Art & Design

• Inspire - To prepare our students for a future in the creative industries we enlist the input from industry professionals from across a wide range of creative disciplines from RCA, Goldsmiths, The Guardian and Burberry.
• Explore - Every term we visit some of the most inspiring galleries in London including Tate Modern, Tate Britain, V&A, Design Museum, The White Cube, Barbican, Saatchi Gallery and many more.
• Create - Throughout the year you will be given the opportunity to explore and develop your skills in a variety of disciplines before specialising in your chosen area: Fine Art, Fashion and Textiles, Sculpture, Digital Design, Illustration, Printmaking, Graphic Design, Life Drawing, Photography and Stop Motion Animation. Preparing you for a future both at university and later in the creative industries.
• Exhibit - As a key aspect of your creative development you will curate and present your work in a public exhibition at the end of the academic year. You will also develop a professional portfolio for progression into higher education and employment.
• Staff - Enthusiastic, highly-qualified and knowledgeable staff who have a wealth of experience. Our lecturers are well connected to the creative industries and have exhibited nationally and internationally. Their experience and expertise spans across contemporary art, fashion design, SFX and visual communication.

View a gallery of our students work here or follow us on Instagram @art.and.design.nescot

Our students have progressed to top creative universities:

• London College of Fashion
• Chelsea College of Art
• Camberwell College of Art
• Wimbledon College of Art
• London College of Communication
• University of Brighton
• University for the Creative Arts
• Central Saint Martins

Our student’s creative achievements have been showcased every year at the Annual UAL Exhibition, Origins in London. In 2018, our Level 2 student, Rio, was chosen as the national winner of the Level 2 Art and Design Award.

The department has purpose-built, naturally lit studios and specialist workshops for printmaking, 3D & digital work. Students also have access to photography and film equipment, darkrooms, photography studios and facilities for working with sound. Tutor demonstrators and technicians are available to help learners to get the most from the equipment and facilities available. The department has an open studio policy and students often work in the department outside normal class hours on their portfolios and projects. Industry-standard processing, digital imaging and photography studios with Broncolor lighting, complete range of film cameras and monochrome darkroom.

There are a large number of creative arts students at Nescot and students help each other with projects frequently. We have a programme of visiting artists and designers to give students experience of working with a wide range of talents and temperaments and each year we stage a major end of year public exhibition. There are also opportunities to work on live design briefs, exhibit work outside of the college and collaborate with the performing arts department on costume, set and prop design. Not all work takes place in studios and classrooms – we visit places relevant to the areas we are covering in the curriculum, as well as visits to galleries and museums.

Careers within art and design can include: Animator, Graphic designer, Brand identity developer, Buyer, Curator, Digital print designer, Fashion designer, Fine artist, Garment technologist, Illustrator, Photographer, Set designer, Sculptor, Textiles designer, Trend forecaster and Visual merchandiser.

At Nescot we encourage our students to think ahead, so that they can choose the right courses to fit them and their future. We also use an innovative online platform called Start, which is a free and comprehensive digital platform, offering students a single starting point to help simplify careers guidance. Students can build a personal profile aimed at guiding them throughout their career. Find out more here.