Burren College Of Art: Giving Student Artists The Opportunity To Develop Creative Potential In Burren’s Unique Environment
Mary Hawkes-Greene, President Burren College Of Art
Established in 1994 as a purpose built art college, by the President of Ireland, the Burren College of Art (BCA) was the vision of local couple Mary Hawkes-Greene and Michael Greene, who wanted to provide international student artists the opportunity to create art in the inspirational Burren setting. An ancient, spiritual karst landscape on Irelands Atlantic Coast, the Burren has long been a mecca for artists of all genres. The college enables artist to pursue academic programmes in this unique and powerful environment acting as an alternative to large scale urban institutions.
Renowned for its Innovative Courses
Burren College of Art provides a range programmes for undergraduate study abroad students, a Post-Baccalaureate preparatory programme for those wishing to progress to masters level; MA and MFA programmes in Fine art and in Art and Ecology and a practice based PhD programme. The college offers a wide variety of fine art courses in Painting, Drawing, Photography, Sculpture, Video and Performance and Creative writing. BCA's strong environmental focus makes Art and Ecology and Irish Studies courses very popular with international students, while the quality of light and stunning landscape provide the ideal backdrop for the ever popular painting and photography courses.
"At BCA, we believe that time, space and inspiration are essential to enabling and nurturing creativity. Located in a rural setting devoid of urban noise and distraction, students are encouraged to reflect, to dig deep, take risks and connect with their creativity. Large individual studio spaces and spacious surroundings in a natural setting, are conducive to big thinking and pushing boundaries. Small student numbers mean students have individual attention from our world class faculty and international visiting artists. Collaboration is fostered in the close-knit community of undergraduate, post graduate and resident artists , who are intermingled in studios and on campus. The curriculum is tailored to the needs and interests of each student. In summary, being small and rural, enables BCA to provide a truly student-focused alternative model of individualized education", highlights Mary Hawkes-Greene - President of Burren College of Art.
Built on Joseph Beuys' belief that `Everyone Is an Artist', i.e. everyone has the capacity to be creative when provided with the correct circumstances, BCA has developed The Creative Difference programme which is offered to medical students, MBA's and other `non-art' faculties in Universities. Using knowledge transfer from Creative education, the short immersive programmes include art exercises, self-awareness, journaling, reflection and immersion in nature as catalysts to liberate creative ideas and solutions. Leadership programmes are based on similar principles and also on the power of place, nature and in person human interaction to surface fresh thinking.
BCA is fortunate in attracting and retaining top class irish and international faculty. Resident Faculty are all practicing artists who maintain active professional careers in addition to teaching. The college supports their professional development and research and engagement with international exhibitions, publications and symposia. "Our teaching philosophy and small scale means that Faculty really get to know each student individually and value the ability to make a difference to their lives and work. We keep bureaucracy to a minimum so faculty can do what they love best- inspire and enable creativity. The lure of the Burren enables us to attract a wide variety of international visiting faculty on our weekly `Wednesday Sessions' and as resident artists", says Mary Hawkes-Greene.
Driven by Global Approach
Having hosted international students for 28 years, BCA is very aware of the cultural difference and challenges new students experience coming to their rural location. The dedicated student affairs officer curates a series of activities during orientation week and throughout the semester to ensure each student is settling in. Bus transport is provided for regular shopping trips and to social activities and faculty-led trips to Dublin, London and Berlin punctuate the semesters. Students are also encouraged to join activities in the local community and are brought to events of cultural interest. All students have access to professional counselling services.
"BCA's strong environmental focus makes Art and Ecology and Irish Studies courses very popular with international students"
BCA also has a number of scholarship opportunities available to international students applying to our post graduate programmes. These awards are based on merit and financial need and include financial awards, tuition discount and housing scholarships. "Burren College of Art is a special place- it is not for everybody it is for the occasional student who is looking for a truly immersive, challenging experience in a powerful place. Wonderful students from India have found us and thrived in this environment we look forward to sharing our place and process with others", says Mary Hawkes-Greene.
Expanding its Approach
Since its inception in 1994, BCA's growth has been described as a `Celebration of the Impossible'.
The core of its success is their commitment to the foundational principles of providing the time, space and inspiration that artists and all humans need in order to thrive and to the purpose of education being to 'Lead Out' and Nurture what lies within. Milestones achieved by BCA include envisioning and building an art school and restoring the 16th century Newtown castle at the heart of the campus; Accreditation of our degrees by the University of Galway; graduating Dr Eileen Hutton, the first practice-based PhD graduate in Ireland; being a forerunner in offering meaningful Art and Ecology programmes; Expanding the concept of an art school through our Creative Difference, leadership and Audacious Conversations events.
"We are always innovating being small and agile allows us to try new things. In the VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous ) environment that we now live in, we believe the role of the artist is more important than ever. We remain committed to maintaining our unique alternative education provision for artists in the Burren; to expanding our Art and Ecology programmes to heighten ecological awareness and action (we are building a Biolab this year) and to expanding our reach and further diversifying our student population. We intend to build on our successful leadership and system change work through developing ReSource, a dedicated centre at the College focusing on applied creativity. As an international partner of the IDG's (Inner Development Goals), to be a catalyst in enabling human competencies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals", concludes Mary Hawkes-Greene.
Renowned for its Innovative Courses
Burren College of Art provides a range programmes for undergraduate study abroad students, a Post-Baccalaureate preparatory programme for those wishing to progress to masters level; MA and MFA programmes in Fine art and in Art and Ecology and a practice based PhD programme. The college offers a wide variety of fine art courses in Painting, Drawing, Photography, Sculpture, Video and Performance and Creative writing. BCA's strong environmental focus makes Art and Ecology and Irish Studies courses very popular with international students, while the quality of light and stunning landscape provide the ideal backdrop for the ever popular painting and photography courses.
"At BCA, we believe that time, space and inspiration are essential to enabling and nurturing creativity. Located in a rural setting devoid of urban noise and distraction, students are encouraged to reflect, to dig deep, take risks and connect with their creativity. Large individual studio spaces and spacious surroundings in a natural setting, are conducive to big thinking and pushing boundaries. Small student numbers mean students have individual attention from our world class faculty and international visiting artists. Collaboration is fostered in the close-knit community of undergraduate, post graduate and resident artists , who are intermingled in studios and on campus. The curriculum is tailored to the needs and interests of each student. In summary, being small and rural, enables BCA to provide a truly student-focused alternative model of individualized education", highlights Mary Hawkes-Greene - President of Burren College of Art.
Built on Joseph Beuys' belief that `Everyone Is an Artist', i.e. everyone has the capacity to be creative when provided with the correct circumstances, BCA has developed The Creative Difference programme which is offered to medical students, MBA's and other `non-art' faculties in Universities. Using knowledge transfer from Creative education, the short immersive programmes include art exercises, self-awareness, journaling, reflection and immersion in nature as catalysts to liberate creative ideas and solutions. Leadership programmes are based on similar principles and also on the power of place, nature and in person human interaction to surface fresh thinking.
BCA is fortunate in attracting and retaining top class irish and international faculty. Resident Faculty are all practicing artists who maintain active professional careers in addition to teaching. The college supports their professional development and research and engagement with international exhibitions, publications and symposia. "Our teaching philosophy and small scale means that Faculty really get to know each student individually and value the ability to make a difference to their lives and work. We keep bureaucracy to a minimum so faculty can do what they love best- inspire and enable creativity. The lure of the Burren enables us to attract a wide variety of international visiting faculty on our weekly `Wednesday Sessions' and as resident artists", says Mary Hawkes-Greene.
Driven by Global Approach
Having hosted international students for 28 years, BCA is very aware of the cultural difference and challenges new students experience coming to their rural location. The dedicated student affairs officer curates a series of activities during orientation week and throughout the semester to ensure each student is settling in. Bus transport is provided for regular shopping trips and to social activities and faculty-led trips to Dublin, London and Berlin punctuate the semesters. Students are also encouraged to join activities in the local community and are brought to events of cultural interest. All students have access to professional counselling services.
"BCA's strong environmental focus makes Art and Ecology and Irish Studies courses very popular with international students"
BCA also has a number of scholarship opportunities available to international students applying to our post graduate programmes. These awards are based on merit and financial need and include financial awards, tuition discount and housing scholarships. "Burren College of Art is a special place- it is not for everybody it is for the occasional student who is looking for a truly immersive, challenging experience in a powerful place. Wonderful students from India have found us and thrived in this environment we look forward to sharing our place and process with others", says Mary Hawkes-Greene.
Expanding its Approach
Since its inception in 1994, BCA's growth has been described as a `Celebration of the Impossible'.
The core of its success is their commitment to the foundational principles of providing the time, space and inspiration that artists and all humans need in order to thrive and to the purpose of education being to 'Lead Out' and Nurture what lies within. Milestones achieved by BCA include envisioning and building an art school and restoring the 16th century Newtown castle at the heart of the campus; Accreditation of our degrees by the University of Galway; graduating Dr Eileen Hutton, the first practice-based PhD graduate in Ireland; being a forerunner in offering meaningful Art and Ecology programmes; Expanding the concept of an art school through our Creative Difference, leadership and Audacious Conversations events.
"We are always innovating being small and agile allows us to try new things. In the VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous ) environment that we now live in, we believe the role of the artist is more important than ever. We remain committed to maintaining our unique alternative education provision for artists in the Burren; to expanding our Art and Ecology programmes to heighten ecological awareness and action (we are building a Biolab this year) and to expanding our reach and further diversifying our student population. We intend to build on our successful leadership and system change work through developing ReSource, a dedicated centre at the College focusing on applied creativity. As an international partner of the IDG's (Inner Development Goals), to be a catalyst in enabling human competencies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals", concludes Mary Hawkes-Greene.
