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• Total Art School is a flexible education platform for artists and designers who want to invigorate their practice with a period of challenging experimentation. In small groups we will meet with leading practitioners at their studios and at cultural hotspots in London to develop new ideas and share critical thinking.
• Taking the idea that creativity needs only to be revealed to itself, there will be no conventional transmission of knowledge by experts at Total Art School. In contrast, we will create sites of interconnected complexity where production stems from identifying interests held in common. Everyone brings his, or her, own expertise. Total Art School is a non-hierarchical community of practice.
• At Total Art School we are interested cultural contexts. We are not lone theorists. We are not hermits. We do not spend all day looking at our phones! We will work, eat and socialise together. We are based in London, one of the most vibrant, multi-cultural metropolises in the world and as a result aspire to the spirit of inclusivity, tolerance and diversity that the city represents.
• Total Art School explodes conventional teaching models where techniques such as printmaking, programming or painting, for example, are isolated disciplinary categories. Instead, we frame our occupations around the idea of modes of distribution. All our work pivots on the ways and means by which our creativity is expected to function in the world. Whether you wish to engage with your audience via performance, broadcast, publication or exhibition, our pursuits are unlimited by conventional educational pathways.
• There is no formal assessment at Total Art School. If you are accepted you have already made the grade. All critique is based on three simple questions: 1) What is it? 2) Why is it? 3) Who is it for? If you can answer these questions you are doing well. Critical feedback will be developed from within the supportive parameters of the group.
• Total Art School is organised around an ethos of holistic learning in an era of heightened existential uncertainty. For as long as the social, political and cultural contexts for education continue to shift and change, we need to be evermore open to difference and to the notion that new forms of knowledge will undoubtedly be expressed in previously unimaginable ways.
2019
Ian Whittlesea
Mazdaznan exercises on the roof of St Martins
Bauhaus Rules, BBC Television2019
Rosa Nguyen
Lost Flowers
Porcelin, combusted vegetation -
Advisory Board
Tim Clarke
Chartered Accountant with Peat Marwick (KPMG) and recently a member of the Executive Committee launching and building the Business Growth Fund, a £1.5bn investment firm, providing growth capital for British businesses. Previously, a founding partner of The Bloomsbury Group Executive Search and Tim Clarke Executive Search.Lisbeth Savill
Lawyer and partner in Latham & Watkins’ London office. A number of industry appointments previously held, including deputy chair of the British Film Institute (2011-19). As an energetic supporter of the arts, she was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s New Years’ Honours list (2019) for services to film and television.Matthew Cornford
Artist, Professor of Fine Art and Programme Leader of Critical Practice at the University of Brighton. For the past 10 years Matthew has been researching the cultural history of British art schools in collaboration with John Beck. This work has been disseminated through public talks, journal articles, various publications and exhibitions.Copyright
Unless otherwise indicated, we are the owner or the licensee of all intellectual property rights on our website. All the material and ideas published are protected by copyright laws and treaties worldwide.
Total Art School is a registered trademark.
All rights reserved.Credits
Design by Blamey & Searson
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Teachers-
Rosa NguyenCeramic artist and Senior Lecturer in Ceramics and MA Designer Maker at Camberwell School of Art, London (1996-2010). Museum and gallery workshops at V&A, Pitts Manor House and Gallery, Compton Verney and London Garden Museum (2010-2015). -
David BlameyTutor in Experimental Communication at the Royal College of Art (1988-2019) and founder of Total Art School (2019). Artistic Director the Continuous Tone online platform for artists working with sound (2019) and proprietor of independent publishing imprint, Open Editions (1997). Internationally exhibiting artist. -
Lisa Chang LeeArtist, curator and artistic director based in London and Beijing. Visiting lecturer at Central Academy of Fine Art (Beijing) and the Royal College of Art (London) and a council member in the Royal Society of Painter-printmakers (London). Recent exhibitions held at Gingko Space, Beijing (China); M100 Contemporary Art Centre (Chile); and Seoul Biennale (Korea). -
Eduardo PadihlaArtist and lecturer at Stephen Lawrence Gallery (2019), Camberwell College of Art (2019), Publics, Helsinki (2018) and Bard College (2016). Founder of BalinHouseProjects (2006), an artist run space in central London. Currently working on a self-building a live/work space as part of an art project in South London. -
Caroline McCarthyArtist and visiting tutor at the Royal Academy Schools, Slade School of Fine Art, Goldsmiths College and Camberwell College of Art. Notable exhibitions at venues include: Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin (1997); Whitechapel Gallery, London (2005); Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin (2014); Banksy’s Dismaland, Somerset (2015); and De La Warr Pavilion (2005). -
Tom WhiteArist whose practice incorporates sound, moving image, installation and live performance. Projects include commissions and appearances for Radiophrenia, Glasgow (CCA); BRAUBLFF (KRAAK & De Player); Whitechapel Gallery, London and Colour out of Space Festival, Brighton. Winner of the British Composer Award for Sonic Art (2014) and founder of Apologies in Advance (2016), a platform for artists’ work-in-progress performances. -
Eilis SearsonGraphic designer and lecturer at University of the Arts, London and Sheffield Institute of Arts. Managed Camberwell Press (2014-17), the publishing imprint of Camberwell College of Arts. She is the proprietor of independent publisher HOLY! HOLY! HOLY! (2017-) and an annual contributor to the Artist Self Publishers Fair at the ICA, London. -
Ian WhittleseaArtist, author and teacher. His books include the first translation of Yves Klein’s Les Fondements du Judo into English (2009), Becoming Invisible (2014), Mazdaznan Health & Breath Culture (2012), The Egyptian Postures (2017) and On Colour… (2019). For ArtNight London (2017) he staged a dramatic son et lumiere in the Bascule Chamber of Tower Bridge, and he was a tutor on the BBC Four programme Bauhaus Rules (2019). -
Jon WozencroftGraphic designer and founder, editor and art director of the Touch record label, working with New Order, Wire, Joseph Beuys, Cabaret Voltaire, Chris Watson, Mika Vainio, Fennesz and Hildur Gudnadottir, amongst many others. As a teacher at the Royal College of Art (1994-2019) he specialised in the impact of sound and moving image on design practice. -
Gareth LongArtist and lecturer in Visual Studies at the University of Toronto in the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design. Themes of copying, seriality, amateurism, stupidity, translation, and collaboration recur throughout his practice, both as a central concern and as a method in the production of the work. Solo exhibitions include: Kunsthalle Wien, Austria; The Blaffer Art Museum, Houston; Kate Werble Gallery, New York; and Susan Hobbs Gallery, Toronto. -
Stine HebertCopenhagen-based freelance curator and educator. Previously held positions as curator at Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Denmark; Rector of Funen Art Academy, Denmark; and most recently Dean of The Academy of Fine Art at Oslo National Academy of the Arts in Norway. Hebert has curated exhibitions for various spaces internationally and lectured at universities and art academies in Europe. Her practice is engaged with investigations of conditions of artistic production and explorations of educational models.
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Apply•StudentsIf you want to supplement the teaching you're getting from your current course with something different, we offer an alternative. If you are an overseas student thinking of applying to a BA or MA programme in the UK and want to give yourself an advantage, we can help you with that.
•EnthusiastsIf you have a line of creative work that no one knows about and are wondering if it might be worth taking more seriously, test it on us. Why not professionalise your hidden talent? TAS welcomes applications from autodidacts, amateurs, and modest makers.
•ProfessionalsIf you are a success in your chosen career, but get the feeling that your creativity is on a plateau, we provide a platform for change. Nowadays, few people will hold one job for life. Individual careers rely on a more flexible approach. With frames of reference such as ‘job satisfaction’, ‘survival’ and ‘happiness’ becoming evermore fragmented, it may be time to adapt.
•InstitutionsConceived as a complimentary space for interdisciplinary teaching and learning, TAS can operate in coordination with existing structures. We welcome proposals from established schools for residency visits and collaborations. See our archive for existing partnerships.
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Total Art School mornings are spent in an artist’s or designer’s studio. At these gatherings formal presentations are made, followed by seminars, or practical workshops and film screenings, or playback sessions.
During the week, every student will receive a personal tutorial. At these sessions anything can be discussed relating to the work that you do, or are planning to do.
The cultural programme and closing events take place at weekends. On these days you will be free to work independently. In the evenings we will meet to go to gigs, galleries and/or public events.
To apply send us a PDF sample of your work together with a short statement explaining your background. We’ll be in touch soon afterward to talk to you in person about what you want to achieve.
Applications are encouraged from all creative disciplines, cultural backgrounds and ages.
Fees payable by PayPal or bank transfer. Please note that course costs do not include materials, accommodation, food or transport.
Places are limited to 10 students per week. -
•Field Learning
This package would suit existing students who need a new perspective on their work. The programme is divided into two parts. In Week 1 the focus is on ‘thinking’. We will help you develop an original idea for a new project that could be submitted as part of a BA or MA application. In Week 2 the focus is on ‘making’. You will put your new project into action and exhibit your work in central London. Candidates may apply for a comprehensive two weeks of study, or just the week that best suits needs.
Presentations
Seminars
Studio visits
Film screening
Research methods
Personal tutorial
Portfolio review
Internal project review
Public exhibition event2025 schedule in partnership with The Other Space BHP to be announced soon
•Placement SchemeThroughout the year Total Art School conducts teaching residencies at existing schools. As an independent interdiscipnary unit it is possible to commission our expertise for fixed periods. The Mobile Placement Scheme is conceived to sit at the heart of existing structures providing opportunity to students wanting to diversify their experiences while studying on conventional pathways.
Lectures
Discussion Groups
Listening Lessons
Studio visits
Film screening
Personal tutorial
Workshops
Walks
Reading group2025 schedule in partnership with The Other Space BHP to be announced soon
•ProfessionalThis package would suit established practitioners looking for a creative challenge. The programme offers a bespoke feedback experience tailored to participants’ specific needs. At the outset we review individual models of practice before looking at alternative examples. Each participant will receive a consultation session on his or her future work plans. If you feel that your career is stagnating, or if you just want to re-energise, this opportunity has been devised to rebalance your mindset and set you on a brighter path.
Presentations
Seminars
Listening Lessons
Studio visits
Film screenings
Professional consultations
Workshops
Research Methods
Reading Group2025 schedule in partnership with The Other Space BHP to be announced soon
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