In this module you are introduced to Contemporary Fine Art Practice and Theory. The module encourages open enquiry with an emphasis on research, experimentation with materials and processes and acquisition of technical skills across a range of areas.  Your focus on exploring creative digital as well as analogue techniques and methods. They will begin to reflect on the multi-faceted nature of current fine art practice through guided practical application in; drawing, printmaking, painting, lens-based and digital media, sculpture and installation as well as research and writing.  The ethos of the module is to introduce you to the range of possibility in fine art practice.

In this module you begin to develop your understanding of Contemporary Fine Art practice and theory. The module encourages you to build upon the previous module in by constructing a body of work in response to a theme and via a written critical review of an artwork.  The ethos of the module is to develop the ability to build a personal body of work based upon research. You are briefed on a theme and encouraged to explore it across a range of disciplines. This is scaffolded by an art historical/theoretical seminar programme in which you will build upon the research and critical skills introduced in Block 1. 

In this module you incorporate conceptual considerations of concept and site into your practice.  Building on your experience in blocks 1&2, you are guided through a more substantial thematic brief. This activates an initial recognition of the entangled nature of materials, media, processes, ideas, place and audience.   In response, you pursue expanded and experimental approaches in challenging basic assumptions as cultural producers.  You also begin 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 to you for academic analysis.  It enables you to develop your capacity to examine and interrogate primary source material (art works in museums, galleries and collections) as well as paper and online publications (library and online archive resources).

In this module you begin to consider how and where your work can be presented and documented and the effects this has on its reception.  Continuing with the given theme from Block 3, you are encouraged to consolidate personally researched contextual sources and develop a body of work for exhibition. This enables the integration of primary research into your practical activity; and expands upon your understanding of the interactive relationship between materials, media and processes; between ideas and issues; and between producer and audience. The module culminates with your first public exhibition as a cohort.  

This module gives you the opportunity to develop an individual studio practice building on the knowledge and experience gained at Level 4. The emphasis is focused on initiating the establishment of an autonomous art practice. It is an explorative module encouraging experimentation and risk taking in your chosen fine art discipline or disciplines as you navigate increasing autonomy in the structuring of a sustainable practice. In this module you stretch your imaginative skills with experimentation and broaden your awareness of practical developments in contemporary fine art.  

Conceptual understanding is developed through a series of seminars introducing you to advanced theories that underpin contemporary art practice. The relationship between practical and conceptual understanding is explored throughout the course of this module in the studio, critiques, seminars and exhibition of final work. You are also introduced, more formally, to the consideration of a range of professional practice opportunities as they develop and apply an understanding of the relationship between the artist, the artwork and the viewer.

This module gives you the opportunity to further develop your autonomous studio practice building on the knowledge and experience gained in the previous module Establishing Your Practice. In this module, you demonstrate your understanding of the relationship between the artist, the artwork, and the viewer through the organisation, installation, and presentation of an art exhibition of your work. The realisation of the exhibition expands both your creative as well as your professional development. You will initiate an artist statement as part of their exhibition communication. 

You continue to extend your awareness of practical developments in contemporary fine art. The relationship between practical and conceptual understanding is further developed throughout the course of this module in the studio, critiques, and exhibition of final work.

Progressing from the previous modules at Level 5, you will continue to progress your practice whilst developing your ability to situate your practice in a wider framework. That framework is comprised of various elements: it can involve the range of debates, historical, and theoretical positions defining the contemporary art world; and it can also incorporate spaces, organisations, and communities not directly connected with that art world. These diverse elements often entwine in forms such as socially engaged art practices.   

While the studio is often an important foundation for artistic practice, then, such practice necessarily extends beyond it and establishes art’s relation to a broader social situation. Learning how to engage with agencies and communities is vital to situating one’s practice in a professional context. As such, you extend your autonomous development, beginning to focus in on specific areas of investigation. You integrate what you will have learned from Your exhibition installation, to progress your practical development, continuing to advance your skills and technical processes through experimentation and testing.  

This module solidifies your development of your autonomous studio practice building on the knowledge and experience gained from the previous blocks. It is an opportunity for you to extend and focus your experiments and explorations in your chosen fine art discipline or disciplines. These include a practice informed by curiosity and imagination and a creative and speculative approach to the manipulation of ideas, materials, methods and processes. You undertake activity of creative reasoning that is dependent upon flexibility of ideas and methodologies contextualized within current critical debates. This module advances aspects of decision making in relation to ethical considerations. You begin to articulate the parameters of your future Dissertation as a holistic engagement with your practice. This module strengthens the transition from guided learning to your assumption of a more autonomous role and ownership of your own practice. 

This module establishes methods for you to create a sustainable practice that embeds challenge and exploration at its core. Through hands-on investigation and critical reflection, you develop a series of experimental outcomes that reflect your own emerging ideas and artistic concerns. 

Building on understanding of contextual and theoretical knowledge from Levels 4 and 5, you will identify and begin to investigate focused theoretical and contextual research that informs and deepens your understanding of your own distinctive practice. The emphasis of this module is to develop a body of trial outputs that reflect and articulate emerging critical and practical concerns. Emphasis is placed on research, iterative making, and reflective analysis, with a focus on learning through both the successes and setbacks encountered during experimentation.  

In this module your progress to an autonomous ownership of your own learning and practice. The body of theoretical and contextual research will inform the basis of the Dissertation project and writing in the subsequent module. 

In line with the emphasis upon independent learning and refining your artistic identity in Level 6, you carry out advanced research that builds upon what you have learnt in previous modules in order to produce a dissertation. Typically this topic will often have strong links with your studio practice. 

The dissertation is an opportunity to study a negotiated self-chosen topic in considerable depth, thereby allowing you to refine and make more sophisticated your research and analytical skills. Research is carried out using as wide a spectrum of resources and important concepts and practices are explored, selected, and presented by you in a structured manner that demonstrates understanding of academic conventions. The task is not only to convey researched information clearly and succinctly, but also to utilise that information to form an argument that reflects your own critical perspective upon that research.  

This module supports you to develop practical strategies to establish a sustainable and self-directed artistic practice beyond your degree. It encourages you to further define your voice as an artist whilst building a complementary set of professional skills and experiences to help shape your future within the cultural and creative industries. 

You will cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset by engaging with public, funded, and postgraduate opportunities as active components of your professional development. This includes planning and delivering a group-led public Interim Exhibition, which will serve as a testing ground that informs your approach to the final Degree Exhibition. In addition, you will research and produce a draft business plan, funding application, or postgraduate application, equipping you with the tools to navigate and shape your own career trajectory. 

You will demonstrate autonomy of your learning and creative direction, developing an ambitious body of work that reflects your individual artistic practice. This work will be presented in a curated Degree Exhibition, offering a professional platform to showcase your practice to a wider audience. 

Throughout this module you will develop effective documentation and communication of your work, including the creation of a professional website to platform your digital portfolio, artist statement and record of professional experience.