In this course students have the opportunity to develop and extend their art practice beyond a specific medium or technique, and creatively grapple with urgent ideas and themes shaping contemporary art today. In close dialogue with peers and staff, students will use their existing knowledge of technical processes and apply them to new enquiries, themes or research questions. In doing so, students will develop research skills that will support the development of an increasingly independent studio practice, and produce new artworks that creatively respond to themes and questions framed by a rotating set of class topics.
Students may complete this course up to four times for a maximum credit value of 24 units, provided they enrol in a different topic in each instance/semester. Please note that the course content, assessment structure, and reading list will change depending on the topic and the expertise of the lecturer convening the course. Please refer to the class summary for the specific term in which you wish to enrol for a detailed description.
Topics may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Art after Social Media
Do you find it difficult to find time to paint because you’re doom scrolling? Do you spend more time on TikTok than visiting art museums? Are you making money broadcasting live drawing sessions on Twitch? Did more people engage with your work online than your last exhibition? Whether these questions horrify or excite you, it is clear the internet is radically shifting visual aesthetics, global politics and our sense of self and cultural agency. In this practice-based course we will embark on a collective adventure to question and make sense of this media landscape, resulting in the production of artworks in any form that respond to the critical ideas and questions emerging from the topic. In seminars we will explore how contemporary artists – from painters to ceramicists, to video artists to designers – are making work that stems from concerns about our increasingly digitised and platformised lives. We will explore social media platforms both in terms of the aesthetics and sociality they produce, but also how they can be creatively harnessed to circulating artworks outside the gallery space, addressing new communities and audiences. By the end of the course students will have developed a new body of work, supported through an iterative process of research, experimentation and reflection.
- The Book as Art
- Politics of Memory: Video Installation, Sculpture, Documentary and Monuments
This course examines the politics of storytelling in contemporary art practice and the effects of historiographic methods, including video installation, documentary and public sculpture. The production of histories, the political responsibility of artistic-historical narratives and their agency in transmitting and shaping the digestion of the stories they tell is intimately entwined with the generation of possible futures. The conceptual design and the realization of student projects will be informed by analysis of various contemporary art projects that engage in the politics of memory and their approach to formats like the visual essay, the voice-over, re-enactment, the edited interview, the archival display, and the monument. Although the media students work with is dependent on the conceptual development of their projects, the course will include some technical instruction on video production, post-production and installation.
- Open to Influence: Studio Research
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- create works that synthesise skills with new methods;
- interpret and critique a range of methodologies in response to set projects;
- conduct independent research into practice and theory relevant to class topic; and
- analyse and discuss precedents and local and global influences on artistic practice;
Other Information
School of Art & Design studio courses have a limited enrolment capacity. Students are advised to enrol as early as possible to maximise the opportunity of securing a place.
Depending on the class topic defined each semester, the course may have a Materials Fee. At the ANU School of Art & Design, each workshop sources appropriate specialist?materials,?which are made available to students?to facilitate their working?effectively,?efficiently and safely?within our programs. The School of Art & Design is able to supply materials that don’t compromise ANU obligations under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS), and that have been assessed as suitable for each course. The Materials Fee ?is payable for the School of Art & Design to supply consumables and materials that become your physical property. You can choose to pay the Materials Fee and have these materials supplied to you through the School of Art & Design, allowing you to take advantage of the GST-free bulk purchasing power of the ANU.?These materials are also WHS compliant. The exact cost of the Materials Fee will be updated in the Class Summary for each semester in which the course is offered. The full SOAD policy can be read here: https://soad.cass.anu.edu.au/required-resources-and-incidental-fees
Indicative Assessment
- Portfolio of studio work (Project 1) (30) [LO 1,2,3,4]
- Portfolio of studio work (Project 2) (50) [LO 1,2,3,4]
- Research and Critical Reflection equivalent to 1000 words (May include visual diary and/or written reflection) (20) [LO 3,4]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
130 hours of total student learning time made up from:
a) 48 hours of contact over 12 weeks: lectures, tutorials, critiques and supervised studio practice; and
b) 82 hours of independent studio practice, reading and writing.
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
see Wattle
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 12
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2025 | $4020 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2025 | $5580 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
First Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Politics of Memory: Video Installation, Sculpture, | ||||||
| 3991 | 17 Feb 2025 | 24 Feb 2025 | 31 Mar 2025 | 23 May 2025 | In Person | View |
Second Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Art after Social Media | ||||||
| 9004 | 21 Jul 2025 | 28 Jul 2025 | 31 Aug 2025 | 24 Oct 2025 | In Person | N/A |