Department of Arts

 Welcome to the home of Visual and Performing Arts!

The Department of Arts is a leading centre for supporting and energising creative practice and academic study informed by cultural partnerships and inter-disciplinary collaborations and promoted by national and international networks. Located in the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, a vibrant city with a flourishing visual and performing arts scene and home to numerous creative and cultural venues, the aim of the Department of Arts is to make a difference to the artistic and cultural landscape through the delivery of excellence in student support, learning and teaching, dedicated research and scholarly activity, reflective professional practice, knowledge exchange and enterprise.

The Department has an established track record for producing educated and highly skilled visual and performing arts graduates pursuing careers in a wide range of areas including art practice, arts development, museum and gallery curatorship and administration, theatre management, community engagement, cultural enterprise, art conservation, choreography and performance, as well as in education and academic research – and many of our graduates remain professionally active in the north east region.

Our range of undergraduate programmes in contemporary photographic practice, fine art, drama, drama & scriptwriting, film & television studies and performance, and postgraduate programmes in the conservation of fine art, preventive conservation, cultural management, music management, new media management, event and conference management, film studies, fine art and education and fine art are contemporary, challenging and focused on the acquisition of new skills, expertise and professionalism, offering students the opportunity to share the expertise of subject specialists from both within and outside of the University.

We have long established relationships with cultural and creative organisations including The National Trust, Dance City, Northern Stage, Live Theatre, Tyne and Wear Museums, Vane, Waygood Gallery, Tate Modern, Globe Gallery and the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art.

The quality and depth of the curriculum is reinforced by a dynamic research and enterprise culture, covering all aspects of the work of staff and students. The Department is home to 44 academic staff who are renowned specialists in their particular fields, and includes fine artists, choreographers, performing artists and photographers whose work is exhibited at venues across the world and research active staff who publish widely and collaborate with the cultural sector and creative organisations internationally.

As a student at Northumbria University you will benefit from excellent resources, including the Department’s own professional exhibition space - Gallery North, a new theatre, and our centre for professional practice- Graduate Studios Northumbria. In addition, you will have access to outstanding art and design collections in the University Library, thousands of online resources through the University’s e-learning platform, audio and visual resources, dedicated facilities for drama, digital media, performance, photography, printmaking, sculpture and designated studio spaces.

You will be taught by a community of enthusiastic and talented performers, artists, scholars and educators complemented by high-calibre visiting artists, performers, academics, researchers, directors, actors, choreographers and musicians, including many with an international reputation as experts in their field.

In addition the Department supports 34 doctoral students who make a significant contribution to research and knowledge exchange and the Department is supported by three experienced administrators.