About us
Learn why UAL Online is a fantastic choice to study an MA online. Our online postgraduate courses are taught 100% remotely, with outstanding support for students.
Meet Dr Gareth Proskourine-Barnett: Course Leader for MA Illustration Practices (Online)
- Written byChloe Bowen
- Published date 17 March 2026
Share story
“We’ve designed a curriculum that reflects the industry’s shift and speaks directly to what it means to practice as an illustrator today.”
Dr Gareth Proskourine-Barnett is a London-based designer, researcher and educator whose work explores illustration as a transdisciplinary practice within contemporary visual culture. As Course Leader for MA Illustration Practices (Online) at Camberwell College of Arts, UAL Online, Gareth brings over 15 years of experience teaching illustration and visual communication.
Working across publishing, film, performance and participatory workshops, Gareth’s projects explore how stories, spaces and histories are constructed, and how creative practice can open up new ways of thinking about the world around us. His work has been exhibited internationally across museums, galleries and biennales, and he has collaborated with institutions including Somerset House, Tate and The New Art Gallery Walsall.
We spoke with Gareth about his approach to illustration, how working across disciplines can open new creative possibilities, and what advice he has for practitioners looking to expand their practice.
About Gareth
When did you first realise you were interested in Illustration?
I don't think I ever set out to do illustration. Most people I work with tend to say they had this deep interest in comics and picture books from a young age, but I wanted to make music videos, films and animations.
That said, looking back, I realise I was always drawing as a child. We had a shed in the garden with a little chair and an old roll of wallpaper, and I used to draw on the back of it and make up stories.
What does your journey into illustration look like?
I studied Visual Communication at Birmingham City University, although it wasn’t until my second year that I specialised in illustration. My tutors encouraged me to take on illustration modules, which I really connected with and did well in.
After graduating, I went on to study an MA in Communication Design at UAL. During my time there, I was invited back to Birmingham to teach a character design unit, which was my first experience of teaching.
Alongside teaching, I began developing my own creative practice through artist residencies and collaborations with cultural institutions. Over the years I've worked on a range of projects and longer-form research initiatives, exploring how illustration can operate across different formats and contexts.
Publishing has played an important role in my practice and continues to shape my approach today. I ran a small-press publishing house called Tombstone Press with David Wrenne and co-organised an artist book fair with Sofia Niazi at Eastside Projects in Birmingham.
Once I discovered teaching, I realised how much I loved it. I’ve now been teaching and practising for over 15 years, working with institutions including the Royal College of Art, the University of Worcester and internationally at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand as part of an artist residency.
More recently, I completed a practice-based PhD in Critical Historical Studies at the Royal College of Art. My research explores the internet as an archaeological site, using cyberspace to reconsider how absence, memory and architectural loss can be understood and reimagined. I’m currently developing this research into a book for Bloomsbury, due to be published in 2027.
What inspired you to teach illustration?
I’ve been lucky enough to be taught by some incredible people and to build strong relationships with generous mentors along the way. When I went to work on the Art and Design course at Birmingham City University, one of the main reasons was that I wanted to work with an artist called Stuart Whipps. He was someone I really admired, and he had agreed to be my research mentor. That job shaped who I am as an educator today - we worked on some great projects, and I ended up being promoted to Course Leader. We’ve stayed close ever since - in fact, he’s now the godfather to my son. Experiences like that showed me how meaningful teaching relationships can be, and that's something I've always tried to bring into my own teaching.
What’s one thing students might be surprised to learn about you?
When I lived in Birmingham, I started a 90s hip-hop and R&B club night with Sam Baylis, who was the frontman of a brilliant Birmingham band called Troumaca. The club night grew into something big and is still running today, 17 years later, although I haven't been involved in it for a long time now.
What is the most valuable thing you have learned in your career so far?
One thing that has always stayed with me is The Only Rule is Work, a beautiful 10-rule manifesto written by Sister Corita Kent from Immaculate Heart College. These rules encourage people to work hard, but also to take pleasure in their work.
More importantly, I’ve learned not to be afraid of failure. Failure can feel counterintuitive, but it’s an essential part of creative practice. Often, making work is about discovering what doesn’t work so that you can understand what does. That’s something we actively encourage on the MA course - giving students the space to take risks, challenge their processes and focus on exploration rather than just outcomes.
Who inspires you in the industry, and why?
I find myself increasingly drawn to people who work collectively and who are trying to rethink systems or create positive social change.
One example is the Dark Forest Collective, an online community imagining alternative ways the internet might function. They’ve developed their own operating system and are interested in how technology can support new forms of community.
I’m also inspired by groups like Assemble, an architecture collective that focuses on the role architecture can play in communities rather than just designing more buildings. And there are artists and writers such as James Bridle and Hito Steyerl, who are exploring technology and culture in thought-provoking ways. We’re living in interesting - and complex - times. The internet has completely changed how we discover ideas, and while that brings challenges, it also means inspiration is everywhere if you’re willing to look a little deeper.
About the course
Why should someone be excited to study at Camberwell College of Arts?
Camberwell is an incredible place to study illustration. The college has a long-standing reputation for being forward-thinking, experimental and critically engaged. Students are encouraged to combine storytelling and image-making with new technologies and contemporary ways of thinking about visual culture.
Before leading this course, I taught on the residential UAL MA Illustration programme. What always excited me most was how strongly we encourage students to ask why they make work, not just how. Material practice, experimentation and critical thinking are all connected, and students are supported in developing work that responds to the world around them. My teaching encourages students to experiment across a range of formats, including moving image, publishing, performance and emerging technologies, while thinking about illustration as a relational and socially responsive practice.
One of the most inspiring aspects of Camberwell is the student community. People come from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, which creates a dynamic environment where ideas are constantly being shared, challenged and developed. Students learn as much from one another as they do from staff, and it’s a place where taking risks and trying new things is genuinely encouraged. It’s really important to create inclusive and collaborative learning environments - we work with students from all over the world, and it’s important that this is reflected in our teaching.
What excites you most about leading the course?
UAL Online is helping to make UAL postgraduate education more accessible, and it’s exciting to lead a course at a moment where there’s this huge change in the way images are produced and consumed.
We’ve designed a curriculum that reflects the industry’s shift and speaks directly to what it means to practice as an illustrator today. It’s a forward-looking course that encourages experimentation while not being afraid to tackle complex conversations about visual culture, technology and the role of illustration in society.
I’m particularly interested in helping students make their work public and think critically about how it sits within wider cultural, ethical and political contexts.
Do you have a preferred unit, and why?
The final Major Project has historically been my favourite unit to teach. It’s the moment where students bring together everything they’ve explored throughout the course and develop their own ambitious projects.
One of the things that is entirely unique to the online course is what we call the three-part method: site, scale and tools. It’s an original framework I’ve developed over many years of teaching, research and practice to help students approach transdisciplinary work in a clear, structured way. Embedded throughout the course as one of its core foundations, I’m looking forward to seeing how students use that method to develop their own ideas and produce work that is both experimental and meaningful.
Are there any industry trends to look out for?
Artificial intelligence is already changing how images are produced and how we think about authorship and ownership. While the full impact is still unfolding, important conversations are emerging around ethics, copyright and the role of artists within these systems. For illustrators, understanding these questions will become increasingly important.
Being aware of the contexts you’re working within - who you’re working with, who benefits from the work, and how technologies shape creative production - will also be a key part of practice.
At the same time, I think collaboration will continue to grow in importance. Collective ways of working allow people to bring together different perspectives and create more meaningful forms of cultural and social engagement.
What are the top 3 skills someone needs to stand out in today’s landscape?
The world is really complicated, so critical translation between text, image, research, and lived experience, and making complex, abstract, or systemic ideas legible without over-simplifying them is key.
Another is gathering and assembling - bringing together fragments such as images, writing, data or materials and shaping them into meaningful narratives, often in non-linear or unconventional ways.
Finally, illustrators need methodological flexibility. This means being comfortable moving between different tools and approaches - from drawing and publishing to digital media, archives or AI - and choosing the right method for the context rather than relying on a fixed style.
What does the future of illustration look like?
Success in illustration depends less on developing a recognisable style and more on building an adaptable method - the ability to research, interpret and translate complex systems through image and text.
Careers in illustration are moving away from narrowly defined roles tied only to image production. Instead, illustrators are increasingly working across publishing, education, cultural institutions, technology and community contexts.
It’s becoming less of a fixed job title and more of a way of working - one that values adaptability, critical thinking and the ability to communicate complex ideas across different media and audiences.
Final thoughts
What are you looking for in a student?
Curiosity and flexibility.
We’re looking for students who are curious about the world around them and interested in the kinds of stories that help us make sense of it. This illustration course is very much about engaging with contemporary issues and developing work that responds to those contexts.
We also look for students who are open to how they approach projects. Rather than relying on a fixed style, we encourage people to think carefully about the relationship between form and content, and to explore different ways of communicating ideas.
What’s your top piece of advice for someone considering this course?
It's an opportunity to critically push the possibilities of your practice.
My advice would be to stay open-minded and be prepared to challenge yourself. It’s a chance to question your assumptions about what illustration can be and to explore new ways of thinking, making and communicating ideas.
