ARTS340 - Visual Arts and Design Major Project

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

40 cp from 200 or 300-level units in Visual Arts and Design

Incompatible

ARTS333 Self-Directed Studio B

Unit rationale, description and aim

Visual artists and designers must understand that creating visual art and design works that communicate, challenge and express their own and others’ ideas involves developed perceptual and conceptual understanding, critical reasoning and practical skills through exploring and expanding their understanding of their world, and other worlds.

Students must be competent in their theoretical knowledge and practical skills to be successful in their chosen career in the creative industries. The purpose of this unit is to continue the program of mentored studio and theoretical practice in the student's specialisation, which may have commenced in ARTS332 Self-Directed Studio. This unit provides students with the opportunity to plan, develop and realise a major creative project. Working in response to clearly articulated and student-led project briefs, students will draw on the skills and knowledge to produce a substantial body of creative-led research. For the specialisations in design or visual arts the body of work will be presented for potential inclusion in the Graduating Exhibition. For the specialisation in art history and theory, students will complete an extensively researched written study.

The aim of this unit is to provide students with the opportunity to showcase their advanced creative arts skills in the development of an innovative creative-led research project. This project will provide them with evidence that can be used in a portfolio for future employment or exhibiting opportunities in professional gallery spaces. The visual art and design major work is designed to represent project briefs that may be completed in professional contexts making students work ready for employment in the creative industries.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Identify effective personal working methods and research strategies necessary for the visual arts and design or theory essay major project (GA2, GA3, GA4, GA8, GA9)

LO2 - Describe how personal art making is situated within the history of art and the wider context of contemporary art practices (GA4, GA5, GA8)

LO3 - Apply the critical, ethical and practical skills required of a contemporary practitioner in the selected specialisation (GA2, GA3, GA4, GA5, GA7)

LO4 - Produce a substantial body of work that is well-researched, reflexive and innovative to be considered for inclusion in the undergraduate exhibition held at the conclusion of the course, or, in the case of art history and theory students, present an extensively researched written study for assessment (GA4, GA5)

Graduate attributes

GA2 - Recognise their responsibility to the common good, the environment and society

GA3 - Apply ethical perspectives in informed decision making

GA4 - Think critically and reflectively

GA5 - Demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession

GA7 - Work both autonomously and collaboratively

GA8 - Locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information

GA9 - Demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual media

Content

Students will produce a substantial body of work which demonstrates an understanding of the concepts and contexts central to their visual arts or design practice or art history and theory research interests. Students will work independently in their own studio space in preparation for their graduating exhibition, or, in the case of art history and theory specialists, on an extensively researched written study.

Topics may include: 

• A consideration and application of advanced practices, theories, languages, forms, materials, technologies and techniques associated with contemporary creative disciplines.
• An awareness of the professional practices that surround the creative sector including project management, project briefs and timelines, writing artist statements, gallery installation and public presentation and documentation of creative work.
• An understanding of the Australian and international creative arts sector understood from perspectives including cultural, ethical and social viewpoints.

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

Students undertake this unit in classes that consist of a) an explication of the requirements and practices associated with creative-led research and inter-disciplinary creative approaches or working collectively on creative projects b) discussion and reflection on the intersection of their personal art practice and the history of art and wider context of contemporary art practices c) workshops designed to further the needs of students’ own projects.

As a capstone unit within the Bachelor of Visual Arts and Design, this unit allows students to demonstrate their expertise in their selected visual arts or design disciplines or art history research interests. It provides opportunities to demonstrate skills and knowledge of the practices, languages, theories, forms, materials, technologies and techniques in visual arts and design practice and research. Students will be expected to work independently and collaboratively and will have the opportunity to show creative leadership throughout the process of developing a project. This unit embraces active learning strategies which will help students to engage with the creative industries.

Requiring high level application of skills learned by students throughout their Bachelor of Visual Arts and Design degree, this unit anticipates students have progressively acquired knowledge and techniques in their theory and studio units. Their major creative project provides the opportunity to apply these skills in a highly self-motivated context which allows them to demonstrate their expertise and ability to manage the professional delivery of an art and design project or in the case of the art history essay independent, scholarly research.

This unit will be taught so classes assist students in designing and developing their projects through weekly feedback and discussion that promotes studio culture and fosters confidence in communicating ideas verbally as well as visually. Students’ assessment tasks are contextualised by lecturers on the key concepts and principles relevant to the production of their major creative project and model research and analysis skills appropriate for an emerging creative artist, designer or researcher.

Assessment strategy and rationale

The practical assessments have been designed to contribute to high quality student learning by both helping students to learn and by measuring explicit evidence of their learning. Assessments have been developed to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes consistent with University assessment requirements. Each of the three assessment tasks have been designed with a specific purpose, to enable students to demonstrate achievement of all three learning outcomes and establish professional approaches for their future creative careers.

The unit provides scaffolded learning with opportunities for students to monitor their own progress, practise their skills and receive feedback. The Research Presentation provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate rigorous discipline knowledge of the processes and practices involved in conceptualising a creative arts project. The Studio Research Documentation allows students to present and communicate how personal art making is situated within the history of art and the wider context of contemporary art practices. The Major Creative Work allows for the application of high-level skills and knowledge developed through the visual arts and design degree to a sustained creative project. All of the assessments in this unit have been designed so they can form part of a professional portfolio that could be used to showcase the skills and abilities of the student for employment in the creative industries.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

As this is a visual practice studio-based unit, there are no prescribed text books.  However, recommended reading and other references are available upon consultation with the lecturer.