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• Undergraduate study:
• Courses
• Order a prospectus
• How to apply
• Information for applicants
• Why choose Kingston University
• Disability and mental health support
• Accommodation
• Undergraduate fees
• Fees, funding and payments
• Access, participation and inclusion

Professional Skills III

• Module code: FA6007
• Year: 2018/9
• Level: 5
• Credits: 30
• Pre-requisites: None
• Co-requisites: None

Summary

Building on previous achievements in the professional presentation of your work to an audience, in this module you will fine-tune your exhibition skills and extend your ability to document and communicate your work in a way that is fitting to your individual professional.

You are required to develop your understanding of how to pursue a professional fine art practice, and an awareness of the possibilities for success in both continuing as an artist and / or moving into other related areas. A combination of final exhibition and portfolio enable students to highlight and synthesise your achievements in the final year of undergraduate study and produce documentation that can be applied to a range of career choices.

Aims

• To enable students to present art work for a final assessment exhibition (BA show)
• To prepare students to produce an authoritative portfolio of documentation of work to represent an individual fine art practice
• To provide opportunities for students to acquire and synthesise transferable skills in pursuit of a professional fine art practice / appropriate alternative career.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate that they have extensively tested and arrived at appropriate methods for disseminating their individual fine art practice. (Experimentation)
• Apply sustained knowledge of a contemporary practical and theoretical context in order to disseminate their fine art practice in the public realm. (Analysis)
• Sustain their ability to communicate their practice in appropriate contexts by employing relevant skills in appropriate media. (Communication)
• Make use of teaching and learning resources to apply relevant methods for managing and disseminating their fine art practice, working individually and as part of a group. (Personal & Professional Development)

Curriculum content

• Professional portfolio skills
• Documentation skills
• Employment opportunities
• Self-employment and freelancing
• Creative industries professions
• CV writing
• Ethical practice
• National and International networks
• Writing funding bids
• Post-graduate study applications

Teaching and learning strategy

Tutor-led, individual and group sessions support students to develop independent learning strategies and skills in practical and theoretical research and analysis. Core and elective tutorials, subject-workshops, artist/professional talks, critiques, practice seminars and gallery visits all support academic progress towards the appropriately professional dissemination of Fine Art practice. The module will make use of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) Canvas for communication and dissemination of information between students and staff as well as making online learning materials available to all.

Practical sessions and subject specific talks provide opportunities to fine-tune their concerns in the context of professional practice though the preparation of a portfolio, in digital / analogue formats and a professional CV. Students are expected to enhance their collaboration and communication skills by initiating dialogue and opportunities to exhibit and publish work.

Students continue to be required to keep abreast of contemporary Fine Art practice by undertaking frequent, independent gallery visits / events, on and off site.

All courses based in the Kingston School of Art offer students free access to the online video tutorial platform Lynda.com. This provides a wide range of subjects to choose from, many with downloadable exercise files, including software tutorials covering photography, graphics, web design, audio and music, CAD and Microsoft Office software, as well as courses on Business and Management skills. Some of these are embedded in the curriculum and offer additional self-paced learning, others may be taken at will by students wishing to broaden their employability skills in other areas.   Students will be encouraged to use Lynda.com and other digital platforms to inform their learning, and to attend events arranged by the Employability Co-ordinator.

Learning Activities will include:

• Module & Assessment briefings: Short, year group meetings where key teaching, learning and assessment processes are outlined and explained.
• Individual & Group tutorials: Timetabled meetings with staff held at intervals throughout the module, the content of which is increasingly negotiated with respect to individual enquiry.
• Practice Seminars: Relevant subject material such as recently published texts, artworks or current events are discussed in small groups of students, accompanied by a member of staff. Content is increasingly determined by students.
• Critiques: Small groups of students explore the content and context of their work by presenting it to one another as the subject of increasingly rigorous, constructive and honest critique alongside a member of staff.
• Artist / Professional talks: Visitors from a broad range of disciplines are invited to give talks and lectures, on subjects such as artist practice, curation, writing, gallery management, as collaborative approaches, education, publishing, fundraising, publicity.
• Technical Workshop inductions: Individual enquiry determines necessary inductions further to those held at the beginning of the course and these are negotiated with a personal tutor.
• Subject Workshops: Often delivered in digital media workshops, these sessions are designed to provide access to practical and cognitive skills, for example digital creative suites, making applications and proposals, creating opportunities, portfolio preparation, self employment, preparing a CV.
• Independent Study: Students are required to make use of self-directed study time to build upon the ongoing dialogue with tutors and peers. Independent study may involve working in the studio, workshops, library or off-site at individually relevant locations, by negotiation with staff.
• Group projects: Working with year-group peers, students are required to collaborate to explore affinities or differences in modes of practice and practice content to devise co-constructed outcomes.
• Study trips: Timetabled visits to galleries and museums enable students to Keep abreast of current practice and cultural debates and contextualize your own practice.

Breakdown of Teaching and Learning Hours

Assessment strategy

Formative Assessment: Mid module review constitutes a display of work, accompanied by a brief verbal presentation and a portfolio publication of selected works, which may be digital. Notes will be recorded by staff and students and consolidated on a feedback form, to be filled in by students during feedback tutorial. Formative assessment is further augmented by regular Feed forward tutorials.

Summative Assessment: An exhibition of work is accompanied by the portfolio publication of selected works a Critical Statement (600 words) in a pro forma provided on the VLE and CV.  There must be evidence of a professional level online profile included in the Portfolio publication.

Group work will not be assessed. It is a method through which students learn, the results of which are integrated back in to individual practice. However, the student's reflection on this process may well be included in the work which is submitted for assessment.

Achievement of Module Learning Outcomes are assessed using the following Assessment Criteria:

Experimentation: Testing of thinking through making, risk-taking and problem-solving.

Analysis: Critical examination of context and interpretation of individual and related work.

Communication: Realisation of intentions and skill in appropriate media

Personal & Professional Development: Planning, time-management, commitment and subject engagement.

Mapping of Learning Outcomes to Assessment Strategy (Indicative)

Elements of Assessment

Achieving a pass

It IS a requirement that the element of assessment is passed in order to achieve an overall pass for the module.

Bibliography core texts

Greenberg, R., Ferguson, B.W. and Nairne, S. (1996) Thinking about exhibitions. Edited by Y Nairne. New York: Taylor & Francis.

Cooke, L. and Wollen, P. (eds.) (1995) Visual display: Culture beyond appearances. United States: Bay Press,U.S.

Obrist, H.U., Bovier, L. and Hulte.., P. (2008) Hans Ulrich Obrist: A brief history of Curating. 4th edn. Zurich: Jrp Ringier Kunstverlag Ag.

Beshty, W. (ed.) (2015) Ethics. United States: Mit Press.

Allen, G. (ed.) (2016) The magazine. United States: Mit Press.

Graw, I. (2010) High price: Art between the market and celebrity culture. Berlin: Sternberg Press.

artists, contemporary (1989) Blasted Allegories: An anthology of artists' writings. Edited by Brian Wallis. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1989 (1995 printing).

Recommended magazines and journals:

AN magazine, Artforum, Art Monthly, Flash Art, Frieze, Mousse, Parkett, Third Text, Afterall, Paper Monument

Additional material may be recommended during taught sessions.