module specification

FA5009 - Fine Art Professional Practice (2024/25)

Module specification Module approved to run in 2024/25
Module title Fine Art Professional Practice
Module level Intermediate (05)
Credit rating for module 30
School School of Art, Architecture and Design
Total study hours 300
 
228 hours Guided independent study
72 hours Scheduled learning & teaching activities
Assessment components
Type Weighting Qualifying mark Description
Coursework 40%   Professional Practice Folder sem1
Coursework 60%   Professional Practice Folder sem 2
Running in 2024/25

(Please note that module timeslots are subject to change)
Period Campus Day Time Module Leader
Year City Monday Afternoon

Module summary

In FA5009 Fine Art Professional Practice you will be exploring and learning how to engage your practice in a professional capacity outside of the university structure, through tasks such as writing artist statements, proposals for residencies, organising an exhibition and other ways in which artists engage audiences and the public sphere. 

The module builds on the key technical skills and concepts introduced at Level 4, now providing students with a sustained and in-depth engagement with the world of work in the Fine Art area by encouraging students to begin to contact and engage with viewers of art, art exhibition visitors and various art operators. You will be engaging with live briefs, whilst gaining support on how to formulate your work and ideas in a succinct and clear manner for a professional public use. Technical competence is enhanced and advanced while exploring the range and application of Fine Art practice in the realisation of group and individual projects, as well as the documentation of work made.

FA5007 Professional Practice 1: Fine Art serves and sustains an award in the BA Fine Art course only, delivered in a seamless and integral relationship with the work of other core modules on Level 5. Students are expected to investigate and develop critical and aesthetic working relationships between and across the Level 5 modules.

The module aims to enable students to develop key subject-specific skills and
knowledge in the concepts and principles of Fine Art only, as they apply to the world of work in that discipline. Through mastering the organisation of tools, fine art equipment, materials and pre- and post-production aspects, this module’s objectives are to enable students to develop the key cognitive skill of applying what is learned in the Fine Art studio to novel situations in the presentation and display of work to new audiences or a wider public. The module also aims to provide students with work-related learning about applications, planning, together with exhibition practices and structures to develop that wider public and those new audiences, with a view to creating a sustainable legacy of career assets to aid employability.

Prior learning requirements

Completion and pass (120 credits) of previous level.

Syllabus

At the beginning of the module, its aims and key concepts will be outlined to all students. Students will be supported in addressing the Learning Outcomes through a combination of talks, workshops, seminars, group crits and tutorials in order to explore a personal creative, critical and contextual basis for future creative practice.
In this module students are introduced to a range of practical and professional
Fine Art practices for application within Fine Art and the creative industries.

Students will engage with a series of practical sessions, classes and tasks that will expand their knowledge of the various ways in which artists sustain and develop fine art and creative practices in particular contexts. (LO1 and LO2).

Students will engage with a series of professional practice sessions, classes and tasks that will provide the initial knowledge and understanding of how artist utilise writing that communicates artistic intentions for different audiences and for varying professional opportunities. (LO2 and LO3).

A series of sessions will be used to curate an art exhibition in a group, learning the technical and theoretical skills required in order to effectively engage audiences in a variety of types of space. Students will understand and engage in professional collaborative working practices; proactively and supportively with others. (LO3 and LO4).

Balance of independent study and scheduled teaching activity

Scheduled teaching provides the guidance and foundation to ensure that independent study is effective in addressing the module’s learning outcomes and assessment tasks.

In-class activity makes use of varied student-centred approaches such as active, flipped and blended learning, so that a range of learning strategies is deployed, and individual learning styles are accommodated. Information is provided through a range of means and sources to minimise and remove barriers to successful progress through the module. The course team seeks to embed the University’s Education for Social Justice Framework in fostering learning that is enjoyable, accessible, relevant and that takes account of the social and cultural context and capital of its students.

Activities foster peer-to-peer community building and support for learning. Reflective learning is promoted through interim formative feedback points that ask students to reflect on their progress, receive 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 written reflections on progress and achievement, this through a combination of directed and independent study.

The School’s programme of employability events and embedded work-based learning within the curriculum supports students’ personal and career 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.

Learning outcomes

On completing the module, students should be able to:

1. apply different concepts and methods of enquiry and processes to solve new problems by experiment and testing in the world of art work;
2. to communicate their concerns and ideas of their studio practice through the use of various written formats;
3. to collaborate with peers and outside organisations, as well as document and critically reflect upon working structures during the creation of exhibitions and other events;
4. curate artworks in an exhibition space, using display devices where appropriate, with due care for space

Bibliography