BA Fine Art: PhotographyAdd to shortlist

Programme profile

This programme is offered at the Willem de Kooning Academy. You will be developing as an image specialist who uses photography and other media in order to visually express own vision of reality in thought-provoking and personal ways.

Studying Photography means developing new ways of thinking and seeing. You relate to the world through (photographic) images, and as a professional photographer you need to know how to deal with this powerful medium. What is your personal vision in relation to photography as a medium and an art form?

You will be developing as an image specialist who, in their own individual and questioning way, uses photography as a tool for portraying the world in thought-provoking and visually challenging ways. You relate to the world through images, by applying your knowledge of the properties of the medium of photography. Photographic images have their own distinctive character, provide specific opportunities, and occupy a special position within contemporary visual culture. As a photographer, you also possess knowledge of the language and general meanings of images, which you are able to apply for your own purposes.

Photography is increasingly about the way in which photographic images relate to the world, not only in terms of visual culture but also to society in general. This means that you not only learn to create powerful and distinctive images, but also to create images that relate in a powerful way to photography as a medium. You will be working collaboratively and making connections with other image makers, with society, with the public, in order to create work that stands out from the everyday snapshots of social media.

Programme content

The curriculum coherently addresses the knowledge, skills and insights of professional photography, on a visual, technical and theoretical/researching level, and with a constant focus on the international professional context. Students work on projects and within a dynamic professional situation of experimentation, exploration, research, making and reflecting, which constantly brings them in contact with new environments, themes and challenges.

The curriculum also addresses the continuously changing professional practice of contemporary photographers. The medium of photography is no longer the exclusive domain of a small number of professionals: indeed, almost everyone takes pictures nowadays. Usually these are digital photographs, and an increasing number of amateur photographers are also able to digitally process these images. While everyone is now able to register their own lives and to process and publish the results on their own personal platforms (social media, blogs), the photographer remains a professional with the ability to oversee and reflect upon this professional field.

Entry Requirements