Chester, University of, BA (Hons), Изобразительное искусство

Level 1: Students are introduced to essential elements of creative practice and studio-based activity through the exploration and generation of ideas in visual form; students are given the opportunity to examine, interrogate and challenge previously held beliefs through the negotiation of set tasks; these serve as open-ended points of departure providing opportunities for a personal, visual and conceptual response; modules in level 1 introduce students to practical and conceptual strategies that inform subsequent studio enquiries; curriculum areas include: studio practice; visual research; contextual research; historical and contemporary contexts; interdisciplinary practice. Level 2: Individual programmes of study based on identified interests and strengths are negotiated with tutors; studio-based modules are designed to support individual creative needs, while a studio journal provides evidence and confirmation of students’ understanding, personal research agendas, and growing awareness of a functional relationship between theory and practice; curriculum areas include: studio practice (with embedded theory); visual research; contextual research; interdisciplinary practice; in addition, and during level 2 studies, students complete a module of fine art experiential learning or a choice of work-based learning modules within areas of potential employment during which students are able to assess and apply their skills within the wider social and/or commercial context. Level 3: The programme culminates in a period of sustained studio practice during which students demonstrate their creative development in the preparation of a final studio exhibition project; at this level, contemporary artistic ideas, discourse and contexts are critically interrogated, expanding students’ theoretical perspectives, subject knowledge and promoting confidence in the articulation of their personal opinions; students’ visual research continues to provide formal and conceptual references and adds impetus to the origination and production of their final year work; the needs of students making an application for postgraduate study are addressed in both practical and theoretical elements of the course and by the University’s careers advisors; curriculum areas include: studio practice/exhibition project; visual research; contextual research; critical and contextual studies; professional practice.

This course provides students with the opportunity to develop their work within a wide range of media; these include: painting and drawing; sculpture; fine art textiles; printmaking and lens based media; fine art new media; the programme also provides the opportunity for students to work across the boundaries of established media areas; the programme develops practical skills and creative potential relevant to fine art practice and provides a theoretical framework that allows students to engage in informed discourse and constructive self-evaluation of work; the Department recognises the importance of placing the practice of art in a cultural and critical context and studies are based on the relationship between art theory and practice; there are opportunities for students to visit some of Europe’s cultural centres through organised study tours including, for example, Barcelona, Florence, Sienna, Venice and Prague; there is a strong focus on the establishment of students’ own studio practice; students progress from a taught core curriculum at level 1 to supervised but increasingly autonomous learning at level 3.