We’re one of the UK’s leading centres for art and design research, education and knowledge exchange. We’re committed to environmental sustainability, social engagement, internationalism and leading practice at the intersection of art, science, technology and culture.
Winchester School of Art is home to a diverse and committed community of artists, designers, writers, strategists, futurists and social agents. Together we engage in processes of radical enquiry, making and learning, in pursuit of a just and sustainable world. We are here to support the most talented and determined students, researchers, artists, designers and educators, whoever you are and wherever you are from.
We champion the vital role of the arts in all their manifestations: the playful, speculative and experimental; the progressive, interrogative and radical. We are dedicated to the exploration of both traditional and contemporary modes of making and material enquiry. Our research examines the profound impact creative practices have upon our lives, our means to think and act critically, and to affect change in society.
The curiosity and ingenuity of our students enable us to embrace an innovative and interdisciplinary portfolio of education and research, spanning art, media and technology, design and fashion and textiles. We work across a full range of high-spec studios, workshops, technology suites,and research labs. We foster a learning experience and an exchange of ideas that emphasises industry partnerships, project-led enquiry and high level research and making.
Among our many notable alumni are Turner Prize-nominated artist Darren Almond, composer and musician Brian Eno, the painter Katie Pratt and fashion designer Stella Tennant.
Image credit (Banner and 'Working with us'): Dave Gibbons
The school houses an integrated network of high-specification studios, workshops and labs specific to the disciplinary and interdisciplinary practices our students and colleagues engage in. They’re supported by a skilled team of technical specialists.
The various equipment and making processes available range from the manual and analogue to the digital, networked, and programmable.
Our facilities enable pioneering work by students and research by colleagues in areas such as:
e-textiles innovation
immersive service design
augmented and virtual reality explorations
ludic technologies, ubiquitous computing and expanded games making work
We support whole garment digital knit machines, weave technologies from the hand operated to the computer aided, and the capacity to print pretty much anything on pretty much anything. We’re one of relatively few schools at which an object can be metal cast in a foundry, scanned, 3-printed, scanned again and digitally remodelled, before being scanned and printed (or cast) again or rendered in virtual space.
Our comprehensively stocked media store supports all our students with photographic, video, projection, and audio resources, and our photographic studios, and workshops in mould making, wood, metal and plastic, and painting, ensure practice is broad and exploratory.
Our E-textile Innovation Lab blends design with engineering.
Winchester School of Art collaborates with a broad range of partners, nationally and internationally: Universities and art schools, organisations across creative industries, non-governmental organisations and governments.
We have collaborated with organisations including:
in art: The Tate, John Hansard Gallery
in fashion: Samson Saboye, Fendi and Tod’s
in education: Artful Scribe, Artswork and In Focus
in entertainment: The Berry Theatre and Zoielogic Dance Theatre
in public service: the National Health Service and Southampton City Council
in the voluntary sector: the Salvation Army, St John’s Winchester and WeCan
in heritage: the National Trust and Museumand, the National Caribbean Heritage Museum
We aim to create an inclusive environment that attracts, supports, and retains exceptional students and staff from diverse backgrounds and experiences from across the world.
We are proactive in fostering a culture of inclusion, respect, and equality of opportunity. We believe that we can only truly meet our objectives if we are reflective of society, so we are passionate about creating an environment in which you are free to bring your whole self to work.
We’re a leading art school with an established history reaching back over 150 years. We’re also part of a research intensive Russell Group university that’s ranked in the top 1% globally.
At our School, the generation of new knowledge, ideas, and methods energises interrogative and industrially connected learning — and our commitment to art and design bettering our world.
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