Master of Fine Arts
When you have completed your undergraduate degree, or you want to take time out to go back to the things that really matter, what could be better than two years of doing nothing but making art and thinking about art in the way that you have always wanted to? What you need is a focused time for self-directed exploration in a city buzzing with devotion to the arts and quiet enough to allow for creative production; time to make work that will give you the engagement you want with your chosen colleagues and field of inquiry in the visual arts. The MFA Otago meets the needs of artists who want to frame their own research areas and encounter the challenge of new, contemporary ideas and critical discussion and debate in the process.
MFA Otago: your project with our support
When you have completed your undergraduate degree, or you want tot take time out to go back to the things that really matter, what could be better than two years of doing nothing but making art and thinking about art in the way that you have always wanted to? What you need is a focused time for self-directed exploration in a city buzzing with devotion to the arts and quiet enough to allow for creative production; time to make work that will give you the engagement you want with your chosen colleagues and field of inquiry in the visual arts. The MFA Otago meets the needs of artists who want to frame their own research areas and encounter the challenge of new, contemporary ideas and critical discussion and debate in the process.
Practice and Theory
The MFA Otago is an applied research degree bench marked against national and international standards; and with a distinct emphasis on the integration of making and writing. From application onwards, candidates are expected to accomplish a high level of creative and theoretical research stemming from project proposals developed personally and in consultation with supervisors. The programme insists on the integration of art theory and history with studio practice - in or across nine potentially interdisciplinary areas: ceramics; electronic arts; jewellery & metalsmithing; painting; photography; printmaking; sculpture; textiles. It encourages candidates to explore the specific elements of their chosen area(s) and their distinctive visual, tactile, spatial and temporal registers. The MFA Otago is designed to extend the boundaries of each candidate’s studio work, while enabling them to further articulate their theoretical and historical position in relation to the international community of practice through a written component (which can constitute either 25% or 50% of a project).
Duration
Candidates can enroll for two years full-time or four years part-time study. Flexible movement between these two options is also possible
Outcomes
From application onward, candidates work towards four integrated goals: a public exhibition; a related dissertation; documentation of the work over the period of candidacy; and an oral presentation of the work in the exhibition.
Supervision
A studio and a theory supervisor are appointed for each candidate and alongside these the Postgraduate Coordinator assist candidates to interface with the undergraduate programme; with arts activities in Dunedin; and to integrate with each other and with the rest of the School.
Supervisors
Bridie Lonie, Head of School, Leoni Schmidt, MFA Programme Manager, Clive Humphreys, MFA Programme Co-ordinator and Michele Beevors, Sculpture
Group Work
Regular studio critiques; informal workshops; and more formal presentation of work during seminars provides opportunities for feedback, discussion and debate.
Visiting Artists
The international visiting artists programme feeds into the MFA Otago and contributes to a community of practice, currency of ideas and contacts for candidates.
Studio Space and Facilities
Each candidate is allotted a studio space and has access to project-related facilities in the School, which has consistently focused on the development of excellence in the material aspects of art-making and is now one of the best-equipped art schools in New Zealand; with fine technical staff who support faculty in their teaching roles.
Exhibition and Career Opportunities
Dunedin is a city with many exhibition facilities, ranging from small informal galleries to big, public spaces like the Dunedin Public Art Gallery; while a number of fine regional galleries offer still more choices to candidates who typically exhibit a number of times before their final work is shown to the public. The MFA Otago opens doors for exhibition and provides a necessary qualification for careers in tertiary teaching, museum or gallery curatorship and creative work in art studios.