Fine Art MA

MA Fine Art at Chelsea College of Arts offers emerging artists an intensive programme of development to professional practice. Designed to enhance the making, criticality and articulation of your practice, it aims to expand the contextual reach of your works and the audiences for them. The course encourages experimental studio practice and individual inquiry at a professional level.  

Throughout the course, you will challenge what art is or could be, how art is communicated or exhibited, and consider how to develop a future-facing, culturally progressive fine art practice. You’ll undertake research to critically explore the local, national and international contexts within which art operates. Developing this contextual awareness will ensure you build a sustainable, audience-aware practice that engages with culturally relevant concerns.


What to expect


• Contextual understanding: Explore contemporary cultural practices and ideas in order to develop a critically engaged and relevant fine art practice.



• Intensive practical sessions: Undertake intensive periods of practical development to help you refine your ideas and successfully articulate them to different audiences.



• Professional experience: Participate in public events, exhibitions and publications to build your professional experience and portfolio.



• International community: Be part of an international arts community and draw inspiration from shared experiences, perspectives and skillsets.



• Collaborate: Take part in collaborative projects with your fellow students and course partners to diversify your outlook and understanding of fine art practices.



• Partnership network: Get involved in our partnerships network and have access to specialist workshops, studio visits, field trips and exhibitions. These currently include Sotheby’s Institute of Art and the UAL Research Centre for Transnational Art, Identity and Nation (TrAIN).





Industry experience and opportunities

MA Fine Art at Chelsea College of Arts is specifically developed to facilitate your progression to professional practice and employability throughout the course. You will continually develop your practice and demonstrate your learning and progress by initiating, participating in, and accomplishing audience-facing outcomes and events. 

About Chelsea College of Arts


Chelsea College of Arts has a reputation for producing some of today’s leading artists and designers. Our students are encouraged to radically engage with contemporary fine art and design practice. The College offers courses in curating and collections, fine art, graphic design, textile design, product and furniture design and interior design

At Chelsea College of Arts, we look at art and design in a social, cultural and political context. We are particularly interested in the effects of globalisation. This could either be on creative practice itself or a response to it. As an international hub of creative practices, we have a range of partnerships, projects and exchanges that broaden student and staff perspectives and knowledge.

Located in central London, the College's Grade ll listed Pimlico site overlooks Tate Britain and the River Thames. It has excellent workshops, extensive library facilities, a canteen and an onsite gallery, Chelsea Space. The College is home to UAL’s Transnational Art, Identity and Nation (TrAIN) research centre, the Decolonising Arts Institute and Iniva.

The College’s alumni include Mariko Mori, Rose Finn-Kelcey, Haroon Mirza, Steve McQueen, Rana Begum, Chris Ofili, Margaret Calvert, Mark Wallinger, Thomas J Price, James Richards and Helen Chadwick.