SPECIALISATION
Photography and Visual design

DEPARTMENT
Visual arts

INSTITUTION
NABA, Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti - Milan Campus

ACCREDITED BY
Italian Ministry of Education and Research

TITLE AWARDED
First Level Academic Master Degree

CFA
60

LANGUAGE OF TUITION
Italian or English

COURSE DURATION
1 year

The Master in Photography and Visual Design is a one-year course aimed at growing the main players in the contemporary photography scenario: photographers, curators and editors that are specialised in this field.

The basic didactic approach consists in looking at photography in the whole of its complexity, without making any difference among genres, practices and uses of this medium.

For this reason, the different fields that the Master analyses range from artistic photography to which is given particular relevance to reportage, from landscape to architecture, from still-life to fashion. This allows each student to acquire very diverse competences, and to master the magmatic and stratified language of the new photography. Theoretical, technical and practical classes alternate within a teaching path that has the participants’ projectuality at its centre. They are constantly encouraged to develop individual work based on essential cultural, historic, philosophical and technological grounds. Starting with the in-depth study of authors, works and fundamental techniques that have brightened the past of photography, this Master looks both at the present and future of this discipline, providing the participants with all the necessary tools to bring their work onto the most prestigious and up-to date stages of this world.

Ideal students have a good background in the fields of arts or visual communication, strong motivation and a natural inclination towards everything related to visual arts, curatorial practices, publishing and creativity, as well as a strong aptitude for work and openness to the exchange of ideas.

For admission procedures, please refer to the Academic Regulations.

This Master aims at providing the students with advanced knowledge to gain full command of the photography language, history, theory and grammar, as well as of professional technical skills for the creation of photographic images. The course supports the development of sound professional figures in the entire field of contemporary photography, based on:

• Mature and mindful understanding of a methodological approach which enables the future professional to deal with a wide range of projects through a consistent vision, as well as to successfully manage all parameters, variables and technical skills needed to develop real-scale photographic and curatorial projects.

• The ability to develop crucial skills that enable the students to efficiently express themselves in any professional context, both local and international, and to deal with the constant variability and unpredictability of the contemporary scenarios.

• The in-depth investigation of the limits and complexity of the contemporary photography system thanks to critical awareness, understanding of meanings, creative and experimental thinking, inclusive and multidisciplinary approach, as well as self-expression through projects and research.

During the course, students are engaged in different kind of activities, according to the specific learning goals. Those activities may include:

• Class lectures

• Debates, presentations, peer assessment

• Use of tutorials, videos or other media tools

• Exercises and revisions

• Labs

• Seminars and workshops with industry professionals or visiting lecturers

• Intensive workshops on specific subjects

• Individual or group projects

• Individual study or research

• Field trips related to the professional field

• Individual sessions and tutoring

The achievement of the learning goals is generally assessed at the end of the term, although intermediate evaluations may occur. Assessment methods vary according to the learning goals being assessed and may include:

• Oral exams

• Written exams

• Practical demonstration

• Graded exercises

• Graded revisions

• Papers

• Comprehensive projects

• Submission of papers, projects or research works

The Master in Photography and Visual Design is a one-year course divided in 26 weeks of lessons, followed by an internship period (either in Italy or abroad) and by research aimed at the development of the final project (portfolio). Each academic year focuses on a specific theme, linked to the contemporary cultural debate.

The course in History of Photography goes in-depth into the main protagonists, currents and works from the early moments of this discipline to the most recent experimentation works. With the integration of theoretical studies on the language of photography, the purpose of this course is to lay the cultural foundations for a knowledgeable approach to any profession in the relevant sector. Portfolio focuses on learning photography techniques from the basics to more specialised and professional skills, in interiors and outdoors, including studio photography. It allows for the acquisition of the fundamental practical and narrative tools needed to create a pictures portfolio, a necessary tool to present the work of every photographer. The Computer Graphic course guides the students through the acquisition of advanced skills in the use of photo editing software, combining theoretical and technical analysis in a dedicated classroom, equipped for the purpose. The teaching is completed by lessons focused on digital printing. Technologies and materials will be experimented with in the dedicated laboratory. With the Digital Photography course, the students can get into the thick of image production by following theory and technique up with practical experience and work planning. Centred on documentary photography, this course goes in-depth, in particular, into two aspects: territory and reportage photography understood as a tool for social investigation and personal stance. Visual communication introduces three specific aspects of artistic research through the photography language: the use of archives in researching; the relation between photography and words; the relation between photography and travels as space mapping or transformation.The Photo Documentation course is also divided in three parts. The first one focuses on the relation between photography and publishing, discerning between magazines and books.The second topic is the relation between photography and web, in recent years a vital channel for the presentation and diffusion of images. The third part of the course is about photography rights, with in-depth study of the Italian and international norms, copyright, and their legal and financial implications. Phenomenology of image is a seminar on the use of photography for the creation of public art projects, that is different forms of interaction between authors and public in the creation of common, shared projects. The Curatorial Studies and Exhibition Design course leads to the organisation of an exhibition in an area of the city through the development of all the different preparatory phases: from its conception to the creation of the artwork, to the actual exhibition design and the creation of the necessary communication tools. Here, all the specific skills of a photography curator are developed and studied. At the same time, the Photography course provides editing and publishing skills, guiding the students to the factual creation of a magazine that, entirely designed within the class, is distributed at museums, foundations, galleries and prestigious public and private institutions.

The curriculum of this Master is also completed by a wide range of opportunities for extra-curricular project and educational experiences (workshops, collaboration with public and private institutions, activities with visiting professors, etc.).

At the end of the lessons period, every student is held to do a two-month internship at artists’ studios, museums, art galleries, public or private institutions, magazines, publishing houses or archives, in Italy or abroad, with the goal to gain more skills in the specific sector they have chosen, and approach the professional world.

The Photography and Visual Design Master graduates have all the theoretical, technical and planning tools to start a professional career in different areas of the contemporary photography system, among which museums, galleries, biennials, private foundations, archives, auction houses, newsrooms and publishing houses, to become:

• Photographer (with a specialisation in different areas of this discipline: research, reportage, portrait, architecture, still-life, fashion...)

• Curators of exhibitions and events

• Editors for specialised magazines and books

• Photo editors

• Photography critics

• Art Managers

• Art Advisors - professionals who promote collections and archives in collaboration with public and private bodies.

• Archivists

• Consultants for auction houses

• Museums and art galleries directors

• Managers of Foundations and private collections

• Specialised technicians in various photography-related technologies (printing, post-production...)

At the end of the course, successful students will be able to:

• Develop original ideas within research contexts.

• Prove their in-depth knowledge of history, theory and language of photography, together with the ability to deal with this discipline within the wider context of contemporary art, philosophy and social science.

• Prove thorough knowledge of the practical and theoretical tools for the development of artistic, curatorial, publishing, staging, and historical-critical projects.

• Prove their in-depth knowledge of materials and technologies used in the fields of photography, curatorship, exhibition design and publishing.

• Master professional techniques for the creation of photographic images in any field of application.

At the end of the course, successful students will be able to:

• Efficiently organise their individual and/or team work, by means of applying the most efficient methods, to carry out a photographic or curatorial project.

• Develop and carry out different kinds of projects in the fields of visual arts, curatorship, and publishing.

• Develop and carry out commercial projects in the different fields of professional photography: reportage, fashion, portrait, architecture, still-life...

• Be professionally active in the fields of printing and post-production of photographic images.

• Organise and professionally interact with image archives.

• Develop web projects.

• Adopt the most efficient visual and textual communication techniques and strategies to represent their own and others’ projects.

• Adopt the most efficient strategies to promote their projects and/or personal profiles.

At the end of the course, successful students will be able to:

Profitably work individually and in a group, develop their organisational skills and deal with different professional figures.

Efficiently communicate their ideas, in a clear and straightforward fashion, as well as the knowledge and reasons behind them, to specialised and non-specialised people, graphically or verbally.

Identify and properly address their professional aspirations, also evaluating the necessary tools and strategies to develop an independent professional career.

Assess their own competence and identify, if any, further training paths in the academic or professional environment.

At the end of the course, successful students will be able to:

• Apply their knowledge, understanding skills and problem solving ability to new or unfamiliar situations, in wider (or cross-disciplinary) contexts related to their scope of study.

• Analyse contemporary photography scenarios through mindful interpretation.

• Understand customer requests within a wide and complex range of social and cultural references, and take into account the multiple instances that are the theme of an artistic and curatorial project.

• Assess research tools and strategies in contemporary photography, in order to conceive and anticipate new artistic and curatorial visions, as well as new production and exhibition scenarios.

• Apply a personal and mindful approach to projects, based on a strict procedural method and on the consistent use of critical thinking towards the values and meanings of project and research.

• Apply an innovative and experimental approach to projects, by identifying new possible relations and links among the project itself and its context.

• Develop an aptitude to be flexible and adaptable in their theoretical and design competences.