Bachelor of Fine Arts – Visual Arts

Visual artists are driven by their passion to express themselves through their work and are motivated their surroundings. It’s the way you perceive and interpret the world.

The visual arts program at Grenfell Campus is an immersive studio-based, four-year degree program in contemporary art. Explore your creativity through different areas of visual art, such as

• Drawing
• Painting
• Sculpture
• Printmaking
• Photography
• New media and digital imaging
• Installation
• Time-based practices
• Art history/visual culture
• Textile/Fibre Art

Why study visual arts at Grenfell?

The visual arts program at Grenfell allows students to express themselves through various art forms and media. Our instructors support students in their journey to find the materials, processes, and practices that best suit their artistic visions. We will help you to enhance your technical skills while developing your creative intent. Our program will also introduce you to contemporary art practices and give you the opportunity to work with celebrated national and international artists.

Grenfell has extensive facilities, dedicated to our visual arts program with a commitment to safe studio practices. In our department you will have access to:

• Studio space for painting and drawing with studio lighting, ventilation, easels, and storage
• Printshops for lithography, intaglio, relief, serigraphy, and a graphic arts darkroom
• Photography facilities, including darkrooms, a large digital inkjet printer, and shooting studio
• Fully-equipped sculpture studio with three ceramic kilns, a fully-equipped woodshop, and an outdoor carving area.
• New Media Lab with Apple computer systems drawing tablets and industry standard applications from Adobe and Apple, facilitating production of print media, video, sound, animation, and code.
• Grenfell Campus Art Gallery

The Harlow experience

Our visual arts program also includes an optional 12-week summer immersion program in Harlow, England, just outside of London. Over a 12-week spring semester, you'll take daily field trips to important cultural and architectural sites in the UK. The majority of the coursework occurs directly in London, with regular trips into the city. These art history courses are immersive and experiential, offering a hybrid of art history, visual and material culture, and studio-based work. This unique opportunity is available every other year for any student in the visual arts program. Students receive credit for three art history courses (9 credits) towards their degree when they take part in the immersion program.

It's affordable

You'll enjoy the lowest tuition rate in English-speaking Canada. The provincial government gives high priority to education, providing extensive funding to Memorial University. This commitment allows us to provide an affordable yet high-quality post-secondary education.

It’s personal

At Grenfell, your professors will know you by name. Our low student-instructor ratio ensures that your learning will be personal and relevant. With just over 1,300 students on campus, you’ll make real connections with your classmates and become an important part of the Grenfell community. The visual arts program boasts a 12-to-1 student-instructor ratio for most advanced classes. Meet our visual arts program faculty and staff.

Information for first-year students

The visual arts community at Grenfell is a small and friendly one. You will find staff and fellow students willing to introduce you to the area, chat about art or visit the Grenfell Campus Art Gallery.

As a Grenfell student, you can participate in the Student Exchange (N.S.E.) Program, where you pay Grenfell tuition rates while studying in another N.S.E. member university in Canada or the United States.

Career opportunities

There are many exciting career opportunities for graduates of our visual arts program, including:

• Artist
• Curator
• Illustrator
• Gallery owner
• Animator
• Graphic designer
• Art administrator
• Video game designer
• Art teacher
• Art therapist
• Art conservation
• and many more!

Some graduates go on to study other areas such as architecture, forensic artistry and police photography, journalism, education, law, medicine and more. A visual arts degree is a respected stepping-stone in your career; it demonstrates creative thinking, problem-solving and innovation.