Course overview
Specialisation 3 builds on the skills, knowledge, and creative foundations developed in Specialisations 1 and 2, supporting students to initiate and develop a sustained, self-directed studio inquiry. Working within a dynamic studio community, students pursue an independent practice through iterative making, speculative thinking, and active engagement with relevant art histories, contemporary practices, and theoretical contexts. The course treats experimentation and open-ended research as core conditions of artistic practice, and students are encouraged to follow the logic of their inquiry rather than work toward predetermined outcomes. Learning is shaped through regular group critique, individual consultation, peer exchange, and direct encounters with practicing artists through an embedded artist talk series. Students also engage with a program of field trips and visits to artist studios, galleries, and other professional contexts that situate their developing practice within a broader contemporary art field.
- Assemble
- Speculate
- Embody
Course learning outcomes
- Identify, develop, and sustain a self-directed studio inquiry across an extended project, demonstrating increasing independence in research, decision-making, and the direction of practice over time.
- Apply and critically examine the materials, processes, technologies, or modes of practice relevant to chosen studio disciplines, demonstrating an understanding of how the means of making generates knowledge and shapes inquiry.
- Engage with practice-based research through iterative experimentation, speculative thinking, and critical reflection, responding productively to uncertainty, failure, and feedback as generative conditions of studio practice.
- Demonstrate knowledge of relevant art histories, contemporary practices, and theoretical frameworks, applying contextual research as an active, ongoing resource within and alongside studio inquiry.
- Communicate the intentions, development, and context of studio practice through presentation, discussion, and documentation, maintaining sustained and evidenced engagement across the full duration of the course.
- Contribute responsibly to a shared studio community, demonstrating ethical awareness, care for collaborative learning environments, and an understanding of the health, safety, and environmental considerations of practice.