For more than 150 years kings, queens and cardinals have been among the few people permitted to tread on one of Britain’s greatest treasures: a medieval mosaic foretelling the end of the world.

Made with rare marbles, glass and gemstones, the Cosmati Pavement in Westminster Abbey is the exact spot on which British monarchs have been crowned for centuries.

Days after the coronation of the King, the 700-year-old artwork will be opened to the public for the first time — on condition that they remove their shoes.

Professor Jennifer Alexander, an art historian at Warwick University, said the pavement tours would “certainly be a rare opportunity for the public to walk in the footsteps of medieval kings”.

She said it was “entirely fitting that they should be barefoot, as medieval pilgrims to St Edward’s shrine would have been”.

Have a taste of what it is like to be a Faculty of Arts student through the video of the recent FAB Festival and opening of Warwick's new Arts Building.

Come and visit the beautiful University of Warwick campus and find out about our Arts departments and courses at our 2021 Open Days

There are 3 autumn 2021 in person Open Days for prospective students to come and visit the University of Warwick campus: 9 October, 23 October and 6 November. The 6 November is particularly focused on the Arts and Humanities, but if you cannot make the 6th you are very welcome to come on the other dates. Our new Arts building (FAB) is reaching completion and we hope to be able to offer tours on the 6th November.

We will have staff and students from our Arts departments available to answer questions at the Information Fairs on the 9th and 23rd October. On the 6th November we are planning a mixture of subject-based drop-ins, workshops and presentations.

Virtual Open Days with academic presentations about the courses are being held in the week 25-29 October 2021.

Booking has opened and we look forward to seeing you either in person or virtually.

Congratulations to Professor Paul Smith from History of Art who has been awarded a Major Research Fellowship by the Leverhulme Trust for his interdisciplinary project entitled, Unfolding vision: Cezanne’s personal way of seeing.

On Thursday, 12 November 2020 the University celebrated completing the final storey of the new Faculty of Arts Building with a “topping out” ceremony.

In the first of our Faculty of Arts at Home films focusing on environmental issues, hear from Dr Olga Smith (Institute for Advanced Studies, History of Art) about her research on ‘Visualising Climate Change’. Olga explores the effect of images on our perception of global climate change and how this might impact upon public awareness of these issues, as well as on the formation of environmental policy. Her broader research looks at the relationship between humans and nature in contemporary landscape art.

Then&Now is a student led-research project run by students in the Faculty of Arts in collaboration with the Modern Records Centre. Find out more about the project here.

New Faculty of Arts building artwork commission. Can you spare 10 minutes to talk to artist Matthew Raw and to express your feelings and plans about the move of the Arts and Humanities departments into the new building? He is interested in talking to anyone who will live with the building (and mural!) every day. If you would like to be involved, please contact Sarah Shalgosky asap at S.H.Shalgosky@warwick.ac.uk.

Nurturing creative practice alongside academic knowledge

A new creative venture from the Faculty of Arts will help develop the University as a powerhouse for the artistic, cultural, creative and media industries in the region and beyond. The new School of Creative Arts, Performance and Visual Cultures will redefine Warwick’s teaching and research in the arts, cultural and creative industries – offering great opportunities for students, graduates, external partners, academics and for public engagement.