Master of Fine Arts and Scenography

Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen

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Program description

The full-time two-year Master of Fine Arts and Scenography program aims to offer students a track of theatrical research, theoretical reflection and practical experience.

Scenography is theatre design in the broadest sense of the word. The main focus is on deepening your knowledge and giving you the theoretical foundations of theatre space design. Over the last few decades, because the boundaries between artistic and cultural expression have blurred, the scope of theatre design has become far broader.

The Master of Fine Arts and Scenography provides students with the opportunity to acquire a profound understanding of the significance and applications of scenography in the theatre and in theatrical spaces. The exit performance criteria imply that the student is able to make a substantial contribution to the development of the occupational field. This Master Course seeks to enable students to specialize and enhance their knowledge in the field of scenography and art direction. The Course aims to achieve this objective by: · enhancing the student’s understanding of professional theatrical organization and production · teaching him to fathom interdisciplinary artistic moments from a visual, imaginative and theoretically reflective perspective · offering various opportunities of a social deepening of theatre. The Master Course Scenography/Art Direction also cover, among other things, computer games, theatrical scenography and film, etc. Much attention is paid to the application of computer media.

Master of Fine Arts and Scenography Program Objectives

The Master of Fine Arts and Scenography program has the aim of providing Master’s Degree education at University of Applied Science level that will enable students to develop their proven talent in such a way that they can make a professional contribution to the domain of scenography and film direction on the basis of their own artistic research and reflection.

Master of Fine Arts and Scenography Study Subjects

The Master of Fine Arts and Scenography has the following study subjects.

Year 1: semester 1: play and experiment
In this term, the emphasis lies on play and experiment and on reflecting on the results obtained. In various parts of the programme, the student puts his own starting points and beliefs up for discussion, both in relation to his own work and with respect to the role of art in society. By laying and experimenting with new contexts and conditions, by speculating on the possibilities available, and by reflecting on the outcomes, the student can ultimately determine his own field of research.

Year 1:semester 2: collecting, combining and transforming meaningful material
By playing and speculating in the first semester, a provisional research framework is formed. The student continues the research in the second semester, in which information relevant to the defined domain (visual, theoretical or otherwise) is compiled. This material encircles, as it were, the questions and issues formulated in the research proposal. The collected material is subjected to transformations, combinations and analyses, with the aim of developing one’s own theme and vision.

Year 1: semesters 1 and 2: study modules
The education is oriented toward four starting points: research, representation, acquisition of in-depth knowledge, and reflection. Just like theatre practice, the programme is continually subject to ongoing change. The assignments issued cover both theoretical and practical aspects. The students’ own research projects are also of a dual nature; they are intended to stimulate the development of one’s own theatre design practice as well as theoretical reflection on that development.

Each of the students must independently initiate and present a scenographic design or project. In addition, the students complete a theoretical thesis in which they place their own work, their own research project, in a wider context; in other words, they compare their work to the work of other artists, movements and phenomena in order to elucidate the nature of their own work.

At the end of each term, all the research issues are assessed with regard to the development of visual dramaturgy and the development of conceptual, theoretical reflections. The students are expected to display ever-increasing in-depth knowledge and understanding of scenography.

A part of the programme includes the theory lectures at the University of Groningen, theory and dramaturgical lessons at the FMI Masters, and visits to theatre performances.

Year 2: semester 3: formulating an artistic system
In the first year of study, the student is challenged to put his own vision on his artistic premises up for discussion, and to seek new meaningful material. In the third semester, this research must take shape in an own artistic system. The student develops the germ of an artistic theory that is visible in a recognizable, associative and poetic coherence in the work.

Year 2: semester 4: communication and presentation
The last semester is largely devoted to the development of the final exam work. In this semester, work and artistic theory are formulated and the form in which these are to be presented to the public is decided upon. This means that, in this semester, more emphasis lies upon communication and the presentation of work and research results.

Year 2: semesters 3 and 4: study modules
The last (fourth) term is largely oriented to the final review.

The study program is concluded with a review of the studio research project and a theoretical thesis. Graduating students present both of these to the public. 
During the final review, the students give an oral explanation of their work to the exam committee. A publication accompanies the exhibition.

Master of Fine Arts and Scenography Student Reviews

Read what Master of Fine Arts and Scenography students have to say about the program. Fransesca Bardero is from Italy and decided to study at Hanze University because the program allowed her to combine study elements of the Scenography program with the Interactive Media and Environments program. 

Read what students have to say about the Master of Fine Arts and Scenography program.

Master of Fine Arts and Scenography Related Programs

Besides the Master in International Communication, Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen  offers a range of other Arts related programs such as Master of Fine Arts and Painting

See which programs are related to the Master of Fine Arts and Scenography program

Master of Fine Arts and Scenography Scholarships

Students who would like to register for the Master of Fine Arts and Scenography program will need to have sufficient funds for tuition and living expenses. Getting a scholarship could be the first step towards obtaining a top professional Master degree at Hanze University of Appied Sciences Groningen.

See which scholarships you can apply for if you want to do the Master of Fine Arts and Scenography program.

 

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Admission requirements

Previous education

Diploma from a recognized institution for higher (art) education, or an equivalent qualification.

Professional experience

Candidate is in the process of developing clear statement regarding visual art and theater.

Assessment interview

There are two rounds to the admissions procedure. In the first round, the documentation and completed entry form you have submitted, and your written motivation, are assessed. The second round consists of an interview that lasts over an hour, which may be followed by a second interview.
If it is not possible for foreign students to come to Groningen for an admissions interview, the interview
will be conducted by telephone or via Skype.

Knowledge minimum

Ambition to become involved both practically and theoretically in scenography with the intention of opening new perspectives.

More information about Master Admission