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Be Creative… With a Career in Art and Design

Working in the Creative Industries is a dynamic and wide ranging career choice with many exciting opportunities available ranging from Fine Arts in many media including Painting, Film and Video, Interactive Media, Sculpture and Performance to Design and Craft in Graphic Design, Advertising, Fashion, Three Dimensional Design, Architecture and Spatial Design, Games Design and Film and Television.

We live in a very fast moving and dynamic world with new technological developments in media and communication constantly offering change and new opportunities. This dynamism is fueled by ideas and imagination so it is through the study of Art and Design that most contemporary practitioners develop their creativity and the understanding of how to contribute to this cultural climate.

The Creative Industries are central to the concept of the ‘knowledge economy’ where ideas and innovation generate wealth for the country. It is estimated that in the UK the Creative Industries generate more than 5% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and the UK music and computer games businesses earn more in exports than the Steel Industry, for example.

Careers in Art and Design are very competitive meaning that often creative talent isn’t enough in itself to secure a successful working life. This is why university courses strive to equip graduates with the creative intellectual skills needed to be able to adapt to this ever changing environment and to have the ambition to shape it, change it and make a difference.

The majority of people employed in the Creative Industries today are graduates. For example 90% of those involved in Television Production have studied at University.

Many jobs within the Creative Industries are freelance, which means you would be doing particular pieces of work for different organisations, rather than working all the time for a single organisation. These include professions like Designers, Photographers and Artists. Others can be more structured jobs such as Architects, Fashion Designers, Advertisers, Gallery Assistants, Filmmakers and Television producers.

Art and Design courses at University are mostly practice based which means that students develop their creative thinking through a ‘hands on’ approach using different media and materials. Most students graduate with a portfolio of work, which shows what they are able to do both on a conceptual and a practical level. In many ways the study of art and design at university is a unique educational experience giving the opportunity to explore personal creative talent in the context of a wider cultural arena not just in theory but in actual practice.

The recent resurgence of Manchester as a major European cultural centre has led it to be described as the “new Barcelona”. The redevelopment of industrial city centre spaces into stylish loft apartments by such award winning groups as Urban Splash, and the largest gay village and Chinese Quarter outside London have added to the cultural and creative mix.

With over 3300 full time and 150 part time students, the Faculty of Art and Design at Manchester Metropolitan University is one of the largest providers of Art and Design programmes in the country.

As well as those studying on degree and diploma programmes, we currently have over 80 students studying for postgraduate qualifications and over 40 undertaking research. Every year, students work culminates in the degree and diploma shows, giving them a chance to showcase their work to the public, attracting many visitors from the UK and abroad.

A vital element of the Faculty's character is its strong identification with the city, its creative communities and cultural institutions. The scope of the Faculty's activities connects it with an unusually wide range of organisations in the public and private sectors including several programme related professional bodies. These include the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), The Landscape Institute and the National College for Drama Training (NCDT).

For more information about the Faculty of Art and Design at the Manchester Metropolitan University including its wide range of courses and facilities visit www.artdes.mmu.ac.uk or email artdes.fac@mmu.ac.uk or call 0161 247 1705.