Fine Art portfolio advice
Your digital portfolio is the perfect opportunity to exhibit your best work, and show us exactly why you're suited to study BA (Hons) Fine Art at Nottingham Trent University (NTU).
Get some top tips for your portfolio
Everything you need to know
Submitting your portfolio for consideration to the Fine Art course is an opportunity for you to showcase your skills, interests, style and personality.
It’s also an opportunity to make sure we have the right expertise and resource to support you during your time at NTU.
We understand your work is unique to you, but we've pulled together some useful advice to give you tips on what to consider and what we're looking for in your submission.
What you should consider
Be selective, showcasing the pieces of work which you feel are particularly relevant to this area of study, whilst best highlighting your skills and interests. Your selection of work should demonstrate your enthusiasm and ability in art, so that we can see who you are and what you do.
We’d love to see evidence of your working process. The best way for you to showcase this is by documenting a couple of pages of your most relevant sketchbooks or working drawings, which relate to specific sections in your portfolio.
Please select a range of work which shows us who you are and what you are interested in, as well as showing a range of your approaches to looking at and making art. We’ll be looking for a variety of creative pieces including painting, drawing, mark-making, photography, life drawing, mixed media work and digital work.
Please include a short, typed statement (150-250 words), which you have written describing how you engage with contemporary art. Let us know what galleries you visit, what magazines and websites you read, and any other way that you demonstrate your curiosity for contemporary practice. Tell us about the artists, exhibitions and other sources that you feel have influenced your work.
Showcase your passion. One of the most important things to remember whilst preparing your portfolio is to fill it with passion, showing us your potential as a future artist. Show us where you are taking risks, experimenting, exploring, focusing, questioning – how you are going beyond what you have been told to do.
What are we looking for?
- A quality range of visual concepts, and level of innovative thinking.
- Good presentation skills, and the ability to visualise ideas.
- Your ability to handle a variety of technologies, materials and processes.
- Adaptability, curiosity and open-mindedness.
- Your willingness to experiment in a range of visual media.
- Self-motivated work which shows your passion for the subject.
- Evidence of questioning and risk-taking.
Submitting your portfolio
- A digital portfolio in PDF or PowerPoint format (15 pages/ slides).
- If you have any moving image work, this can be showcased by embedding the weblink in your portfolio pages.
- Your portfolio should be submitted as a single unzipped file not exceeding 10mb.
- Your written statement can be uploaded as a separate file.
Can I submit my work as single files like JPEGS or PNGs?
No, work must be arranged in presentation software so we can see it in the same order you would show us as if you were presenting it yourself. Your written statement can be uploaded as a separate file.
Contact Ask NTU if you have any questions or if there's anything you'd like to discuss.
Alternatively, you can contact our Admissions team on +44 (0)115 848 4200.