The Arts School is a new faculty of Dartington Trust offering a distinctive portfolio of postgraduate degrees, short courses and events inspired by the experimentalism and innovation in art practice that has animated this place for almost 100 years.
This radical legacy is reimagined afresh on each of our courses, all of which are designed to help artists and creatives reshape their practice through the lens of contemporary issues. Â
ABOUT US: Read more about our history and ethos >

study with us
Find out what it’s like to study at Dartington, and explore our programmes
flexible learning models
We offer pathways to learning to suit all needs – including part time routes, ‘build-your-own’ modules, and blended learning

postgraduate programmes
Reimagining Performance Practice
MFA | MA | PGDIP | PGCERT
Reimagining Performance Practice is an integrative, transdisciplinary programme for performers, and anyone working in the field of performance, who are determined to reimagine performance and performative public engagement for the coming decades.
Poetics of Imagination
MA | PGDIP | PGCERT
Explore story and culture, examining how we have conjured stories from the earliest times to the present day. The course is centred around oral telling and opens to a broader spectrum of arts, examining the work of ancient to contemporary storytellers, writers and artists.
Cultural Production
MFA | MA | PGDIP | PGCERT
Study Arts Management at postgraduate level, researching the latest innovations in the sector, while also exploring Dartington’s own arts team as an example of best practice and innovation, and trialling your own ideas in the context of our unique collection venues and resources.
Arts and Ecology
MFA | MA | PGDIP | PGCERT
This is the most decisive decade in human history and unlike previous highly significant periods in history, we are fully aware of how pivotal these few years are to our species and the planet as human habitat. Arts and Ecology is a low residency master’s degree that asks how the whole of our humanity can be brought to this urgent conversation.
Arts and Place
MA | PGDIP | PGCERT
Open to practitioners and curators working in any art form including performance, writing, soundart, moving image, photography, digital art and fine art, this course puts particular emphasis on collaborative practice in response to an expanded understanding of place, via a unique residency-based programme.
research at dartington
why join us?

our venue
Dartington has a range of dance, theatre, music and art studios and a wealth of outdoor learning spaces including woods, farmland, the river Dart, the medieval deer park, food growing and landscaped gardens.

our faculty
Dartington Arts School has a rich interdisciplinary learning community of staff and students working with a passion to be change-agents for a sustainable future.
our programmes
Our low residency, innovative programmes offer you a learning experience rich in intellectual and creative exploration, with a flexibility that suits the complexities of modern life.

latest news & blogs
Student Stories: Martha Benedict blogs about Poetics
Writing for our blog, MA Poetics of Imagination student Martha Benedict explores the experience of studying at Dartington, and how the spaces in between the intensive sessions can be as valuable as the lectures themselves.
“One Song” Kadir Karababa’s Museum of the Home installation
Recent Dartington graduate exhibits new work exploring how songs are carried across borders and continents and yet remain firmly rooted in the places they were first sung.
Dartington student nominated for 12 Theatre Awards
We are delighted for our student Rachel Long who has received 12 Theatre Award nominations for her performance piece, ‘Bright Mother’.
follow us
Quick! There is still time to register for our upcoming virtual open evening on 09 February 5 - 8 pm. Discover more about all our degrees with live Q&A sessions with academics and expert staff. And Learn how our transformative learning community offers a life-changing experience in higher education! Register today - link in Bio.
Photo credit: Clare Walsh
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@hauserwirthsomerset @castcornwall @delfinafdn @ovada_gallery @outlandia_fieldstation @artdotearth
What is a sketchbook for? How do I use it and what do I put in it? Explore the answers to these fundamental questions and learn how to explore ideas and places on this five-day mixed-media course with artist @misskateboucher
This course will explore different ways of using and keeping a sketchbook and will look at the process of developing ideas in a sequence using starting points, prompts, themes, objects and media. Across the five days you will be shown how a sketchbook can be used to explore an idea, to experiment and develop skills with different media, or record a period of time like a visual journal.
The course will begin with examples of Kate’s sketchbooks and those of other artists. Then, through a series of set tasks and demonstrations, you’ll begin to develop your own ideas in your sketchbook; understanding more about your own artistic sensibilities and creating a sketchbook that inspires you.
At the end of the week, you will have explored several ways of working in a sketchbook, learned the benefit of embracing ‘the accidental’ in your experimentation, and have a developing confidence in your ability to express your ideas within a sketchbook.
THIS COURSE WILL
Help you feel more confident in developing your own artistic style through using a sketchbook.
Help you to understand the process of using a sketchbook to develop ideas in sequence.
Encourage an understanding of your own artistic voice and preferences.
Encourage and equip you to develop an exploratory approach to creating art and mixing media.
Help you to develop a personal approach to art-making in your sketchbook that feels enjoyable and expressive.
To book your place, see the link in our bio.
From setting up to Private viewing - Arts & Place 2023 exhibition is now open! Hosting in our gallery from 13 to 22 January.
The work on display will be the result of final projects all of which will be in response to the complexities of ‘the field’ as a place of practice, exploring its imaginative as well as material processes. Visit this link for more information about this cross-disciplinary, artist residency program. Go check it out now!
@sammillsart @graystephe @grace_wyld @arts_and_place @moments_cherished_j @aliberardelli @alisonjacksonbass @_emmayorke @arts_and_place
#highereducation #artsmasters #privateview #gallery #arthallery #education #dartington #tranformativelearning #residency #residencyprogram @dartingtontrust
Register for a place via the link below and on the same page, you can also click a link to our travel bursary application form which has the details and terms and conditions. Hope to see you in the new year! Register today via the link in Bio. y. To help with this we are offering up to 20 travel bursaries for our next Open Day on 14 January to help support your travel if you need it.
Register for a place via the link below and on the same page, you can also click a link to our travel bursary application form which has the details and terms and conditions. Hope to see you in the new year! Register today via the link in our Bio.
#dartington #art #highereducation #highereducationmatters #opendaysessions #openday #opendays #artdegrees #artdegreestudent #studnets #studnetslife