The 3-Year Art Program at Metàfora
Our flexible Studio Arts Program is designed in independent and accumulative blocks that start several times a year. This means that students can join the art course for one block (which lasts for about 6 weeks) and then decide whether to stay on for longer. Students usually choose to stay on the course for a Semester, or a year. Some decide to take the complete program from Foundation to Advanced level which takes a total of 3 years.
The Studio Arts Program contains both practical workshops available to students on all levels, and a set of theoretical classes designed for each year of the program. Another great characteristic of the course is that each art student has a studio space on campus and a personal tutor who will accompany them during their stay on the course and with whom they talk on a weekly basis about their artwork and progress.
Participating in events and exhibitions on the local art scene is an important activity, common to all three levels. We expect our students to visit exhibitions every week, but also to show work in some of the events and exhibitions organized by the school in galleries around the city.
Together, these different components aim at equipping Metàfora’s artists with strong tools – both technical and intellectual – enabling them to form part of the world of Contemporary Art today.
Each year on the Studio Arts Program can be considered an independent program. The 1st year is the Foundation Program in Studio Arts, the second year is a Certificate in Studio Arts and the final and third year is a Diploma in Studio Arts course.
The Foundation Program, is designed for students who approach full time art studies for the first time. This level is also adequate for students with professional backgrounds different from visual arts. The Foundation Program is an excellent portfolio preparation course.
The intermediate and advanced levels are dedicated to students interested in a career as practicing artists.
After passing Metàfora’s Foundation Program or a similar one year full-time course elsewhere, students can join the Certificate in Studio Arts Program. This is an intermediate level for students with a clear ambition to pursue a career within the field of contemporary art.
The Diploma in Studio Arts is for students who have an advanced theoretical, critical and experiential knowledge of the Arts. The Diploma course concludes with a major exhibition at one of Barcelona’s leading established art galleries and a public presentation of the student thesis held in the auditorium in Barcelona’s prestigious Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA).
Foundation Program
On Metàfora’s Foundation Program in Studio Arts, the focus is on experimentation and play, testing the creative potential of each student. The main objective is to give the student a chance to test the artistic possibilities provided by different media and materials.
Metàfora’s Foundation Program is recognized by many universities in the UK and other countries, and is the ideal portfolio preparation for students who wish to pursue further education in visual arts.
The majority of the classes are optional workshops in different tools and techniques in painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography etc. There is also a weekly life-drawing class, as well as classes in Street Art, Performance, Installation, etc.
Students can choose the classes they are interested in and spend the rest of the time in their studios on personal art investigation (we recommend to leave a day or two free for studio practice).
Once a week, students meet with their personal tutor to discuss studio work. The practical work is supplemented by a weekly class of Recent Art History, an introduction to the past 40-50 years of contemporary Western art.
Students on the Foundation Program have several opportunities to show their artwork in the gallery exhibitions organized by Metàfora every semester.
| ENTRY REQUIREMENTS | It is not necessary to present an artistic portfolio or to have previous knowledge of Recent Art History to enter Metàfora’s Foundation Program in Studio Arts. |
| LENGTH OF COURSE | One Academic or Calendar year (6 studio blocks)*
Students on shorter stays are welcome. * The one year course is mandatory for students who wish to continue to the second year of Metàfora’s Training Program. |
| ECTS | 60 ECTS*
* Metàfora is an independent institution without university affiliation. |
| EVALUATION AND CONTINUITY | At the end of the Foundation Program, the Evaluation Panel of Metàfora’s Studio Arts Program will assess the overall production of each student, together with grades and attendance, in order to issue a PASS/NO PASS for the student to continue into the second level. Exceptionally, Metàfora can “fast track” Foundation Program students to the second level, if their previous experience and training makes them develop faster than usual. |
Certificate in Studio Arts
After completing the first year on Metàfora’s Studio Arts Program, students move into the Certificate in Studio Arts with a solid base of knowledge of Recent Art History, having tested and tried many different tools and techniques.
At this point, students will have discovered media which they prefer to others and the need to defining an artistic discourse becomes apparent.
The second year is characterized by a series of mandatory classes with a certain level of difficulty, designed to challenge the students and push them out of their comfort zone. The Certificate in Studio Arts, together with the third level on the course are about producing, thinking, debating and formulating ideas.
The students on the Certificate and Diploma are expected to increase their individual studio time and limit the amount of tools and techniques classes they sign up for. The personal studio practice is supplemented with Critical Theory, Debate Groups and Project based workshops, and every semester students submit an academic paper.
During the second year of Metàfora’s Training Program students are expected to be active players on the art scene, visiting openings and art events every week. Students on the 2nd and 3rd year are expected to participate in at least one Open Call for student exhibitions. Some Open Calls are open to all students whereas others are specific to 2nd and 3rd year students.
| ENTRY REQUIREMENTS | Metàfora admits students to the Certificate in Studio Arts, if they have achieved a PASS at the end of the Foundation Program, issued by the Evaluation Panel of Metàfora’s Studio Arts Program.
Students who are admitted directly to the Certificate must have previous experience from a foundation program in visual art. It is necessary to present a portfolio of approx. 20 works, showing a broad variety of techniques and media. |
| LENGHT OF COURSE | One Year (6 studio blocks)* Students on shorter stays (down to 6 weeks) are welcome on the Certificate if they meet with the entry requirements described in this section. * Mandatory for students who wish to continue to the third level of Metàfora’s Training Program. |
| ECTS | 60 ECTS*
* Metàfora is an independent institution without university affiliation. |
| EVALUATION | Students who wish to continue into the Diploma in Studio Arts are evaluated on basis of the quality of their work, the engagement in debates as well as grades and attendance. The student can only continue if the Evaluation Panel issues a PASS based on the above. In some cases the Evaluation Panel will request that a student repeat one or more blocks on the Certificate, before continuing to the Diploma. |
Diploma in Studio Arts
The third and final year of Metàfora’s Studio Arts Program is an advanced level course, where students work on turning their personal artistic discourse into a coherent, sustainable professional art project.
Students spend their time between working in the studios, having tutorials and following the mandatory classes they share with 2nd year students (Critical Theory, Debate Groups and Project-based workshops)
Towards the middle of the 3rd year the figure of the external tutor is introduced. The external tutor can be a gallerist, an established artist, a curator or otherwise cultural agent and supplements the weekly meetings with the in-house tutor. This figure is chosen jointly between staff and the students themselves, emphasizing affinities of the artistic discourse of the student and taking into account the student’s immediate goals for the future. Student and external tutor meet monthly during the last 4-5 months of the Diploma.
The last months of the Diploma course are spent finalizing art projects and writing a Thesina, which is an extended artist statement which is presented publicly at the end of the course. This event takes place at Barcelona’s famous Museum of Contemporary Art, MACBA each year in June or January.
The Thesina accompanies the final art work of the student which is presented at an opening at the prestigious “Àngels Barcelona”gallery, right across the museum. Both events are announced publicly and attract a large number of visitors.
| ENTRY REQUIREMENTS | Metàfora admits students to the Diploma in Studio Arts from the previous level, Metàfora’s Certificate in Studio Arts, following a strict set of norms. As mentioned above, this evaluation is more demanding than the pass from Foundation Program to Certificate, and in some cases, the student may be asked to repeat one or several blocks before continuing. Metàfora rarely admits students directly to the Diploma in Studio Arts, because this move is based on a profound relationship between Metàfora and the student. |
| LENGHT OF COURSE | One Year (6 studio blocks)*
*Metàfora will normally not admit short term students to the 3rd year of the Training Program. |
| ECTS | 60 ECTS*
* Metàfora is an independent institution, without university affiliation. The credits are counted in ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) to facilitate convalidation by other insititutions. |
| EVALUATION | Students on the Diploma in Studio Arts finish their studies producing work for a major exhibition and writing a thesina, an extended artist statement (5-8.000 words). The thesina is received and corrected by the teacher of Critical Theory. At the end of this process, the Evaluation Panel issues a PASS/NO PASS towards the Diploma in Studio Arts. |
Short Term Stays
Not everybody has the possibility ‘to tear out an entire year of the calendar and fly off to Spain’. We understand that.
Therefore, we offer the possibility of shorter stays on Metàfora’s Studio Arts Programs: where one block last just 6 weeks. This option is a more affordable, yet intense and a concentrated way of savoring the course. Overseas students on short stays do not need to apply for a student visa, and can use a 3 month tourist visa instead.
Students on a short stay enter the course alongside all other students and participate in all activities like everyone else. If there is an open call for an off-campus exhibition coinciding with the stay, the short term students are also welcome to apply.
Short term students must pay a small fee towards the trip to Madrid, if their stay coincides with Block 4.
| ENTRY REQUIREMENTS | Metàfora admits students to the short stays throughout the year, whenever places are available.
Entry requirements for each level are described above. |
| LENGHT OF COURSE | Studio blocks of 6 weeks
A short term stay can be prolonged, subject to available places. |
| ECTS | 10 ECTS per block*
* Metàfora is an independent institution without university affiliation. |
| EVALUATION | Students on short stays are evaluated just like other students and recieve a detailed transcript upon completion. |
Summer Block
The Summer Block is the shortest of all the blocks of Metàfora’s Studio Arts Program and represents the celebration of the wonderful Mediterranean summer.
The Summer Block has a more playful and less academic structure, and falls outside the curriculum of the academic year. Therefore there is no division between levels, even though tutorial groups and other activities are divided according to the previous experience and training of the participants.
The Summer days in Barcelona are long. Keeping this in mind the Summer Block is organized around longer (optional) school days. The course is more varied and flexible, with different classes organised every week, and the opportunity to take the course for 1 to 4 weeks.
The general structure of the Summer Block, maintains the weekly tutorials and Recent Art history classes and ends with intensive days of art work presentations.
| ENTRY REQUIREMENTS | Metàfora admits students to the Summer Block in groups with different backgrounds and levels.
Therefore it is not necessary to present a portfolio, but such is very appreciated during the admission process. |
| LENGHT OF COURSE | 4 weeks (in July)
Students can join weeks 1, 2 and 3 independently. |
| ECTS | 8 ECTS*
* Metàfora is an independent institution without university affiliation. |
| EVALUATION | On Metàfora’s Summer Block there is no formal evaluation of the student’s work, beyond the necessary attendance rate for the obligatory activities on the course (tutorials, Recent Art History, final work presentations etc.). |
