Admission Requirements

Additional Information

Thank you for your interest in the Dawson Visual Arts program. Our goal is to get a picture of your artistic potential based on your current perceptual skills and visual awareness. We do not expect your artwork to be at a professional level, rather we are interested in your curiosity and willingness to experiment and learn.

Portfolio

We welcome you to prepare the following portfolio components to upload within the Application Centre.

1. Observation Drawing

Instructions: Set up a still-life with three objects similar to a cube, a sphere or cylinder and an organic shape.

Example: a box of tissues, an orange and a crumpled t-shirt. Make an observation drawing of these assembled objects, using pencil or charcoal on paper.

2. Artwork: 8-10 original artworks in at least 2 different media

Please include the media, size, year created, and title of artwork. You may include a description of the work or any relevant information about the context in which it was made. If the artwork is part of a group collaboration, please specify your role in the creation.

Notes

• You will be prompted to upload digital images of your work. JPG, TIFF, PNG, and HEIC files are all acceptable. Photos taken with a portable phone are fine, however, please remember to take clear images without distracting backgrounds or shadows.
• Include original artworks from any visual arts media: drawing (pencil, marker, charcoal, etc.), painting (oil, acrylic, watercolour, gouache, etc.), sculpture (clay, plaster, wood, mixed media, etc.), printmaking, photography, digital art, fiber art, collage, etc.
• Original ideas and drawings from observation submissions are preferred.
• For drawings, please specify in the description if they were done from observation, imagination or copied.
• Please limit the number of artworks that are copied or adapted, as well as Manga drawings or comic book art.
• Make sure to always give the source/reference for any work copied from photo or other artwork in the description.
• You may submit multiple viewpoints of 3D sculpture work, if necessary.

3. OPTIONAL additional artwork:

• A maximum of 2 selected pages from your Sketchbook showing rough or process ideas (visual journaling and material testing can be included)
• Media work: web links to your video or animated work may be provided.

4. Questionnaire

There are short questions related to your personal art experience in the portfolio upload pages. This is so that we can get to know a little bit about you and why you are interested in our program.