Ceramics & Glass (MA)

Ceramics & Glass is situated within the Applied Arts in the School of Arts and Humanities. Applied Arts disciplines are always at the convergence of things. Whether that’s the cusp of art/design, material/immaterial, digital/analogue, Applied Arts require multidirectional attention and thoughtful and considered interactions with materials and materiality. As we enter a 5th Industrial Revolution, we encounter a dynamic time to be working with and through emergent possibilities presented by making, speaking both to studio practice and the rich histories of object-making as well as the new possibilities presented by technologies and global dialogues.

In this context, the spirit of Ceramics & Glass at the RCA springs from a belief in the transformative power of material thinking, research and making to enable a new generation of artists and designers to enrich our world in imaginative and meaningful ways. Core to our philosophy is an exploration of how we can make ideas manifest through a tacit exploration of active materials and the generative potential of process.

Our programme provides a creative interface where personal concerns and global perspectives intersect – questioning, examining and responding to social, cultural and material challenges. The areas of research of both staff and students are diverse, arise from the broad scope of the discipline, and inform what is taught on the programme. Advances in technology are explored, while traditional methodologies are challenged to create new and unique approaches.