Teodora Budimir

History of Art and Film studies, 2015

“The dissertation, which initially sounded so daunting, is one of the things that I’m actually finding most enjoyable about the course. You are given so much freedom to research your chosen subject and you are assigned a tutor whose expertise is best suited to your chosen topic”

Teodora Budimir studied both History of Art and Fine Art at A-level before coming to Oxford Brookes to pursue a combined honours degree in the two subjects.

I went to a sixth form in London that offered History of Art and I immediately fell in love with the subject. Having previously wanted to go on a Fine Art Foundation course I was having difficulty in deciding between studying just History of Art or just Fine Art. I settled on the combined course at Oxford Brookes as it allowed me to produce my own art work at the same time as studying art through history.

Both the subjects encourage an independent way of working that I really enjoy. For History of Art, many of our modules require me to pursue individual research into a topic in a way that challenges me to think outside of what I’ve learnt during lectures. The Fine Art course is mostly based on students doing individual work which the tutors supervise during tutorials. We are free to explore different ways of producing art with very little rules as to what we have to do.

The dissertation, which initially sounded so daunting, is one of the things that I’m actually finding most enjoyable about the course. You are given so much freedom to research your chosen subject and you are assigned a tutor whose expertise is best suited to your chosen topic.

The lecturers in the History of Art department are experts in their fields. Throughout the course I’ve been really impressed by their enthusiasm for the subjects they teach; their help and enthusiasm has really inspired me.

The Ashmolean, the Pitt Rivers museum, and the many modern art galleries in the city make Oxford ideal for students doing History of Art and Fine Art. The architecture in central Oxford, which we studied in one of our History of Art modules, means that we have examples of architectural styles that you wouldn’t see in other places. For final year students writing dissertations, having access to the Bodleian library is also extremely useful.

As a city Oxford is very accommodating to its student population and there is a good range of things do to and see. As a new student I found my bearings quite easily; it made me feel safer and helped me adapt to student life quicker.

Combining History of Art with Fine Art means that I am well equipped with knowledge of both sides of the art world. I feel that having both a historical knowledge of the art world and an awareness of how modern day artists sell their work has given me an advantage in the career that I want to pursue. I took a placement module as part of my course and so I was able to gain valuable experience working alongside professionals. I received invaluable help and advice from my tutor during my placement about how best to approach looking for a career. I’m sure that the experience and references that I picked up from my placement will help me when I apply for future jobs. After graduation I aim to find work in commercial art galleries while I set up my own travelling gallery space in London.