BA Arts with Community is for the creative and the curious … those who believe in the power of the arts to bring people together.

From performers, writers and musicians to visual artists, filmmakers and dancers, this three-year degree supports students to develop their own artform while working closely with a diverse range of artists, leaders, communities and cultural organisations.

Here, we chat to incoming students, Julie Herkes and Lucy Ho, about their reasons for joining the course.

And, if you’d like to hear from current students, Cameron Barker, Harley Campbell, Eilidh Stout and Kiera Dymond, share their insights and experiences of Arts with Community in our interviews.

We’d love to hear about your creative journey so far. What has shaped it and what inspired you to apply for Arts with Community ?

Julie Herkes: I’ve been creative from an early age. My biggest craft began when I did a pottery night class at The Glasgow School of Art in 1994 and then went on to study for three years.

I also ran my own pottery business for seven years where I created and sold my own work and facilitated workshops for people of all ages and abilities.

I think my experience working in different areas of care, combined with my passion for creativity, is a perfect foundation for exploring Arts with Community.

Lucy Ho: I found my love for the arts as a child through music and youth theatres. As I got older, I began to drift away from the idea of pursuing an arts career.

Despite this, the arts allowed me to be open-minded and provided me with a safe space for curiosity as I grew up, which showed me from a young age how influential the arts can be on your development, even for people who don’t intend to pursue them as a career.

I rediscovered my excitement for the arts when the Fair Access team from RCS came into my school to talk about job opportunities in the arts and deconstruct the stigma around the type of people who the arts are for.

The talk helped me understand that the arts shouldn’t be a discriminating place, where only certain people are “allowed” to be artists. I gravitated towards production, an option I hadn’t even thought of until then.

I began participating in Fair Access programmes and workshops and became a Fair Access ambassador. In a way, this simulated being a community artist as I helped with recruitment and attended meetings and training sessions on how to ethically work with vulnerable groups and people who face barriers getting into the arts.

As I continued to study as a production artist, my love for art and passion for activism began to cross over more, so when I first heard about the new degree, I looked into it and decided to apply.

What are you most excited about the programme? Are there particular aspects you’re especially looking forward to?

Julie Herkes: I’m excited to explore other areas of arts that I am unfamiliar with, to widen my knowledge and perhaps find other subjects that I can develop.

Lucy Ho: I’m most excited about the interdisciplinary aspects of the programme. I think this broad training will be a great opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and try new art forms.

Even though I’m not particularly skilled in things like dancing or singing, I’m excited to learn about them and have fun with it.

What do you hope to gain from your time on the programme – whether it’s creatively, personally or future opportunities?

Julie Herkes: I’d like to improve my ability to connect with others and discover areas that people would benefit from engaging in.

Lucy Ho: From this programme, I hope to become a well-rounded community artist. I hope to gain lots of knowledge on art in social and historical contexts, so I can use it to make positive social change using art.

I also hope to leave with the skills to make experimental projects that people can enjoy without the pressure of fitting a conventional mould of what art should look like.

What does ‘arts with community’ mean to you?

Julie Herkes: To me, Arts with Community means working with a range of people collaboratively exploring various arts practices.

I think it could be for building relationships, supporting individuals or groups, and sharing experiences. There may be end results or projects or addressing issues within.

Lucy Ho: Arts with Community is about connection. I believe that all communities deserve access to storytelling and to choose how their stories are told.

Community artists should work with the groups sensitively and in a way that prioritises them and their voice, rather than the artist’s choices.

Being a community artist means working in an ethical, selfless way to ensure the moral purpose of the art is met.

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Interested in studying on the three-year BA Arts with Community degree at RCS?

Visit the homepage to find out everything you need to know, including programme structure, teaching staff and how to apply.

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