Fine Art Welcome Guide : Preparing for your course

We're delighted that you've chosen to join our creative community at Arts University Bournemouth. We can't wait to see what you'll create.

Welcome to BA (Hons) Fine Art

This welcome pack is designed to give you an idea of what to expect during the first few weeks of your course. Please take the time to read it carefully.

A message from your Course Leader

Welcome to BA (Hons) Fine Art. You'll soon be joining an exciting degree course with an excellent reputation for student achievement and presenting your artwork professionally. When you arrive, there will be several essentials which have to be covered during the first week, such as enrolment and various introductions. But we intend to make that first week an interesting and enjoyable introduction to the course and Arts University Bournemouth.

During Welcome Week, the staff team will show you around the campus and introduce you to the course. Some members of staff will also speak about their art practice.

We hope you have a very enjoyable summer. Please try to visit contemporary art exhibitions and any other places of interest, make notes, and reflect upon significant things you've seen and done, and, of course, keep your hand in with your art practice. Keep enjoying your hobbies, as these can often become your key sources of inspiration to inform your art practice.

– Richard Waring, Course Leader

Venice Biennale 2026 – course residential study visit

Venice Biennale 2026 In Minor Keys

Every two years, the world's largest exhibition of contemporary art, with 99 countries represented, is hosted in Venice, Italy.

It's an amazing experience seeing the artwork in Venice’s incredible architectural setting and being able to explore the rest of the city. There are all types of artwork presented, painting, sculpture and video and performance.

We recommend that if you can afford to come, you do – however, we understand that not everyone will be able to afford this, and we have made every effort to keep this as cheap as possible, with group discounts. Please read through what's included in the link below.

The dates of the visit are over your consolidation/reading week in Term 1, so you won't miss any of your study weeks. The visit is not compulsory.

Learn more about Venice Biennale 2026

Before you join us

It's important for you to understand your work within the context of contemporary fine art. Spend some time browsing through the artists in this year's Venice Biennale – In Minor Keys. There are lots of media articles online covering this exhibition for you to research through (like this one).

From your browsing, choose two artists from this exhibition – one you like and one you don’t. Consider why some artwork engages you and why others don't, make some simple notes explaining your opinions. There's no wrong or right way to do this. Print off each work in any way you can – black and white is OK. We'll use this for the basis for analysis for your first seminar to have a group discussion about judgment values (after induction week).

Please read pages 8–16 and more if you can of: An, K. and Cerasi, J. (2020) Who’s Afraid of Contemporary Art: An A-Z Guide to the Art World. London: Thames and Hudson.

The book is a good introduction to the context of fine art. You may be able to find a copy from your local library or you can borrow it from the AUB Library when you arrive.

Make a note of any questions you have and anything you agree/disagree with for discussion when we start.

The Library at AUB is extremely well-resourced and includes all key texts that you'll need. Reading lists will be supplied in your course handbook and at the start of each unit on the course. The AUB Library has amazing fine art librarians, Corin Peacock and Antonia Leek, who are here to help you find texts that relate to your art practice.

Over the summer, please try to read:

A-N
Frieze
Modern Painters
Art Monthly
Art Forum
Turps Banana (one painting magazine and one sculpture)

Tate Shots – short videos on Turner Prize nominees (Search on YouTube)
Bishop, C. (2005). ‘But is it Installation Art?’ – TATE, tate.org.uk
artquest.org.uk – general info on resources and life as an artist
thisistomorrow.info – an artist-run magazine
SIDEWAYS – Exploring ideas that shape our lives: bbc.co.uk/programmes

What to bring on your first day

On your first day, bring along:

A notebook and something to write with
Your ID and documents for face-to-face registration (see the "Next Steps" tab for more details)
Your Registration Passport enclosed with your Welcome notebook

You're asked to provide the following items for use on the course:

Materials appropriate to your individual practice, for example, brushes, palettes, recycled plastic containers, etc.
We supply power tools but any other hand tools you want to use for your art practice.
A4 plastic file for research and hard copy material.
Notebooks and sketchbooks.
If you're interested in lens-based practices, a relevant camera/video camera is handy, but we also loan these from the AUB equipment store.

All materials are provided for skill workshops you undertake as part of the curriculum. The course subsidises about half the cost of some core materials, for example, canvas, plaster, silicone, jesmonite, alginate, gesso paint, Fabriano paper, analogue camera film, so these are much less than normal price. Wood is also provided by the course for painting stretchers and for sculpture armatures.

It isn't possible to be accurate about further material costs for your individual art practice, as this depends on your type of art practice and your careful choices about how you transform materials to generate meaning. You'll be encouraged to work sustainably and to re-use materials where possible, but you should still expect to make some financial investment.

Students on average spend between £100 to £400 per year on art materials, although many will spend much less.

Some educational study visits have a fee; if they do have a fee, they're not compulsory. There are also means-tested support monies for help towards visit costs. The cost will depend on the location of the visit; for example, every two years BA (Hons) Fine Art students have the option to go to the Venice Biennale as a group. The course gets group booking discounts and this costs around £600, for four nights, with an extra £70 spending money required for food.

Digital capabilities

This course uses Apple Mac computers, and you'll receive online data storage, but you can still use a PC laptop for your artwork or for writing if you have one.