Critical and Theoretical Studies
Our students are taught in an immersive, studio and workshop-based environment that offers artists the opportunity to develop their technical and conceptual skills across a wide range of methodologies.
Banner artwork: Indi Jennings and Alula McGlashan-Rabik
Study Visual Art at the VCA
Visual Art at the VCA focuses on independently led studio practice. You will be expected to develop studio projects that require investigation and experimentation with a range of concepts, materials, techniques and processes.
Critical and theoretical studies and professional arts practice skills subjects provide you with the skills to pursue the practice of a professional working artist, and allow you to critically engage in the debates of contemporary visual art.
Regular student exhibitions and the annual end-of-year exhibitions form an important part of the curriculum and offer the opportunity to engage the wider public in your work.
Areas of Study
At undergraduate level, artists work within four distinct mediums: Drawing and Printmaking, Painting, Sculpture, and Photography with the opportunity to explore all mediums through related studies subjects. Graduate students’ practice incorporates the methods and ideas of a variety of these mediums.
Visual Art Courses
Our people
Head of Art
Our people - Graduate, Honours, Breadth
Fiona and Sidney Myer Gallery
I never intended to pursue a career as an artist. But I knew art was something I was good at, and knew I wanted to go to university. So, I ended up pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts as an undergraduate. I fell in love with the art making process at university and was inspired by the way others pursued their craft.
Amina BriggsMaster of Contemporary Art student
Want to know more?
Get information on the courses you’re interested in, or ask our team a question.
News
‘Remember who you are and where you come from’: Meet VCA graduating artist Nicholas Currie
26 November 2024
Meet Nicholas Currie, a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) student in the Painting department. Nicholas’ work is deeply reflective of the experiences of his community aroun...
‘Everyday objects are given new meaning’: Meet VCA graduating artist Rachel Rovira
25 November 2024
Rachel Rovira is a graduating Bachelor of Fine Arts student at the VCA. Rachel’s work uncovers the harm of extractivism through her own experiences undertaking fieldwork...
‘It’s in unexpected places that you will find exactly what you’re looking for’: Meet VCA graduating artist Tess Rogers
25 November 2024
Bachelor of Fine Arts student Tess Rogers explores the way fabric can evoke lost emotions and memories in her latest photography series, inspecting the boundaries of social re...
Showcase
Explore the 2023 VCA Art Grad Show – an extraordinary display of new art by more than 140 graduating students from our Sculpture, Photography, Painting, Drawing and Printmaking, Honours, Master of Contemporary Art, Masters of Fine Art, and PhD programs.