module specification

This module introduces you to the core principles and skills of an independent Fine Art practice. The direction of your practice will be guided by a series of seminars, workshops, crits and tutorials that will provide you with the skills needed to think critically and work independently in the studio. Through experimenting with a wide variety of media and considering the relationship between method, medium and meaning, you will gain experience and knowledge needed to initiate a practice of your own direction. The module also puts you at the centre of the formulation of group ethics in the studio - defining under supervision how you as a group of practitioners are to conduct yourselves and help each other in you work and study. 

This module aims to provide you with an understanding of a wider creative framework of art, exploring contemporary cultural, political, critical and economic contexts. It aims to improve your ability to appraise and evaluate methods of research in fine art and to allow you to develop an understanding of its exhibition context, including an understanding of diverse audiences. The module aims to provide you with the ability to act on a code of group ethics for studio practice in a shared setting and to provide you with the tools to document, reflect on and communicate the progress of your practice through different formats.

At the beginning of the module, its aims and key concepts will be outlined to all students. Students will also be invited at the outset to set out, agree as a group and sign up to a basic code of ethics for conduct in the studio (LO3). 

Throughout the module, regular introductions to key materials and methods of making will be undertaken through the use of seminars, tutorials and peer group learning activities. This will enable the students to gain a broad understanding of the wider creative framework within which their work sits; creating opportunities for critical thinking and reflection. (LO1)

There will be regular group crits – where you present your work in progress to your peers and test the methods and enquiries you will be learning in discussion and in your own research. (LO2).

The other hours will typically be taken up with making; you will be in studio making work in response to stimulus material and associated tasks and working to decide whether these might form part of your experimental process for your ongoing practice – which you will also work on in these sessions. You are also encouraged and expected to work on these tasks and your own practice in non-teaching hours. (LO5)

You will be documenting your work visually and reflecting on your work and themes in your journal, using what you are learning in terms of methods and enquiry and Fine Art and wider contexts. (LO4)

Other sessions may be guided – where you work independently or off-site, or may involve field trips (e.g. gallery & studio visits). You will also be expected to display your work in exhibition conditions at certain points in the year. (LO4, LO5)

Scheduled teaching ensures that independent study is effective and addresses the learning outcomes and assessment tasks. Students are expected (and to have the opportunity) to continue with their studies outside of scheduled classes. 

There will be a range of learning strategies deployed and individual learning styles will be accommodated. The module’s learning outcomes, its contents and delivery, have been scrutinised and will be regularly reviewed to ensure an inclusive approach to pedagogic practice. 

The module and course utilise the University’s blended learning platform to support and reinforce learning, to foster peer-to-peer communication and to facilitate tutorial support for students. Reflective learning is promoted through assessment items and interim formative feedback points that ask students to reflect on their progress, seek help where they identify the opportunity for improvement in learning strategies and outcomes, and make recommendations to themselves for future development. Throughout the module, students build a body of work, including reflections on progress and achievement, this through a combination of directed and independent study. 

The School’s programme of employability events and embedded work-related learning within the curriculum supports students’ personal development planning. Through these initiatives, students are increasingly able, as they progress from year to year, to understand the professional environment of their disciplines, the various opportunities available to them, and how to shape their learning according to their ambitions.

demonstrate an understanding of a wider creative framework for work exploring contemporary cultural, political, critical and economic contexts

appraise and evaluate methods of research in fine art

act on a code of group ethics for studio practice in a shared setting

document, reflect on and communicate the progress of your practice

demonstrate individual ongoing practice and an understanding of its exhibition context and impact

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