Our creative arts programmes draw on the legacy of 130 years of Arts School tradition in Taunton, working
with the growing regional, national and international arts organisations in Somerset and recognising our unique local heritage and natural environment.
These courses are based at our Arts House in Taunton, and a £12 million refurbishment has enhanced the facilities to industry standard, offering students the chance to use a blend of traditional and contemporary processes to create their work. Creativity and making is at the heart of what we do here and our strong links with industry ensure you will be well prepared for a successful career.
Workshop spaces include airy art studios with life drawing rooms, plenty of scope for collaborative work and specialist workshops for ceramics, casting, woodwork, metalwork and photography. There are three purpose-built media make-up studios, including two professional-standard studio spaces with 20 mirrored stations in each, and a workshop-based room with workbenches and ceiling extraction. We have a fume room where students can use processes such as fibre glass moulding and EasyFlo, as well as a specialist foam latex booth.
Our fashion manufacture room housing industrial sewing machines, over lockers, leather machines and cover seamers. Large pattern and cutting tables are available as well as plenty of mannequins and six industrial irons.
In the fabric print room, students can design and experiment with fabric and techniques such as flocking, foiling, devoré and sublimation printing. There are also vacuum print tables and dyeing facilities. A 3D room supporting laser cutting, digital fabric printing and digital embroidery gives students a variety of processes and techniques to mix and get creative with. We also have a traditional print room for printing processes such as lino/ block printing, drypoint etching, monoprinting and collograph printing.
Also in the Arts House is a live production switcher for broadcast, professional and AV users. Our Blackmagic ATEM Television Studio is designed for both broadcasters and AV professionals. The studio is perfect for live production, episodic television, web shows, AV or even live coverage of video gaming competitions. Music students are catered for in our custom-built music production and mastering studios and recording facilities with high-end soundproof booth.
If you are looking for an Art & Design course to prepare for entry to a creative degree at university, please see the one-year UAL Foundation Diploma in Art & Design, offered at our Taunton campus, here.