Year 1
Materials and Processes (Mandatory)
In this module you are introduced to a range of materials and processes pertinent to contemporary fine art practice. It is an opportunity for you to experiment and explore a variety of fine art disciplines. This comprises a practice informed by curiosity and imagination and a creative and speculative approach to the manipulation of ideas, materials, methods and processes. The ethos of the module is to embed awareness of creative thinking through doing.
Concepts and Sites (Mandatory)
In this module you will incorporate conceptual considerations of projects and place into your practice. You will be guided in project-based activity through thematic briefs. The focus here is the interactive relationship between materials, media and processes; between ideas and issues; and between producer and audience. You will begin to consider contextualization through mode and site of presentation, as well as the reception and documentation of the work.
Drawing: Representing and Recording (Mandatory)
This module emphasises the fundamental skill of drawing, engaging you in the practice of observing, recording, analysing, speculating, developing, visualising, evaluating and communicating. The purpose of the module is to develop understanding and skills in drawing, both as a tool for further development of work, and as a practice in its own right.
Research and Context (Mandatory)
This module enables you to contextualise themes of contemporary art practice with reference to relevant art historical and theoretical reference points. The module introduces a range of visual and textual material towards developing your capacity to examine and interrogate your own artwork as well as the works of other artists.
Year 2
Studio Practice (Mandatory)
In this module you continue to develop your individual studio practice building on the knowledge and experience gained at Level 4. You will stretch your imaginative skills with experimentation and broaden your awareness of practical developments in contemporary fine art. The relationship between practical and conceptual understanding is explored throughout, in the studio, critiques and exhibition of final work.
Professional Engagement (Mandatory)
This module complements Studio Practice and Extended Practice. It allows you to develop your understanding, experience and reflection on your own practice in relation to others. This situated position is key to deeper understanding of the development of your practice, and importantly, your position in the wider community. It encourages you to begin to position your work in relation to professional contexts.
Critical Perspectives (Mandatory)
This module builds on the foundations set in Research and Context. It concentrates on developing a more complex understanding of specific ideas and themes pertinent to contemporary fine art practice. Key relevant theoretical texts from art as well as subjects such as psychoanalysis, philosophy, critical, cultural and film studies, are employed in relation to examples of contemporary art practice.
Year 3
Degree Project (Mandatory)
This module draws on and extends knowledge and skills gained from all previous Level 4 and 5 modules. It is the culmination of all learning through installation and exhibition of a coherent body of work. Degree Project provides opportunity to interrogate the relationship between artist, artwork and viewer through presentation of a Final Exhibition. It is the nucleus of your research and practice in Level 6 reflecting practical dexterity, theoretical underpinning and professional values. In this module you progress to an autonomous ownership of your own learning and practice.
Research and Dissertation (Mandatory)
This module allows you to extend your knowledge developed in Research and Context and Critical Perspectives together with the synthesis of theory and practice established in Extended Practice. A dialogue is expected to take place between the research and content in this module and that of Degree Project. The module addresses specific discursive and research methodologies appropriate to your individual work, extending your capacity to construct and present a focused and sustained academic discussion.
Professional Practice 2 (Mandatory)
This module builds on the Level 5 module Professional Engagement. You will be supported, guided and supervised in posting a continuous blog or relevant social media in order to promote your practice. This is alongside the production of either a business plan or relevant funding application in order to prepare you for a sustainable practice in either a self-employed or employed capacity.
