Module Information

Interdisciplinary Studio Practice (ISP) is offered to second year students who wish to follow a course of study that is conceptually led and focuses on interdisciplinary practice and theory within contemporary fine art. Students will be taught and encouraged to prioritise and follow lines of enquiry that stem from and develop conceptual investigations. The conceptual exploration will lead, inform and dictate material-, process-, skill- and media- based investigations. The module will enable students to consolidate and develop their interests in a wide variety of contemporary and traditional subjects, including those already offered at the School and those new to the School.

The module encourages and allows students to move freely through and across disciplines and boundaries encouraging an interdisciplinary approach. All the new areas of exploration will be introduced by workshops and seminars that will take place in the ISP studio as well as within the Creative Media Lab. The module offers an opportunity for students to combine and consolidate their investigations in other modules: photography, printmaking, illustration, painting and drawing. Students who enrol on the module will be encouraged to make use of the spaces designated to the module such as The Project Room and the ISP studio space.

Students taking this 20-credit module will be required to:

1) Students are required to show evidence that they have attended and completed 2 of the taught projects
2) students are required to present their individual project
3) Students are required to show documentation/evidence of all their research and experimentation towards their individual project in the form of a note book.
4) Students taking ISP in semester 1 must show documentation/evidence of the development of their space/studio over the semester (assessment will be based on the documentation of the studio development in the section of the assessment criteria that also assesses notebooks).
5) Students in semester 1 are required to show documentation/evidence of in-depth research into 4 contemporary artists that relate to their individual projects.

The module is centred on regular group meetings/workshops/seminars/one-to-one tutorials and studio-based practice.

Academic rationale of the proposal:

• The purpose of this module is to introduce and develop students' ability to follow a conceptually lead investigation, taking their lead, inspiration and ideas from contemporary practice, while recognising and understanding the historical background to artist's practice.

• The aim of the module is to introduce to students methodologies for developing an interdisciplinary approach to their practice and encourage them to adopt new approaches and attitudes to art practice within a non medium specific context.

• Students develop a studio-based practice within designated studio space and the 'Project Room', an empty, experimental bookable space.

• Students will be introduced to a wide range of media not offered elsewhere in the School of Art; installation, mixed media, 3 dimensions, film, video, sound, site specificity, new genre public art, socially inclusive practice, text-based practice, performance, animation etc while they are also encouraged to engage with contemporary approaches to subjects that are already offered within the School; drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, and illustration.

• Video, sound, animation, and digital art are taught and supported by workshops and one-to-one surgeries in the Creative Media Lab within the School.

• Students are encouraged to cross the boundaries of specific mediums, to work with a combination of mediums that best suit their conceptual investigations.

• The module promotes and centres on community learning, collaboration and communication. Meetings will be student centred and student led, where possible, focussing upon students' work in progress and discussions on relevant contemporary practice.

• Students taking this module will be encouraged to continue their course of study through ISP 3, 4, 5 and 6 in order for them to establish a continuity and methodology of working across disciplines and media in the studio, Project Room and offsite throughout the 2nd final year.

• ISP 1,2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are designed to allow the students a continuous and flexible approach to interdisciplinary practice offering them time and space to follow individual and consistent lines of enquiries within very flexible and open-ended set projects.