The Margate School prospectus 2023-2025

Student

Wel

come

The Margate School (TMS) is a diverse creative community of artists, makers, students, academics and volunteers located in the vibrant coastal town of Margate, Kent. As a not-for-profit postgraduate liberal arts school at the heart of this community, we focus on the role of the arts in social and environmental justice.

You are offered postgraduate study with international links and the rigour of a qualification accredited by our partner Esä, a leading French higher education art school based in Dunkerque and Tourcoing. We take a radical, democratic approach to arts education, equipping you to envision, shape and navigate an uncertain future. TMS supports artists and makers to develop a sustainable creative practice and provides an exciting alternative to mainstream arts education.

Contents:

Incorporated in 2015, TMS takes inspiration from ground-breaking contemporary and past pioneering educational models such as Bauhaus and the Black Mountain College.

The Margate School is a place where people matter, guided by project-based collaborative learning in the expanded field, nurturing independent thinking.

On joining, you become part of a creative community: a collaborative and critical environment aimed at nurturing independent thought, effective learning, self-confidence and collective participation. Through our academic and openaccess programmes, events, workshops, residencies, guest lectures and exhibitions, we connect with a wide range of creatives and audiences to make positive contributions to the world we inhabit. We, the community that you will become part of, the people who study, work, teach, learn, research, experiment and practice here, continuously make a noticeable difference to the High Street we are situated in and our wider neighbourhood.

The British writer Harold Pinter said in his Nobel Prize 2005 lecture:

“In 1958 I wrote the following: ‘There are no hard distinctions between what is real and what is unreal, nor between what is true and what is false. A thing is not necessarily either true or false; it can be both true and false.’

“I believe that these assertions still make sense and do still apply to the exploration of reality through art. So as a writer I stand by them but as a citizen I cannot. As a citizen I must ask: What is true? What is false?”

We invite you to join us at TMS as a student to learn, make, show and to critically explore reality through the arts, yet at the same time position yourself as a self-aware citizen. We invite you to make the School your own and help establish beneficial and creative opportunities for Margate’s wider, diverse and less privileged communities. A School in and for Margate, inspired by Margate’s past and passionate about the future.

European Fine Art Masters

Art Society

Nature

A two year, full-time European Fine Art Masters accredited by the French art school Esä,

l’École Supérieure d’Art.

The European Fine Art Masters at The Margate School is a unique program that nurtures emerging artists and fosters their development in the field of fine art. The course provides a platform for students to engage in intensive studio practice, theoretical discourse, and critical thinking. Led by accomplished faculty members and visiting artists, the program offers a diverse range of techniques, materials, and concepts, promoting interdisciplinary exploration. Through rigorous mentorship and collaborative learning, it cultivates a vibrant artistic community, encouraging students to push boundaries and create meaningful contemporary artworks that reflect their individual vision and engage with the wider art world.

Qualification gained: Master of Fine Arts (MFA) researchlevel degree, Diplôme National Supérieur d’Expression Plastique (DNSEP)

Entry Requirement:

BA(Hons) or relevant experience, portfolio and interview

Duration:

Full-time October 2023 to June 2025

Taught sessions on: Tuesday and Wednesday

Cohort Size: up to 15 places

Offering an alternative approach to higher education, you will explore how art can be used to benefit, protect and sustain the world through a series of practical and critical modules.

The first of its kind in the UK, this Master’s qualification is part of the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) and is recognised across Europe, creating opportunities to work in the EU, including teaching at EU higher education institutions.

Art Society Nature will give you the tools to develop a unique and personal approach in the field of contemporary creative and intellectual practice.

The course concludes with a presentation of the student’s final work and examination held at the Esä campus in Dunkerque, France.

This practical and dynamic full-time two year course will introduce you to, or build on, your current knowledge of:

• Inclusive and sustainable approaches to material investigation

• Enhanced critical enquiry

• Open and all-encompassing approaches to fine art practice

Fine Art Masters Fluxus project

Fine Art Masters Fluxus project

Metalwork in the FabLab

What you get:

• Ongoing cumulative modules, practical workshops with worldclass tutors and practitioners

• Tutorial support - regular one-toones with tutors, peer review and expert critique

• In-demand skills including research and analysis, entrepreneurial experience and a portfolio to take into employment or further research and practice in your field

• Guest lectures and gallery visits

• Collaborative opportunities within TMS and Esä

• Internship to undertake professional development

• French Language sessions

• Self-led practice time

Cost:

£7,500 per academic year, including studio and access to TMS facilities

£5,100 per academic year, if you have your own studio facilities

Approx £600 registration and student union fee

Bursaries are available

Graduate Jacob Calland

Fine Art Masters studio

Work by Graduate Chloé Neves

Alum profile:

Lo Lo No

Lo Lo No is a transdisciplinary artist, researcher and curator with a focus on self-portraiture and LGBTQIA+ experiences. Exploring society at large and socioeconomics, psychoanalysis and philosophies, their research areas focus on the other and the unfamiliar. They create self-portraits as an access tool, a way of seeing and becoming in a society where they have struggled to see themselves reflected. They conjure cognitive spaces and investigate the symbolic life, the subconscious, esoteric and imagined as a way of channelling and establishing archetypes, primordial lineages, social reproduction and chimerisation within myth, philosophy, self and society. Working commercially as a curator, art director, storyboard artist and concept designer, they have collaborated on productions for Mugler, Rolls Royce and Bjork. They also facilitate workshops for the LGBTQIA+ wellness platform We Create Space, Turner Contemporary and others and deliver talks and performative lectures. Lo Lo No has produced the Margate Pride arts festival for three years and is currently featured on the BBC’s Extraordinary Portraits.

Visit: lolono.me

I gained a Masters in Fine Art at TMS as one of its first students, an educational experience that has been life-changing for my art practice and my sense of self and how I navigate the world. TMS has continued to be a second home and reliable resource for support, friendship and usability with exhibition and production facilities… that serves so many and goes above and beyond for the Margate community as a whole.

Lo Lo No

Graduate Lo Lo No performing

Visual Communication

A one year, part-time course

This one year course is suited to those who already have some creative education and practice, but is also accessible to those coming from another discipline or background and who wish to explore visual communication for the first time.

You will receive a solid grounding in the basic principles and practices of visual language and communication followed by thematic modules which allow you to explore image, typography and moving image in more depth.

Students then focus on a selfdirected body of work, exploring a theme, context and medium of their choice. Examples of final projects in recent years include exploring and re-interpreting ‘seaside typography’; interrogating how design can reduce car use and pollution locally; a visual study of Margate’s iconic architecture.

Entry Requirement:

BA(Hons) or relevant experience, which does not need to be directly related to the field of visual communication.

Evidence of previous creative practice shown in a pdf portfolio, Instagram or website (eg illustration, photography, printmaking)

Basic knowledge of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign is desirable

Interview

Duration: Part-time October 2023 to June 2024

Taught sessions on: Thursday. 15 hours minimum independent study

Cohort Size: up to 15 places

Design Society Nature supports every student to develop as a critically-minded designer, equipped to contribute positively to your community and the wider world.

This course, unique in its approach to design education, will support you to develop:

• A solid understanding of the principles and practice of visual language and communication

• Independent and critical thinking

• The confidence and skills to pursue your creative ambitions

• An understanding of and experience of socially and environmentally engaged practice including Human Centred Design and ‘Design Futuring’ (Tony Fry 2008)

Letterpress workshop

Animation by Graduate Claire-Beth Gibson

Narrative workshop

What you get:

• Practical thematic modules combined with design history and critical studies sessions

• Tutorial support - regular one-to-ones with tutors, peer and tutor reviews and critique

• A diverse programme of practical workshops, guest lectures and gallery visits to support your personal and creative development

• Collaborative opportunities with others on the course and the wider TMS community

• Live design briefs in partnership with local businesses and organisations

• Workshop inductions at TMS, including dark room, screen printing and sound design workshops

• Introductory tuition in Adobe Photoshop, In Design, Illustrator, After Effects and Premiere Pro

• The opportunity to collaboratively plan and design the course final show, which is an integral part of Margate Festival of Design

• A portfolio of diverse design work to take you onto your future creative endeavours

Cost:

£4,000 per academic year, including hot desk, computers with Adobe Creative Suite

£550 per individual module Bursaries are available

Work by Graduate Emma Self

Typography workshop

Alum profile:

Claire-Beth Gibson

Claire-Beth graduated from the programme in 2022. She is now working as a graphic designer with Cliftonville Cultural Space and Speak Up CIC.

Visit: clairebethclaire.com

The Design Society Nature course has been a transformative experience. Already being a visual artist but feeling stuck in my practice, I felt like I needed a boost onto the next part of my creative journey. This course has given me that boost. It has helped me connect with local creatives; experiment with new mediums using the fabulous FabLab; as well as refining my design and research skills in an undeniably awesome environment.

themargateschool.com

Claire-Beth Gibson

Sound Arts

Sound Society Nature

A one year, part-time course

The modules revolve around individual and collaborative project work exploring the listening practices, sound, music and communication, communities and performance.

Each area of study culminates in regular public outputs; including radio broadcasts, performances, exhibitions or workshops.

Sound Society Nature will support your development as a critically minded sound artist, equipped to contribute positively to your community.

This explorative course exposes the student to a wide variety of practices as artistic, social and ecological methodologies relating to sound through creation, listening and collaboration

Entry Requirement: BA(Hons) or relevant experience, which does not need to be directly related to the field of sound

Evidence of sound-led work within applicants’ practice

Basic sound recording, editing and playback tools experience CV with application Portfolio or showreel are desirable

Interview

Duration: Part-time October 2023 to June 2024

Taught sessions on: Friday. 15 hours minimum independent study

Cohort Size: up to 15 places

What you get:

• Classes focused on creative sound perception and creation skills

• Technical workshops in digital music creation, recording, mixing and sound manipulation

• Sessions with improvised performance

• Physical and digital instrument creation workshops

• Practical installation design and vinyl pressing

• Tutorial support - regular one-to-ones with tutors, peer review and expert critique

• Guest lectures and gallery / performance visits

• An output from each module of a radio show, podcast or public workshop

Demonstration by Benny Bowls

Student performance

Student performance

Listen to experiments by our Sound Arts students on their Sound and Materiality module

You will gain:

• Strategies, practices and theories of critical and analytical listening within sound arts, music, philosophy and beyond

• An appreciation and understanding of the relationship between sound and space, the formal and contextual properties of sound and music

• An ability to develop individual ideas and collaborate with others, tapping into Margate’s burgeoning music and sound scene

• Experience developing performance work and installation design as a team, participating as performers, sound designers, dramaturgs, composers or producers

• Skills and knowledge to take into employment or further study related to fine art, music composition and production, podcast and radio, community art, film sound and sound arts

Cost: £4,000 per academic year, including hot desk, mix studio and access to TMS facilities

Bursaries are available

Sound, Society and Nature provides an immersive experience in sound technology and theory and has delivered an experience beyond expectation. The modular nature of the course with a performative element has added both enjoyment and rigour. For those who want to develop their practice further or simply want to connect with other like-minded individuals and highly impressive tutors then this one is probably it.

Dr Rob Hill, Sound Arts Student

The Still & Moving Image

A one year, part-time course

Using experimentation and exploration to develop your practice, this course is supported by both practical and theoretical sessions within the School, the local environment and wider community.

Image Society Nature will support you to develop as a critically-minded visual artist, equipped to contribute positively to your community.

Entry Requirement: BA(Hons) or relevant experience, which does not need to be directly related to the field of photography and video Evidence of photographic work within applicants’ practice Basic knowledge of Adobe Photoshop

CV, digital portfolio (pdf, Instagram or website) and interview

Duration: Part-time October 2023 to June 2024

Taught sessions on: Wednesday. 15 hours minimum independent study

Cohort Size: up to 15 places

• Ongoing modules and practical workshops with internationally exhibited photographers

• Access to digital and analogue facilities

• Theoretical sessions to develop an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the still and moving image

• Tutorial support - regular one-to-ones with tutors, peer review and expert critique

• Individual and collaborative project work and exhibition opportunities

• Study trips within and outside of the area

Moving Labour performance by Neele Ruckdeschel

Jason Dee - Abandoned Audiotape Ed Thompson - The Red Forest of Chernobyl

You will gain:

• A professional photographic skillset, including portraiture (location and studio), landscape, reportage and event coverage

• Video shooting and editing skills

• Knowledge of key Adobe Suite software, including: Photoshop, Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects

• An ability to communicate and connect with differing cultures and groups

• Individual and collaborative skills to develop ideas, work on live projects and competitions

• A cohesive body of work that is ready to engage with an audience

• A portfolio to take into employment or further study in fields including photography, videography, marketing and media

• New perspectives, exploring the nature of the still and moving image

Cost: £4,000 per academic year, including hot desk, computers with Adobe Creative Suite and access to TMS facilities

Bursaries are available

Animation by Graduate Georgia Dack

Photography outcomes

Course Tutors

Ania Dabrowska

Photography Tutor, European Fine Art Masters

Ania is an award-winning artist working in photography, moving image, installation, text and sound. She is interested in the impact that different registers of time, space and cultural identities might have on each other when configured together in new works, in particular the creative and political potency of archives in a contemporary cultural context. Her awards include the Wellcome Trust People Award 2008-11, the National Portrait Gallery Photographic Portrait Award in 2007 and Observer Hodge Photographic Award in 2003. She has been a Lecturer in Photography at London Metropolitan University and the University of Portsmouth, a Lecturer in Fine Art at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, Oxford and a visiting lecturer at Goldsmiths College, University of London.

Dr Jason Dee

Course Leader, The Still & Moving Image

Jason is a Kent-based artist and academic whose work focuses on the relationship between still and moving imagery within the context of the shift from analogue to digital media. He has undertaken residencies and presented papers both nationally and internationally and has been exhibited at FOMU, Antwerp; Talbot Rice, Edinburgh; Pompidou Centre, Paris; Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin; Akademie der Kunste, Berlin and more. His installation work has been shown at Format Festival, Derby; Rencontres Internationales, Paris; Transmediale, Berlin; Impakt, Utrecht; IFFR, Rotterdam International Film Festival and Berwick Film Festival. He has taught at Glasgow School of Art, Newcastle University and University of the Creative Arts Rochester, where he was course leader for MA Photography and MA Fashion Photography.

Sława Harasymowicz

Making Digital Tutor, European Fine Art Masters

Sława is an artist currently based in Ramsgate on the East Kent coast. Her practice largely explores the relationship between archive, autobiography, and fiction. After graduating from The Royal College of Art in London she produced a body of work responding to Sigmund Freud’s Wolf Man through a graphic novel and an exhibition, and her interest in narrative as both book and more open practice is on-going. She works primarily with drawing, moving image, installation, different photographic and print mediums. Sława has held exhibitions at The National Poetry Library Southbank Centre, London; Ethnographic Museum of Kraków, Poland; The Freud Museum, London and others. She is in the process of completing a PhD at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London (Fine Art).

Dr Edward Kelly Tutor, Sound Arts

Edward has a BSc in Electronic Music with Electronics from the University of Hertfordshire and a PhD in Composition from the University of East Anglia. He has taught BA Digital Media Design at the London College of Communication for 7 years, and MA Fine Art (Digital) at Camberwell College of Arts for eleven years.

He is a contributor to the Pure Data computer music system, and an expert in recording and editing audio and music. His work also encompasses creative coding and physical computing for interactive graphics, video and sound. He developed the audio engine for the Ninja Jamm app for Ninja Tune records. His research has been published at a number of international conferences and he has played concerts worldwide.

Rachel Kirk Tutor, Visual Communication

Rachel is a Graphic Designer, Communications Consultant and Educator. She holds an MA in Graphic Communication Design at Central Saint Martins, UAL, where she now teaches Critical and Contextual Studies alongside other design modules. Rachel has a broad design and communications skillset and over fifteen years of experience working primarily with not-for-profit organisations and startups focusing on sustainability and socially-engaged practice.

Dr Benjin Pollock Tutor, Sound Arts

Benjin is a multi-instrumentalist, academic, artist and storyteller. He achieved his PhD in Sociology at the University of Kent in 2021, and has taught at both Kent and the University of Brighton before joining TMS. Benjin’s practice mixes free improvisation and structured composition, and utilises field recordings, instrumental work (experimental, classical and folk) and poetry to explore sociological, historical and political themes. He has toured extensively with a number of experimental ensembles over the last fifteen years and his solo work has been featured on BBC Radio 6, BBC Radio 3 and at the TATE and Serpentine Galleries. In 2022, Benjin was appointed as principal musician at the Globe Theatre for Headlong’s production of Henry V and his latest album ‘Music for Cello and Nyckelharpa’ was selected for Bandcamp’s ‘New and Notable’ playlist.

Dr Paul Rennie Tutor, Visual Communication

Paul is a collector and curator of art and design, with over twenty years of experience in teaching, including at Central Saint Martins, London. He is the author of several books about poster history and design, including Tom Eckersley (2021). Paul lives in Folkestone, Kent, and is a great enthusiast of the therapeutic and transcendent potential of art and the seaside.

Edward Thompson

Tutor, The Still & Moving Image

Edward is a British documentary photographer whose photographic work has covered environmental issues, socio-political movements, subcultures, everyday life and the consequences of war. His documentary photo-essays have been published in National Geographic Magazine, Newsweek Japan, Greenpeace Magazine, The Guardian Weekend Magazine, BBC, CNN and The Sunday Times Magazine. His work has been exhibited at Christie’s, Somerset House and Four Corners Gallery, London and shown as part of international photography festivals.

Rebecca Truscott-Elves

Memoire and Sculpture Tutor, European Fine Art Masters

Rebecca is a multidisciplinary artist based in Kent. In 2016, she graduated from the Royal College of Art, where she received the Gordon Peter Pickard Award to make drawings in Montréal. She is currently completing a fully funded practicebased PhD at Canterbury Christ Church University, where she was awarded a 2021 British Council Venice Research Fellowship. Recent exhibitions include the solo show The House Was Like Her at Daphne Oram Gallery, Canterbury (2022), Supple Octopus with Coral Brookes at The Tub, Hackney (2022), What I See I’ll Never Tell at Wilder Gallery, London (2021), The Studio at 4am at Hastings Contemporary (2020), and duo show Plus One with Catherine Anyango Grünewald at Limbo Arts, Margate (2019).

Melissa Ryke

Professor of English at Esä

Melissa is an Australian artist. A graduate of the Schools of Fine Arts in Australia and France and of the European Post-Graduate Diploma in Art and Sound (EPAS) at the KASK in Ghent (2020). Her creative research focuses on a playful and poetic investigation of everyday life and on experimentation with audiovisual installations. Using these media, she approaches the notion of bodily experience from a phenomenological angle. Her most recent projects explore the notion of ‘embodied listening’; the listening, recording and broadcasting of sound as a haptic and sensory experience.

Her work has been presented and exhibited at Ars Electronica at Kepler’s Garden, Linz, Palais des Beaux Arts, Lille, Screen Space and Seventh Gallery, Melbourne, Metro Arts and Boxcopy, Brisbane and in the journal Runway Australian Experimental Art.

Guest Lecturers

Artists and researchers from a range of disciplines are invited to The Margate School to give talks on their practice, which are open to students from all the courses.

Previous Guest Lectures have included:

Ben Edge

Figurative Fine Artist

Interested in folklore and storytelling, Ben delivered a talk about the evolution of his practice and the relevance and importance of folkloric study and art within the UK, introducing his Folklore Activist Manifesto.

Bob and Roberta Smith OBE RA

British multidisciplinary artist

Bob and Roberta Smith invited students to his Ramsgate studio and discussed the relevance and importance of art in terms of societal and political change.

MAMIMU (June

Mineyama-Smithson)

Artist and graphic designer

Combining the philosophy of Japanese Kimono artisans and Postmodern wit, MAMIMU creates bold joyful patterns from seemingly mundane scenery from London, Tokyo, New York and wherever she goes.

Greg Bunbury

Graphic designer

Greg discussed his journey from navigating marginalised spaces in the creative industry, to social activism, anti-racist advocacy and shifting cultural narratives through design, exploring his @blackoutdoorart project, which uses billboard space as a platform for Black British creativity.

MAMIMU lecture @Jordan Mary Photography

Esä

Esä, L’école supérieure d’art | Dunkerque-Tourcoing, is the highly regarded French art school with campuses in Dunkerque and Tourcoing, less than 50 miles as the crow flies from The Margate School. Through our partnership with them, we offer students an accredited European Fine Art Masters, expanding opportunities across Europe to alum.

With an ethos aligned with TMS, this Anglo-French partnership presents innovative approaches to art education with collaborations and visits between the Schools. French language sessions feature as part of the European Fine Art Masters course and students and artists also participate in the School’s community outreach programme and arts events, with opportunities to form connections within the area and further afield.

The final assessment, Diplôme National Supérieur d’Expression Plastique (DNSEP), occurs at Esä’s Dunkirk campus.

Esä is a member of 50° North, the cross border network of contemporary art, ANdÉA, the National Association of Art Schools and Polaris, the Magnetic network of public art schools in Hauts-de-France and has around 300 students across the two campuses.

As partners, TMS and Esä’s technical resources are mutually available to both school communities.

Visit: esa-n.info

Thierry Heynen Director General, Esä

After completing his mathematics and physics baccalaureate (Bac C) in 1984, he pursued his artistic journey at the Regional School of Fine Arts in Rouen. In 1989, he obtained his DNSEP Art.

He also studied at the University of Paris 1 / Saint Charles, earning a DEUG and a License in Plastic Arts by 1988. In 1990, he had an artist residency at the El Shona Art Centre in Egypt.

Thierry has been working in Higher Education since the early 90’s, most recently as the director of ESADHaR before becoming the Director General of the École supérieure d’art | Dunkerque-Tourcoing in September 2021.

In 2018, he pioneered the “RADIAN” doctorate in artistic research and creation in collaboration with prestigious institutions. He also established partnerships with international institutions.

From September 2019 to August 2021, he served as Vice-President of the Community of University and Establishments (ComUE) Normandie University, overseeing Student Life, Culture, and Communication.

The Margate School is inclusive, caring, generous and like nothing I’ve ever seen. The building and the community gives 24/7 and not just when the doors are open.

Being a queer, non binary female, person of colour I feel safe and respected by the whole community and also comforted to see so much representation and diversity in the building from students, lecturers, guest lecturers and so on.

Zara Truss Giles, Student

Facilities at TMS

TMS boasts fantastic studio spaces and technical facilities, all housed across three floors of a building brought back to life with imagination and repurposed materials.

The FabLab

Anka Dabrowska during their residency

The Margate School is a highly progressive and egalitarian institution, where you immediately feel welcomed, valued and useful. It is a buzzing community of passionate and talented people and it’s an inspiring and exciting place to work.

Iain Purves, Studio Holder

Within the building you will find

• The FabLab and MakerSpace with screenprinting, letterpress, textiles, fabric dying, BioLab, 3D printer, laser cutter and wood workshop

• The Darkrooms with processing tanks and enlargers for all formats

• Photographic equipment for 35mm, medium and large format up to 8x10” and studio lighting

• Ceramics facilities including pottery wheel and kiln

• Sound equipment, recording booths, musical instruments, Logic Pro and audio mix studio

• Adobe Creative Suite, Autodesk Fusion 360, Zbrush and Blender

• Epson flatbed film scanner and printers up to A1

• Auditorium for performance, screenings, lectures and hybrid events

• Gallery

• Margate High Street Sculpture and Community Garden

Pottery facilities

The auditorium

Screenprinting facilities

The Margate School Team

Uwe Derksen Director

Uwe began development of The Margate School in 2013, the concept being to create a place where learning, critical reflection and making can come together under one roof, to be part of the local community and to develop effective responses to the social and environmental challenges we face: art, society, nature. Uwe has over 30 years of experience in education, developing entrepreneurship programmes for students and adult learners in the community and the creative sector. His previous experience includes a position on the Board of Governors and Assistant Director for Research and Knowledge Exchange at the University for the Creative Arts. Collaborating with the late Anthony Heywood, they created the sculptural Tabula Fortis in Pace series as part of the Cultural Olympiad 2012 in Dover and the Pafos Capital of Culture 2017 (Cyprus). During COVID 19 lockdown he created the Stop the War on People, Society, Nature series, a mixture of conceptual art installations and performative elements.

Maz Stuart Academic Coordinator and Support

Maz is a practicing fine artist who has been part of the School’s community since 2020 as a studio holder, student, volunteer and staff member. She has over five years of experience organising and curating exhibitions and events and runs a monthly life drawing club at Margate Arts Club.

Ruyin Nabizadeh FabLab and Knowledge Exchange

Ruyin is an Iranian visual artist and curator whose work involves installation, text and sound. With a BA and MA from the Slade School of Fine Art, he has produced and co-curated exhibitions at Artangel, British Council and sans titre.

Katie Blythe Community Learning Coordinator

Katie is a Ramsgate-based artist and researcher with a background in community engagement and arts outreach across the Thanet area, connecting with and increasing the creative participation of hard-to-reach and disadvantaged people. As an artist, Katie specialises in green woodworking and stone carving.

Dominic Rose Darkroom

Dominic is a multi-disciplinary artist whose focus is on the interaction between humans and the environment, order and chaos, the sublime and the mundane; illustrating the tension between our growing demand for resources and the interplay with the natural world. He has over a decade of experience in photographic production and darkroom processing.

Lisa Hawkins Events & Exhibitions

Lisa is primarily a painter in oils, she has a background in arts and University administration. Her main interests lie in investigation into the human condition and our connection with place through walking, drawing and painting in the landscape and she exhibits regularly. She studied both Fine Art and Myth Cosmology The Sacred at MA level at Canterbury Christ Church University and her work reflects these two interests.

Jenny Duff Communications & Marketing

With a career spent in studio, gallery, film and festival management in Margate and personally exhibiting in the UK and Internationally, Jenny brings considerable experience to The Margate School. Her practice incorporates design and fine arts approaches to producing practical homeware.

David Babaian Marketing & Webmaster

David is a British documentary street photographer, whose work regularly explores modern societal issues and has a strong emphasis on storytelling through classic photojournalism schools and a modern interpretation of the sociological relationships of subjects and their environments. Alongside his long-term projects, David works as a member of the New Exit Group collective.

Ed Gray IT Support

Ed studied Computer Science at the University of Kent and worked for Intel at their Shannon, Ireland offices after graduating. He has since returned to the UK and is involved in several local community projects.

Jane Piddock General Maintenance

Jane has an established and popular beauty therapy practice and came to TMS during COVID, when her business was paused. It has since resumed, but she hasn’t left us! She is a keen seamstress, creating clothing from disused items.

Geoff Orton Policy and Funding Advice Volunteer

Involved at the Margate Civic Society and Monkton Nature Reserve, Geoff’s previous work was in book publishing and at the MoJ. His focus at TMS is de-ghosting Margate High Street, supporting the growing creative community, easing community problems, especially through skills for employment.

Our Impact

Art, Society, Nature is the underpinning theme of the School’s philosophy and the basis for an exciting and inclusive programme of exhibitions, events and performances, many responding to discussions and collaborations amongst the community of TMS and the local area, below are a few examples…

A recent collaboration grew from discussion and encounters at TMS that led to the sociologist in residence, David Nettleingham, spending a weekend in the gallery space welcoming locals and visitors and inviting them to re-draw the map of Margate to reflect their own experiences, whilst the Sound Arts students ran workshops to re-sound the town with improvisation using a plethora of instruments and sound creation devices.

Compote drew from the roots of the practice of two of the European Fine Art Masters students, an interweaving of using natural materials and things that are close to them to create transformation, change, new growth and collaboration within the Margate High Street Sculpture and Community Garden in collaboration with twelve artists to use natural or found materials in their own way. The exhibition culminated with a day of conversations, activities and food, revisiting the artworks after the force of nature had worked its magic.

Make the Wave, one part of the Stop The War on People, Society, Nature, was initiated by artists, climate and XR rebels Helen Lindon and Marcelle Lindon saw the fascia of TMS enrobed in a giant canvas as part of a national localised action to bring Climate Change and Sea Rise Levels to the G7 summit in Cornwall. Other events in this series included performance and poetry readings connecting Margate to Nigeria via a live stream link and a resident movement artist from Germany collaborating with artist UKD in choreographing a performance.

The accessible exhibition space has been a platform for artists with disabilities to exhibit, including Proud 2 Create, an eclectic and vibrant art show by exceptional young people with unique abilities, curated by Arts4All.

The Community Garden

Exhibitions have been held annually at TMS to celebrate International Women’s Day and Power Of Women (POW) Festival and Margate Pride, exploring gender, diversity and inclusivity and led by students and studio holders working together.

in 2022 the theme was ‘Reclaim and Collect’ and saw ‘Adonis’, which reversed male voyeurism, Life Drawing with studio holder Mary-Ann Stuart and Silver Sisters, an exhibition of photography, including a full body cyanotype silhouette, presented by Melanie King, studio holder, alongside Kim Conway and Emily Rose Parris. Lydia Reeves also showed her Female Body Casting with accompanying spoken word.

You can discover more exciting and interesting events on the TMS website

In addition TMS has:

• Repurposed and rejuvenated the former Woolworths building, a key feature on Margate High Street

• Created and offered the only European Fine Art Masters in the UK, validated by our partner Esä, the Dunkerque and Tourcoing-based French art school

• Established the only Higher Education institution in Margate

• Founded courses in Visual Communication, Sound Arts and The Still & Moving Image

• Created a unique hub combining academic excellence with studios, maker facilities and a public event programme

• Developed and offered technical facilities, including a FabLab, darkroom, screenprinting, ceramics, exhibition and studio space

• Created a base for over 50 creative professionals and students with work and studio spaces, supporting more than 70 artists

• Welcomed over 16,000 visitors and stakeholders each year to exhibitions and participating in workshops, training sessions and events

• Launched the Margate Festival of Design

• Created the Margate High Street Sculpture and Community Garden

I can confidently say that the pedagogic approach that has been developed is unique in the UK... Specifically, the incredible space that has been created; that is flexible, inclusive of stakeholders, public artists and students. This has, and will, have an important impact on the local and regional community, providing opportunities that were not previously available in this area. This space allows professional practice and education to co-exist symbiotically in a way that... creates the ideal context for genuinely advanced practice.

Dr Rebekka Kill, External Examiner

Margate Life

Travel to Margate on the Isle of Thanet by high speed train in just 1 hour 24 minutes and the first thing you see on leaving the station is the wide sweep of the bay containing the Main Sands with the international gallery, Turner Contemporary looking right back at you across the beach.

On your walk to The Margate School, with an arrival time that depends on whether you take the route along the shoreline, you’ll first pass the shelter where TS Eliott wrote

On Margate Sands. I can connect Nothing with nothing.

Next you’ll spot the famous Art Deco Dreamland building, which as well as being the recent location of Empire of Light, directed by Sam Mendes, hosts regular gigs on the Scenic Stage within it’s amusement park by bands and parties as diverse as Recess, Annie Mac and Gorillaz, or if you’re more into retro Craig Charles Funk & Soul Party and The Specials.

Cut up past the clocktower to The Centre to discover indie and experimental sounds at WhereElse? alongside cafés to meet up and chat with fellow students, friends and neighbours.

Turner Contemporary hosts a regular programme of exhibitions and is named for JMW Turner who stayed regularly in Margate and remarked that ‘the skies over Thanet are the loveliest of all Europe’ - make up your own mind at one of the seafront bars sipping an ice cold drink whilst you watch the glorious sunset.

Beside the gallery you’ll find Droit House with the glowing pink neon by local international artist Tracey Emin that gives out the message ‘I never stopped loving you’ 24 hours a day.

Of course there are fish and chips, it is the seaside after all, but you’ll also find award winning cafés and restaurants throughout the town for every budget, occasion and taste, including the Bus Cafe in a double decker to traditional breakfasts at The Dalby Cafe.

If you are looking for a fun evening or weekend event, then there is always something to join in with. From Power of Women festival, Margate Pride and a Soul Weekend, drag nights at Sundowners, Barbie Party at Margate Arts Club, to Mergate, Margate Mermaid Festival.

Spend weekends at the open air Walpole Bay tidal pool, or visiting exhilarating and cutting-edge galleries showing an amazing selection of contemporary multi-disciplinary art, including Quench, the super-small Liminal Gallery and Carl Freedman Gallery.

Come and visit The Margate School and fall in love with a place that you’ll love to call home.

Apply Now

Our application process is designed to be easy and supportive, tailored to who you are, your experience and art practice. Apply online at themargateschool.com

Get advice

If you would like to talk to a member of the team about a course, portfolio expectations or any aspect of life at TMS, please get in touch with Maz, the Academic Coordinator info@themargateschool.com

Visit us

We encourage all potential students to come and visit us - join one of our open days, public events, or just drop in for an informal tour. Contact Maz info@themargateschool.com

It is now 70 years since I first attended art school in Margate where I took the course in graphic design. My graduation finally led to my recognition as a Royal Designer, (RDI) as well as becoming an Oscar winning film director. This wise choice of profession has led to the fruitful life that I enjoy to this day.

I’m proud to be the patron of The Margate School and am constantly impressed by its vision and energy.

Arnold Schwartzman OBE, RDI FRSA, Patron of The Margate School

Arnold Schwartzman

OBE RDI

Patron of The Margate School

Arnold is an Academy Award® winning filmmaker and noted graphic designer who grew up in Margate. He moved to Hollywood and was appointed the Director of Design for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Since 1996, he has designed many of the key elements for the Annual Academy Awards® Oscar®. In 2002 Arnold received an OBE and has been conferred the distinction of Royal Designer (RDI).

Ten reasons to study with TMS

1. Be part of a pioneering postgraduate liberal arts school in a vibrant, creative seaside town (with amazing beaches)

2. Develop your sustainable art practice, recognising the interdependencies between art, society and nature

3. Learn from outstanding tutors, guest lecturers and visiting professionals

4. Earn a degree qualification recognised Europe-wide unlocking opportunities for graduates to teach at EU universities (European Fine Art Masters students only, accredited by Esä)

5. Build your portfolio amid a network of artists, curators, creatives and cultural employers

Graduating student procession

6. Benefit from belonging to a small student cohort with the opportunity to build individual relationships and ready access to staff and tutors

7. Use our fantastic facilities including our FabLab, photography darkroom and exhibition space as part of your course fee, receiving discounts to public events, outside facilities and businesses

8. Work part-time or allow for other activities alongside study, with flexibility outside of taught modules on set days

9. Connect with others through our monthly FabLunches, TMS Film Club, workshops and events

10. Get involved with the Margate High Street Sculpture and Community Garden and a range of public projects, or collaborate with the community to start your own

Graduation event at Turner Contemporary

The Margate School

31-33 High Street

Margate CT9 1DX

info@themargateschool.com

01843 838421

themargateschool.com

It’s so common to think that the only way forward is to fit into the industry and to follow the path that’s laid out for you…that really isn’t necessary. Creativity is a deeply personal thing and the more you try and fit into something to please other people, especially for commercial gain, the more detrimental it is to your art and I’ve learnt that the hard way.

Carl Barât of The Libertines, TMS Fellow

esa-n.info

The Margate School is a member of:

The Council for Higher Education in Art & Design

European League of Institutes of the Arts

and the South East Hub for:

Royal Society of the Arts

TMS will do all it can to deliver the courses as described, but they may be subject to change as a result of discourse with and feedback from students and tutors or due to circumstances beyond our control.

© The Margate School. Images in this brochure are not to be reproduced without permission of The Margate School.

The Margate School LTD is a Registered Not for Profit. Registered number - 09629126

The Margate School CIO is a Registered Charity. Charity Number - 1203446