Contemporary Photography and Theory MA

MA Contemporary Photography; Practices and Philosophies is a fine art photography course which merges research with practice. The course 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. This course is part of the Art programme.

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 across 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.

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 and installation of your work. This will allow you to evaluate public reception and the relationship between your work and the environment.

About Central Saint Martins

Central Saint Martins is a world-renowned arts and design college which brings together a diverse range of creative practices under one roof. It is known for breaking new ground and asking difficult questions. Across nine programmes of study, the College champions the power of imagination, curiosity, diligence, ambition and risk-taking. It challenges the cores of its disciplines, encouraging collision and exchange across boundaries to create unexpected outcomes. It aspires to give students the confidence to unearth ideas and formations that might provoke and disturb accepted norms. The Central Saint Martins community is dedicated to constantly discovering new ways of thinking, making and doing.

Situated in King’s Cross, Central Saint Martins sits at the heart of a dynamic part of London: Google, The Guardian, Tom Dixon, Universal Music, Camden Council and many others are both neighbours and partners. Students are empowered by the College’s world-class teaching, technical and support staff as well as inspired by their individual practices and industry experience.

Central Saint Martins is often recognised for its academic excellence. In 2017, the Foundation Diploma in Art and Design was awarded ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted, and the College was named best provider of both undergraduate and postgraduate fashion education in the Business of Fashion’s Global Fashion School Rankings in 2016 and 2017 consecutively.

Courses sit within nine programmes: Access and Progression to Higher Education; Art; Culture and Enterprise; Fashion; Graphic Communication Design; Jewellery, Textiles and Materials; Performance; Product, Ceramic and Industrial Design; and Spatial Practices.