IADT or DIT for fine art/visual art practice

obviouslyrosie

Hi all,
I am a mature student ( a very young 30 ) and I need some advice. I have been offered a place in DIT fine art having got the maximum 600 points for my portfolio. I am currently awaiting a result from IADT and if I am lucky enough to get offered a place in both colleges I would like to know which I should go for?

The college courses seem to be structured so differently. Can anyone give me advice? Is there any past or current students or teachers out there that can help?

Rhyme

I can only speak from a final year Visual Arts Practice perspective but from seeing work displayed from both courses in external and internal exhibition situations, I would recommend IADT.

While I can't honestly talk about the quality of staff or teaching at DIT, I can say that the consideration for presentation of work does seem to be significantly less than IADT. It seems that most of the emphasis is taking concepts to an appreciable stage and then beginning production without adequate critique. The work i've seen from DIT students is good and in some cases, excellent, but I always get the impression that it could have done with more editing or a thought for how the work will be displayed beyond 'stick it on the wall'. It's an awareness that's lacking.

I'm probably coming across quite badly, pimping my own college, but these are impressions that have sustained through more than five years of going to exhibitions from both sets of students and that i've heard repeated from people outside of both colleges. I still recommend IADT.

If you've any more questions, even ridiculously specific ones, ask away obviouslyrosie.

obviouslyrosie

Thanks Rhyme,
Wow, you seem really positive about IADT, which I'm is a great sign!
I really need direction at the moment and I got the impression that IADT Visual Arts Practice course was sturctured completely differently than DIT's Fine Art course.

Can you tell me what to expect from the course, like stucture wise?

Does that make sense?

Rhyme

In terms of general structure, there is a lot of freedom as regards what media you use. You can dip into sculpture, photography, video etc depending on your needs, though, obviously, some require training (you don't just walk into the 3D studio and start making wax molds of your hand). Critique and feedback from tutors is more-or-less continuous so if you do dip into a new medium, you'd typically have to explain why you thought it was necessary to start drawing when you've been taking photographs for a few months but they are supportive and helpful in their critique. The tutors, however, do not take any bullshit.

1st year is typically a series of short projects (2 to 4 weeks) with supplementary workshops depending on your choice of medium. There are collaborations with IMMA as well but this is in flux at the moment so expect their duration/complexity to change.

2nd year is longer projects alongside dedicated workshops in various media. There are site-specific projects and cross-course collaborations as well including one three-week workshop dipping into other course-specific workshops (script-writing, animation, documentation skills etc)

3rd year is small projects for the first half of the year and one large project for the second half of the year. Where display and exhibition quality work has been expected before, now work should be conceived, created and displayed at an industry-level standard. A media-specific project is included as well (the 4D/Photography one last year was titled 'photographic fictions' and dealt with created environments and structured narrative)

4th year is one long self-directed project with weekly tutorials where new work is expected to be ready for display and critique. Small projects are thrown in every now and then along with 'rollover' shows where groups of students put on full public exhibitions for critique and external evaluation.

As with any art course, you get out of it what you put in and the people who put in the most, are the ones that last the four years and enjoy every minute. I can paint a bleak picture for lazy students or people unwilling to commit to the course but just as easily can paint an engaging, encouraging and enjoyable four years spent developing ideas with interested like-minded individuals.

obviouslyrosie

Thanks again Rhyme,

Your explinations are fantastic! You're really making me want to get accepted in IADT, not that I didn't before.

Now that you are a fourth year, What do you expect to be doing when you finish? Have you got any definate plans? Are you planning on further education? If you didn't choose to continue your education after your degree do you feel that you would be able to gain work in your chosen field? With or without pay. I'm really interested in what opportunities are available to you.

Please note that I am eager to be educated to the highest degree and intend to do a masters when I finsh my degree. However the fact that I have two children makes it neccasary to think about the financial side.

Rhyme

Though I feel I could easily go on to do a related masters immediately in Ireland (Art in the Contemporary World (ACW) in NCAD, MA-VIS in IADT or one in Limerick/Belfast), I want to spend a year out earning money and experience and then doing a Masters outside of the country (maybe Finland or Germany) and then maybe an HDip towards teaching.

The course does give a graduating student a good view of contemporary art and its creation, display and, to a lesser extent, distribution but not many students immediately go on to become full-time practicing artists. Most will further their education or go into an art-related field while continuing their practice in private. With so many galleries operating an occasional submission policy, the potential for displaying your artwork post-college a few times a year is quite likely. Some students set up their own studios or bunch together to found their own gallery/studio hybrid. One such group is FlatPack who all graduated from IADT last year and opened their doors not so long ago.

A great suggestion is to befriend galleries Facebook pages, that way you get updates and notifications about opportunities, internships, open-submissions etc. Visual Artists Ireland and e-Flux run newsletters that I find really helpful too (the former more than the latter). There really is a lot going on but you have to be looking in the right places to be able to take advantage.

With the college operating collaborative efforts with bodies outside of IADT at least once a year, over the four years an engaged student could collect contacts and experience in a few fields that would be a huge help post-college. Students who work in a bubble and do the bare minimum to get by are the ones I would guess to be most likely to move away from artistic pursuits post-college. Opportunities are what you make yourself really, there are no hand-outs in creative practice, you either pursue or you go back to your bubble.

obviouslyrosie

Thanks again for all your advice Rhyme,

you've really gave me allot to think about. I am going to check out the arts newsletters you've reccommended. I also want to wish you well with your year out and invite you to tell me how you're getting on.

I would love to see your end of year show if it's not too late. Maybe if your comfortable with it you could let me know when it's on.

Thanks again for all your help!!!

Rhyme

The end of year show opens on the 7th or 8th of June (not entirely sure which) and runs for a week or so afterwards.

It'd be definitely worth your while attending the show and the other graduate exhibitions around Dublin as well. It not only allows you to see the way work is made and displayed, if you attend all of the shows and do so again the following year, the comparisons you make between them can be immensely helpful to your own work.