VA6010 - Professional and Self-Organising Practice

The module is organised through responsive thematic seminars delivered by artists, curators, historians and critics in the Arts Department. Students will be expected to complete set readings, contribute to seminar discussions and participate in activities, which may include group debates, film screenings and writing workshops. A familiarity with local galleries in your vicinity will be encouraged and helped, and visiting speakers will discuss their experiences and methods of developing their practices post-university. These informative and participatory seminars will lead to Summative Assessment via two professional outputs. In the final weeks of the module students will self-organise in small groups to reflect, plan and prepare assessed group presentations. In addition, each student will submit a 1000-word report that outlines future ambitions and professional goals, contextualising these in relation to one text/artist/organisation/theory introduced in the module.

You will be supported by the module leader who will provide you with your timetable, module guide, learning resources including key texts, and guidance for your Summative Assessments. All information will be posted on the eLearning Portal and you will be notified of key dates via your Northumbria email. You will receive formative advice and feedback from academics through the weekly seminars. Feedback will be provided in-person after the summative presentations, while written feedback on the summative report will be provided within 20 working days after submission.
You will be encouraged to actively engage with Graduate Futures and Graduate Enterprise support. Where appropriate you may also be directed to engage with our Skills Plus or other resources offered through the University Student Support Services such as Dyslexia Support.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.

Knowledge & Understanding:


1 Demonstrate an understanding of how artist-led organising and professional networks are essential to sustaining a career as an artist.

2. Demonstrate an understanding of the history and critical theory of artists’ working practices.

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
3. Demonstrate the ability to produce a written document that engages with historical, theoretical or artistic materials and meets professional levels of presentation.
4. Evidence engagement, ambition and self-management in the realisation of a collaborative presentation.

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA)

5. By learning about collaboration, self-organising, and care-informed approaches to professional practice, you will develop a better understanding of the ethics and politics underpinning a graduate art career.

Formative Assessment:

To prepare you successfully to undertake the summative assessment(s) on this module, formative assessments will be set by the module team. These may take the form of in-class tasks or projects, developmental activities undertaken between classes, or learning exercises/activities set over a longer period. Feedback (written and/or oral) will be provided to help you learn from, reflect on, and develop in light of these formative assessments.


Summative Assessment:

This takes the form of 1) a self-organised group presentation on a subject relating to the module, in which you will be assessed on your ability to organise, collaborate and plan the presentation, as well as content and delivery and 2) a 1000-word report outlining your ambitions for the twelve months following graduation; you will be expected to frame this discussion in relation to one of the critical texts, artworks, organisations or practices discussed in the module.

Summative Feedback
Written feedback on your summative assessment will be provided within the timeframe mandated by the university, which is currently 20 working days. Feedback will be provided electronically via the module eLP site.


MLOs
The assessment task tests all of the MLOs.

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The module blends practical, historical, and theoretical seminar sessions to support you in developing a critically-informed professional toolkit for your practice. As a graduating professional artist you will work both with existing cultural organisations, curators and funders, and initiate self-organised projects. You may work with other artists to generate spaces and programming to exhibit and discuss your practice. Whether self-initiated, collaborative or institutionally-led, you will need to cultivate administrative and organisational skills such as raising money, organising exhibitions, participating in group networks, writing press releases, and cultivating a support structure of artists, galleries, curators and critics. This module will provide an essential foundation as you start to look beyond your undergraduate degree and consider future ambitions.