The creation of art is a global phenomenon, whether that art takes the form of painting, sculpture, architecture, bodily adornment, or performance. By looking at such a broad spectrum of art, World Art Studies includes more diverse peoples, cultures and contexts than traditional art historical studies. The founding principle of the School of World Art Studies is that different forms of art produced around the world merit equal attention, and it remains one of the few institutions in Britain that teaches art history from this broad perspective.

 

Staff members at the School exemplify a range of academic disciplines: art history, archaeology, anthropology, and museum studies. Our ‘world art’ approach encourages faculty and students to make comparisons across cultures and time periods, which stimulates new ways of thinking about the visual arts. This is what makes the School distinctive – and our students add that it’s what makes their time here so valuable and unique.
 

The School was founded in 1965. Originally called the School of Fine Art, in 1992 the School changed its name and re-organized its teaching and research profile to become the School of World Art Studies and Museology. The School incorporates the Sainsbury Research Unit (SRU) for the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas, and is affiliated with the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Culture (SISJAC). We share our building, and many teaching and research programmes, with the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts (SCVA), a leading public art museum.

The School’s flexible approach is apparent in the range of degrees on offer. Undergraduates may study art history on its own or as part of a degree in art history, archaeology and anthropology. The School also provides a range of joint degrees taught with other schools at UEA, including literature, history, philosophy and film studies. In addition to postgraduate degrees by research, the School offers taught master’s programmes in art history, cultural heritage and museum studies.

Photos, top to bottom: Figure of a walking hippopotamus, Egypt, around 1880 BC, Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection, UEA 306, © SCVA. Henry Moore, Draped reclining woman (1957-8), Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection, UEA 86, © UEA. Green stone carved face (hacha), Mexico, AD 600-900, Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection, UEA 698, © SCVA.