Contemporary Photography and Theory University of the Arts London (UAL)

Overview

The MA Contemporary Photography and Theory at University of the Arts London (UAL) is rooted in the idea that photography has no self-limiting identity or essence. Creating visually exciting and intellectually compelling work, you will develop as an artist with photography at the core of your practice.

Unlike many other photography courses, MA Contemporary Photography; Philosophies and Practices at Central Saint Martins is not committed to one notion of what photography is. Instead, it aims to provide you with the tools to locate your own practice within a broad range of contemporary art forms. On this course, you will nurture your practice by working with reference to a number of disciplines, including performance, installation, new media, fashion and site-specific work. You will explore the philosophy of the visual image as a melting pot of political, aesthetic and social concepts.

Course overview

This course explores photography as a plural, transdisciplinary and multimedia global language. Situating photography at the core of contemporary visual art, the course integrates theory and practice. You will explore photography as a discipline which interlaces fine art, technology and new media. You will research photography as a universal language of contemporary cultures. These encompass the arts, the sciences and also the construction of personal identities. This course will provide you with the tools to work in fields related to artistic production and the extended creative industries.

A key objective of the course is to overcome the distinction between theory and practice and to offer an experience of deep integration of making and thinking. The course emphasises new media and post-internet approaches as the language of contemporary art practice. These are explored through theory seminars and workshops in physical computing, metadata, augmented reality and social media. The core activities of the course are the making, outward presentation and contextualisation of your work.