Visual Arts
If you would love to be designing the clothes seen on the catwalks of Paris and London, exploring your creative ideas using drawing, photographing the events and scenes that can shape the world, designing the logos for the next Olympic games or crafting digital artwork for an international company, then a course in Visual Arts at the No.1 Further Education College in Greater Manchester for Achievement* could be perfect for you.
With a range of areas to focus on – from exploring fashion trends and working with textiles to developing graphic design skills and crafting pieces of fine art – you’ll be able to follow your passion and work towards your dream career in one of the fastest growing employment sectors in the UK.
*As per the latest Government National Achievement Rates Tables (NARTs)
3 reasons to Visual Arts with us
Creative spaces
Master your craft in specialist studios including ceramics, fashion & textiles, jewellery, printmaking, photography and 3D workshops
Industry experience
Build your portfolio through gallery exhibitions, the Creative Futures programme and live briefs from our partners
Practising artists
Learn from tutors who are still active in fine art, design, textiles, illustration, photography and applied arts
Available courses
Where you'll learn
With excellent transport links, modern classrooms and vibrant social spaces, you can study Visual Arts courses in our state-of-the-art City Campus Manchester in the heart of Manchester City Centre, next to the AO Arena and Victoria Station.
The campus boasts eight industry-standard specialist studio workshops for fashion, photography, jewellery, ceramics, printmaking, 3D design and digital media, as well as an incredible double height collaborative art studio and exhibition space.
Our facilities include:
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A specialist jewellery studio with professional equipment, including brazing hearths, a laser cutter and polishing tools
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A fully equipped ceramics studio with potter’s wheels and kilns
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Dedicated textile print and printmaking studios with industry-standard equipment
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A garment construction and fashion workshop with sewing machines and pattern cutting equipment
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Print making studio with hot plate, screen print tables, and storeroom with exposure unit and drying cabinet
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Photographic studios and developing suites for digital and traditional processes
Where a career in Visual Arts can take you
Art therapist
Average Salary £43,228
Artists
Average Salary £34,328
Clothing, fashion and accessories designers
Average Salary £30,831
Sarah Clements • Photography Level 3, UALStudying at The Manchester College has furthered my knowledge of photography and I’ve learnt a lot on my course. It has been really enjoyable and has helped me develop as a photographer and work to a professional standard. I would like to study photography at university, and it’s then my intention to travel and photograph the world.
Maeve Geary • FdA Art and DesignThe College was the stepping stone to my journey back into education that I could barely have dreamed of and am most grateful for.
More about Visual Arts
Welcome
The Visual Art department at The Manchester College believes in transformative education. We offer inclusive Arts education for School leavers, adults, community groups, and Higher Education students.
Our aim is to help catapult our students as active artists, designers and makers to a creative future in Manchester, a city of expanding opportunity.
The College is an integral part of the city’s diverse artistic community, we work with our many employers and partners in the visual arts sector and well placed to serve the growing need for innovative young creatives.
Come and join us and become a part of our creative community of making and thinking. We know that Visual Art makes life better and can influence the way people think and feel. Here at The Manchester College, we place you right at the heart of Manchester’s creative hub.
Do you want to experience making work in media such as painting, drawing, illustration, printmaking, 3-Dimensional design, photography, installation, visual communication, ceramics, fashion, textiles, jewellery? Come and learn in our inspiring, dynamic and collaborative studio spaces, which we use for working and exhibiting.
Our Visual Arts Department will help you to find, shape and refine your own individual creative voice. You’ll learn how to come up with creative solutions to challenging live briefs, and explore the opportunities open to you in this vibrant sector.
Ready to take your first step? Then come on, let’s go…
About our courses
In our Industry Excellence Academy for Visual Arts and our Centre of Excellence for Visual Arts you’ll gain all the skills you need for a stimulating Visual Arts career. You can study a course from entry level to T Level to kickstart your career in this exciting sector.
Jobs in this sector are expected to increase by at least 20 per cent in Greater Manchester over the coming years, creating plenty of opportunities for budding photographers, artists, designers and fashionistas to turn their passion and artistic flair into a career.
You’ll learn a range of creative disciplines, work on live briefs with our creative partners in Manchester and London. You will have the opportunity to be part of the ground-breaking Future Creatives and Greater Mancunian projects, which are unique to the College.
What’s more you’ll benefit from a range of workshop spaces, resources and have specialist tools at your disposal, including printmaking equipment, fashion garment pattern cutting and construction studios, ceramics studio, plus darkrooms and studio spaces for photography.
All of our tutors have studied creative subjects at degree level or higher, have worked in industry, and many continue to practice and create work within their own in their own studios across the city.
All of our courses are accredited by the University of the Arts London Awarding Body (UAL) – the UK’s only creative specialist awarding body. So, you’ll know that your qualification will be recognised by the design and visual arts sector.
Our projects
When you enrol on a Visual Arts qualification at The Manchester College you’ll have the opportunity to get involved with and exhibit your work through a range of creative and artistic projects and channels.
The Whitworth Takeover
Through our partnership with The Whitworth, you'll have the opportunity to respond to live briefs based on current exhibitions and selected work will be showcased at our annual Whitworth Takeover event.
Future Creatives
Through our partnership with Manchester Art Gallery we support our student artists and designers of the future to showcase their work:
Greater Mancunians
A landmark photography project through which our students photograph people born, bred or who have made their home within Greater Manchester and who have, in some way, culturally shaped the city and its surrounding boroughs:
End of Year Show
Our end of year show aims to showcase the fantastic work produced by our students:
Do you have an EHCP or SEND need?
The Manchester College is committed to ensuring all our students receive the support they may need to achieve and enjoy college. We do this in a number of different ways including:
- Student Experience Support Team
- Careers Employability & Welfare
- Pastoral Support Officers
- Supported Learning
We also offer a bespoke transition service to new applicants with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP), accessibility or medical need.
Want more information?
Find out even more about our Visual Arts department in our subject area guide or on our YouTube playlist:
Download our subject area guide
Stay up-to-date with everything that's going on in our Visual Arts department via social media:
Meet the team
Interested in progressing to higher education?
Put your fashion foot forward and build your brand. Explore our degrees in Fashion, Graphic Design and many more.
Related news
Wearing couture high-end fashion pieces from rising star designers, the students took part in a professional shoot at City Campus Manchester.