Body Art BA (Hons) The University for the Creative Arts

Overview

As the only degree in the UK dedicated to body art as a broad artistic and cultural practice, you’ll examine wide range of body art practices, including body painting, digital design, printmaking, sculpture, photography, and performance art.

You’ll delve into bodybuilding, cosmetic surgery, drag, queer and trans bodies, addressing the body as a canvas for creativity, transformation, and storytelling – not to mention the cultural and historical significance of body art in communities worldwide.  

This Body Art degree also explores tattooing, but it is important to stress this is not a just a tattoo degree or a tattoo training course. You’ll learn non-invasive tattoo design using synthetic skins and mannequins, but actual tattooing must be undertaken as part of an apprenticeship in a licensed studio, alongside your university studies. 

You’ll be preparing for your future career throughout the course as you benefit from a range of professional development opportunities along the way. This includes portfolio development to industry marketing strategies, and an understanding of the global body art landscape.

So, whether you come into the course with some experience or none, by the time you graduate you’ll have acquired a wealth of highly valued skills that you could apply in a range of careers. This includes body art for fashion, media, and performance, creative direction or curation in the arts, art writing, or theatrical work. Or you may apply these skills in a career as a tattoo artist (with an apprenticeship for invasive practices).