Module overview
In this module, students gain first-hand experience of professional work in the arts. The module adopts a DIY ethos, which has been fundamental to the development of the visual arts in the UK, through artist collectives, collaborative studio provision and artist-run spaces. These spaces and projects are vital to the ecology of arts provision, especially in providing a supportive community and opportunities to early-career artists. By giving students direct experience of running their own public-facing project, they will begin to acquire the skills and build a network of contacts that will enable them to better face the challenges of sustaining their practice outside the institution, and develop their understanding of the multiplicity of roles that artists can play in society.
Students are taught through a series of seminars on various aspects of planning, funding and delivering arts projects, including questions of ethics, representation, access, inclusion and sustainability. These seminars are led by guest professionals from local, regional and national arts organisations. The development and realisation of their own projects are supported through a series of group tutorials in which aims and strategies for their individual or group projects can be compared. Students are assessed by a journal documenting the project they undertook and articulating their understanding of that project in relation to the professional creative industries.
Examples of possible projects might include:
- organising, publicising and planning the interim exhibition
- socially engaged art practice
- publishing a zine or artist book
- pop-up exhibitions, performance evenings, artist film screenings
- public artist-led workshops
- collaborations with social or community organisations