Sculpture & Environmental Art at The Glasgow School of Art is one of the few specialist undergraduate programmes in the UK, and the only one in Scotland, dedicated to exploring relationships between object-making, art in public and social engagement, underpinned by contemporary critical and cultural debates and conditions.
While Sculpture has been taught at the Glasgow School of Art since the 19th century, the introduction of Environmental Art in the mid-1980s and the creation of a single, integrated programme in 2001 has led to a pioneering, influential and cross-disciplinary approach to fine art education and contemporary art practice.
The scope of Sculpture has widened, extending the conventional boundaries of object making to encompass both traditional and contemporary materials and media. The language of spatial and material practice taught on the programme is based on construction, casting and fabrication and extends through to more time-based art practices such as video, performance and installation. The programme recognises and embraces this breadth, actively encouraging students to think independently and critically to gain command of the conceptual and technical processes appropriate to the expanded field of Sculpture & Environmental Art.
The programme attracts talented and motivated students internationally committed to becoming practising artists driven by the question of the artist's role in society and the relevance of contemporary art practice to an ever-broadening range of audiences and contexts. Sculpture & Environmental Art is taught by practising artists and researchers at the forefront of the field and is designed for students dedicated to achieving both artistic excellence and cultural relevance in our fast-changing world.
Renowned for our globally successful and locally engaged practising alumni, including Turner Prize winners and nominees past and present, Sculpture & Environmental Art is a diverse community of practice situated within Glasgow's distinct and dynamic artistic and cultural ecology.
Fine Art Critical Studies
As an integral component of your degree course, the department of Fine Art Critical Studies (FACS) provides students with dedicated Learning & Teaching addressing aesthetic, critical, and theoretical issues and debates in fine art and the historical contexts of contemporary art practices in globalised conditions.
Across Years 1-3, FACS courses are taught one day per week via a combination of discipline-specific courses, cross-disciplinary core lectures, and elective courses which evolve from the research of the staff team. In Semester 1 of Year 4, students undertake a Supervised research project following one of four options for written submissions: Critical Journal, Curatorial Rationale, Extended Essay (20 Credits) or Dissertation (40 Credits).
More information on the department and staff profiles can be found here.
