Oporto Faculty of Fine Arts

By JotaCartas - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9581470

The Faculty of Fine Arts is located on the eastern area of Porto, just a few minutes walk from the city centre, in an old palace of the 19th century. In the 50s several buildings with architectural relevance were constructed on its garden, which were specifically planned to teach the common Fine Arts course units. The applicants to the Faculty of Fine Arts may choose among the degrees in Painting, Sculpture and Communication Design. All of them take five years. All these degrees have a strong emphasis on basic knowledge in Drawing and History of Art, in accordance with the educational patterns in Fine Arts. However the curricula reforms taking place over the years have ensured that teaching techniques and methods are kept up to date. This also ensures a training which is compatible with the demands of the contemporary artistic situation. The work carried out by the teaching staff is often complemented by invited guests: plastic artists, designers, art critics, art gallery directors and many others who contribute to the training of young artists. Study visits and workshops are also an important part of the school activities. At the level of post-graduate studies the FBAUP offers a Master Degree in Art and Multimedia and another one in Art and Communication Theories, with specialization in Theory of Painting, Theory of Sculpture and Theory of Design. Several elements of the teaching staff are responsible for orienting or co-orienting PhDs in the fields of Painting, Sculpture, Drawing, Communication Design and Art Sciences and Geometry. The Academy of Fine Arts has always had, since the beginning in 1836, a policy of awarding grants so that its best students could proceed with their studies abroad. These students usually proceeded with their studies in Paris and Rome and used to send regularly examples of their work, which are still kept in the collection of the Museum of the FBAUP. Presently, the exchange between European art education institutions and the Faculty of Fine Arts is intensive and still rising, both in terms of student and teaching staff mobility. The institution has presently about 71 teachers, most of whom keep an active life as plastic artists and designers. The students (about 810) have the opportunity to organize exhibitions, by the end of their degrees, in the Museum exhibition room so that they can show their work. The Faculty also organises, usually outdoors, an annual exhibition of last year students. The best work selected by a jury is then bought by the Faculty so as to be integrated in the collection of the Museum. The good relationship between the Faculty of Fine Arts and the great number of art galleries in Porto also ensures a good cooperation as far as disseminating the work of the young artists who have just finished their studies is concerned. The Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Porto is a legal person governed by public law which is autonomous from a statutory, scientific, educational, administrative and financial point of view. This autonomy is enforced by the law, by the Statutes of the University of Porto and by its own Statutes. This is an organic unit of the University of Porto and a centre of creation, communication and dissemination of knowledge, culture, science and technology, in the fields of Fine Arts and Design. This Faculty is aimed at teaching, encouraging scientific research and developing services for the community. Within the scope of its objectives, it is up to the Faculty to:

    a)Teach the academic training leading to the academic titles and degrees described in the law on fine arts and design;
    b)Encourage and develop fundamental and applied research;
    c) Organize specialization and training programmes, master and PhD courses, both within the scope of the Faculty and within the scope of the University;
    d)Support and implement cultural extension activities;
    e)Organize and develop new ways of rendering services to the community;
    f)Encourage the cultural, scientific and technical exchange with national and international institutions.

Within the framework of its activities, the Faculty awards academic degrees and titles, other certificates and diplomas, as well as equivalence and recognition of academic degrees and qualifications in accordance with the law. This Faculty has: scientific autonomy, which enables it to freely establish and implement teaching and research activities, as well as other scientific and cultural activities; pedagogical autonomy within the scope of which it is free to propose the creation, suspension and ending of courses, preparation of curricula and study programmes and try new pedagogical approaches; administrative and financial autonomy, which is undertaken within the framework of the applicable law, thus being exempt from prior approval of the Court of Auditors. The faculty manages its resources regardless of other boundaries than those established by law, as well as the budget appropriations given to them. It can also propose the transfer of amounts between the different budget heads and prepares its multi-annual plan, besides being able to obtain income which are managed on an annual basis.

Source: Faculdade de Belas-Artes do Porto