Director's Foreword

The world is changing and Ireland is changing with it. Creativity is now commonly acknowledged, in economic as well as cultural sectors, as one of the keys to enhancing quality of life and making it sustainable for the future. It is an exciting time for Art and Design as new dynamics, new settings, new ways of working and new possibilities are emerging for artists and designers, locally and globally.

The National College of Art and Design is uniquely positioned, as the only College in Ireland offering a University qualification in Art and Design through its four year programmes of study and practice across a range of disciplines and media, to provide students with the means to grow into creative artists, designers and educators, with clear roles in the culture and in society.

The disciplines cover Ceramics, Digital Media, Fine Print, Fashion, Glass, Industrial Design, Lithography, Metals, Painting, Sculpture, Teacher Education, Textiles, Video and Visual Communication.

The College is also well positioned, in terms of its actual location, in a dynamic, developing city neighbourhood, with rich community resources, close to the nation’s major Museums dealing with the visual arts, design and material culture. These are, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the National Museum at Collins Barracks, the Chester Beatty Library and the many galleries and arts organizations in Temple Bar and in the city centre, including the National Gallery, Dublin City Gallery- The Hugh Lane and RHA Gallery.

NCAD, therefore, provides a unique educational, urban and cultural environment in which to pursue your ambitions and to acquire the skills, ideas and confidence to achieve your goals and have a future in Art and Design.

Teaching and learning pathways in NCAD, firstly, build experience and knowledge of the processes and methodologies of the visual art field in order to extend awareness and understanding of the many possibilities which exist for further study and then specialization in a specific discipline.

As a student, you will also be given a full awareness of how artists and designers practice their disciplines and function in the world and also, a sense of how to position yourself and your work in relation to that wider cultural and economic environment.

This is supported throughout by a personal tutorial system which is designed to assist students and facilitate the acquisition of necessary skills, the development of ideas and an identity as an artist, designer or educator, over your time in College.

The academic year culminates in two major events organized and presented by the College, which represent a significant opportunity for students and make an important contribution to the artistic life and cultural calendar of Dublin – the end of year Degree Show, in which the work of two hundred undergraduate and postgraduate students is exhibited and showcased and the NCAD Fashion Show, which is organized by the Department of Fashion and Textiles.

As a student at the National College of Art and Design, supported by committed staff, you would become part of this exciting process.

Declan McGonagle, Director