience alone.
Employment options
Depending on your chosen medium, it is possible to work as a professional artist in many different ways. From professional photography to commissioned paintings and creating digital art on demand, there are many ways to turn your passion and artistic skills into gainful employment.
Designer
Many fine arts degrees also focus on design principles, which could see you with a career as a designer. Designers can work to create the best functionality and aesthetics for many realms, from digital work to interiors, and many, many others (read more).
Illustrator
Illustrators use their artistic abilities to draw for all manner of audiences and purposes. You could illustrate for books, create architectural concepts, beautify web pages, create cartoons, to list just a few (read more).
Painter
Painters create their art using paints, including acrylics, watercolours, oils, and many others (read more).
Sculptor
Sculptors create works of three-dimensional art from a variety of media (read more).
Multimedia artist
A multimedia artists creates electronic works of art, often combining digital images, sounds, text and animatio (read more).
Photographer
Fine art photographers use photography as the medium to create their artistic vision (read more).
Curator
Curators look after collection of objects, including works of art, collections of cultural heritage (read more).
Production team member
Working for a production company involves providing the sets, props and skills for performing arts productions in film, theatre, television, radio, and many more settings (read more).