Foundation Degree in Contemporary Art & Professional Studies Student Handbook 2013– 2014 1 Foundation Degree in Contemporary Art & Professional Studies Campus: Weston College University Campus, Loxton Road, Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset BS 23 4QU. Foundation Degree in Final Award Contemporary Art & Professional Studies Intermediate awards available Credit for modules passed WWC2 UCAS code Details of professional body accreditation None Relevant QAA Benchmark statements Art and Design Date specification last up-dated Dec 2008 Introduction Can you learn to be creative? We believe that the acquisition of skills and specialist knowledge is a key that allows us to unlock our creativity. This provides us with a means by which to look afresh at both the natural world and at the debates that inform and represent cultural perspectives. However we also believe that the once clear distinction between the Fine and Graphic Arts is blurring, resulting in new discourses about the nature of consumerism in Art and the application of design. In response to this, the Contemporary Art & Professional Studies course at Weston will encourage you to engage with challenging ideas, develop practical skills for a contemporary setting, become more aware of the commercial potential of your work and develop the skills necessary to market it to a chosen audience. You will be a student of Bath Spa University studying at Weston College University Campus This site houses Art, Design and Music Foundation Degrees, within a spacious purpose built facility with well-equipped studios and workshops. At the conclusion of your Foundation Degree, you will have the opportunity to apply to upgrade your degree to a B.A. (Hons) at either Weston College or Bath Spa University. 2 What will I study? The course focuses on three areas: professional, practical and theoretical skills development with a strong emphasis on drawing and links to the creative industries. Programme structure A Foundation Degree is studied for a minimum period of 2 years full time and three years part time. Maximum period of study is 4 years full time and 6 years part time. Course Content Taught workshops in a variety of 2 and 3D media combine with studio based and contextual modules, to realise your unique creative practice. These include: Projects. Studio work. 1:1 and group tutorials. Lectures and seminars. Demonstrations. Work based placements. Critiques, cultural visits and research. E learning. Visiting speakers from the creative industries. You will have the support of a personal tutor throughout your studies as well as the opportunity to attend workshops in creative essay writing. Learners in receipt of a DSA (Disabled Students Allowance) will be entitled to further support (identified during their needs assessment). Further information regarding the DSA can be obtained from Bath Spa University or Weston College Student Support Services or from the Learning Support Departments at either institution. Will I be able to gain practical experience? Contemporary Art & Professional Studies places an emphasis on the commercial and public aspects of art practice and to this end; you will gain firsthand experience of the creative industries by working alongside art/design practitioners and pitching for ‘live’ projects and commissions with creative partners, businesses, or institutions. If you are interested in: becoming a professional, practicing artist/designer If you enjoy: Painting, sculpture, installation digital media, surface design and manipulation and theoretical explorations. If you want: to gain employment within the creative industries and develop relevant entrepreneurial skills. Then this is the course for you. 3 What will I study? This course is being run on a full time and part time basis. A full time student will attend college for 3 days/week on taught modules with additional self directed studio time. A part time student will attend college for 2 days/week on taught modules with additional self directed studio time. There is a maximum of three mandatory modules of 40 credits per full time year for both 1st and 2nd years, comprising two practical units and one theoretical unit, in visual cultural history and critical theory. During your second year of study you will be expected to either undertake a work-based placement with a company or an institution of your choice or alternatively find a commission. In each case, you will draw upon practical and business skills learnt throughout the course and by its completion; you will be in a position to professionally promote, market and stage a final exhibition of your work. Which modules will I study? You can view a full guide to the modules you have to study as part of your FdA below and module guides will be given to students, at the start of the course. Year 1 Modules. During your first year of study as a full time student you will study three modules of 40 credits. These three modules will include: 1. ‘Work Shops + Practical Studio Based Work’. 2. The ‘Creative industries: Commissions, Site Specific, Public Art’. 3. Practice and Theory. 1. ‘Work Shops + Practical Studio Based Work’. Creative and practical workshops, set by creative industry practitioners will introduce you to a range of practical and technical skills in 2 and 3D media. These are designed to increase understanding and awareness of the relationship between ideas and materials in preparation for self- directed study, future work placement and public commissions. Drawing and documentation in a variety of sketchbooks/logbook forms should evidence your evaluation of visual experimentation and decision- making. See module descriptors for learning outcomes and assessment. 4 2. The ‘Creative industries: Commissions, Site Specific, Public Art’ Through seminars with creative practitioners and staff members and visits to galleries and design companies, you will be introduced to the various components of the creative industries. This is designed to increase your awareness of local and national opportunities and will prepare you with the skills to write proposals, read contracts and make professional presentations. You will be encouraged to work both independently and collaboratively in response to industry led briefs or commissions, based on your subject area. Emphasis will be on professionalism, time-lining, meeting deadlines, and the development of relevant business/entrepreneurial and communication skills. You will be encouraged to think creatively, critically, ethically and practically, about how to approach site-specific problems arising from commission briefs. Your work should show an appropriate interaction between intention, process and outcome. See module descriptors for learning outcomes and assessment. 3. Practice and Theory This module will begin with an overview of significant movements in the 19th & 20th Centuries that impacted upon the intellectual, scientific and cultural life of Europe, developing countries and America. This will then move to an exploration of modern deconstructive methodologies that can be used to reveal the ways in which these new perspectives were expressed. The result of this will be to consider your own practice within an historical and contemporary context, explore the need for ideas and meaning within your work and search for a means of expression through the medium of drawing. See module descriptors for learning outcomes and assessment. Year 2 Modules During your second year of study as a full time student you will study three modules of forty credits. These three modules will include: 1. Professional Practice & Work Placement. 2. Evidence of Study 3. Major study 5 1. Professional Practice & Work Placement During this module you will be expected to either undertake a work-based placement (for the equivalent of 10 working days) with a company or an institution of your choice or alternatively, find a commission. In each case, you will draw upon practical and business skills learnt throughout the course after which, you will be in a position to professionally promote, market and stage a final exhibition of your work. This should be taken as the opportunity to reflect upon and put into practice, the problem solving, decision making, marketing and presentation skills you will have developed in theory, during your course so far. It will also allow you to identify and professional development necessary to promote yourself, and access an appropriate career pathway. Guidance notes will provide you with a framework of the statuary regulations you need to abide by during the placement and you will be briefed on how to observe, record and present evidence of your undertaking. See module descriptors for learning outcomes and assessment. 2. Evidence of Study In this module, a lecture and seminar series (together with 1:1 and group tuition) will investigate those critical theoretical tools that will help you to clarify, review and evaluate your aims and objectives in a more personal way. See module descriptors for learning outcomes and assessment. 3. Major study Working alongside earlier evidence of study modules, this unit centres upon the development of self-directed practical work in relation to its theoretical context. In preparation for a final exhibition, you will be required to promote, market and stage your show(s) in venues internal and external to the College. See module descriptors for learning outcomes and assessment. 6 Career opportunities open to me if I study a Foundation Degree in Contemporary Art & Professional Studies. Your