Falmouth University

I don't know who's talking trash or peddling tales of woe but I'm referring specifically to fine arts subjects like painting, printmaking, sculpture and environmental art etc.

I think it's worth pointing out that employers like quantifiable skills and grades, and given the choice between a fine art graduate or a graduate in English Lit or similar Arts faculty subject from a Uni will be more comfortable with the uni candidate because its more of a known quantity. Again, this is generalised but made from a position of personal experience as I have a 1st from a red brick uni as well as a 1st class fine art degree with distinctions and awards attached. Depending on jobs i apply for I will now put on or the other degree on my CV, rarely both, as experience has shown that applying for 'professional' positions with the fine art one on it equals no callback, whereas this is not the case if applying to a similar postion with the Uni degree. The most difficult thing I've found is being in a job that gives me the flexibility and freedom to work on art exhibitions or projects as and when they come up but that isn't soul-destroyingly boring.

also worth noting is that design ≠ fine art and you'll most likely be applying for positions that are specifically targeting those qualifications, not so with fine art subjects like painting, environmental art, so I think it's fair to say that's a separate question.

I'm not at all saying that these degrees have no value, not by any stretch of the imagination-I learned far more about myself and worked far harder during my Fine Art course than at uni where i mostly coasted along-and think that employers should value fine arts graduates far far more than they seem to, but the hard truth is that employers looking at candidates with fine arts backgrounds (perhaps not so much with applied art subjects like design or vis comm) will warier about what they're getting than with an arts fac. degree like English or History. Maybe this is because with these subjects there is a greater emphasis on written communication, analysis and research and that in itself is a very bankable skill and it's one aspect of my Uni education that's very valuable in structuring and developing written arguments and conducting research. Compared to Uni i would say the expectations of students in fine art courses with regards to writing assignments is much lower, and also, there seemed to be a far higher percentage of highly dyslexic students in art school who had a highly acute ability to express themselves orally or visually but had appalling writing skills so might not even get to an interview situation where they can make a strong case for themselves because the recruiter has just seen a badly written application form.

With regards fine art degrees I would never say 'don't do it' and sincerely hope that what I've written doesn't come across as negative or an attempt to put your daughter off of following her dream, all I've tried to do is point out there's some very real considerations to be made that are easy to ignore when you're young but catch up with you as you get on.

So I would say, absolutely yes, explore fine art or design or whatever, but keep it in mind to also get some kind of a professional qualification before or after you graduate to help keep yourself afloat and have a more satisfying/rewarding day to day existence-I don't feel obliged to qualify this to the nth degree but I, and a lot of people i know, have enjoyed some success and it's been very satisfying, but post 2007, huge sections of the creative industries in the UK and Europe have been decimated by funding cuts and commercial downturn and I've friends in their 40's who have been with very well known commercial galleries, bought houses and had kids thinking they were set and that are now up shit creek and applying to every and any job to try and get by. Of course that's not limited to art, but success in art is very difficult to find and most often doesn't translate into £ unless you're very lucky, and it's not being a doom-merchant to point that out at an early stage and temper expectations slightly.

So yes, a foundation course will be useful in refining what her exact interests are and informing that decision-another thing worth mentioning is that the people who seem to get on best at art schools are a bit older than the rest and more focused as a result-the majority of the younger students in my class were too preoccupied with fulfilling the stereotype of munching drugs and being in weird electro bands etc to really give a shit-so it's no loss to take a few years out beforehand or do another course then go back into it with a stronger hand to play and sharpened ambitions.

In the end she'll find her own way sure enough, and it seems she's lucky to have a parent who's supportive of her and helping figure out what's the best option.