To be a student is innately to find out more about a subject. To explore and investigate, to delve deeper and make connections between seemingly unrelated sources.
Browsing Category Visual Communications
Your Voice: Shape the World Around You
At OCA, our revamped mission is to introduce student-led activities to our operations and learning models. Integral to this is to give you, our students, a greater voice in decision making processes that affect you. This academic year we are introducing two new surveys that form an integral element of our academic monitoring processes; the Unit Evaluation Survey, and the Level Analysis Survey.
Scroll free September: Interview with Gemma White, Learner Support Adviser.
I’m not sure I’m ready for cold turkey, I have a 17 month old daughter that likes Peppa Pig and Baby Shark so often social media during the day is necessary for my sanity! Also I think the majority of my use is usually after 6pm.
Review: LCN: Art & Ecology Panel Discussion
This post is for all students interested in climate change, activism, art & ecology and reports back on a panel discussion on Art & Ecology organised by London Creative Network (LCN) and held at Space in London.
‘Virtual’ study event
This virtual study visit has been designed by way of a resource pack to give students adequate resources to either attend the exhibition physically or complete research online to then partake in an online discussion. This is a pilot initiative so please do sign up and give it a go!
Scroll free September: Interview with Will Woods, Principal.
I think for me it’s really a good way of recognising how much time is spent doing social media and how that could be better spent. I’ve spent time with my daughter re-decorating her room and it was great. All of the small bits of time add up to quite a lot over the course of a week – I’ve been amazed.
Study event review: Art & Environment weekend. Day 2
Students attending were taking OCA units in various disciplines across photography, drawing and creative writing at all levels. There was interest to share ideas and approaches across disciplines and it felt there was common ground in our various connections to nature, ecology, landscape, gardening, geology and the outdoors.
Book review: How to Write About Contemporary Art by Gilda Williams
This is an important book for anyone who writes about art and its related disciplines. From Textile Foundations to Sustaining Your Practice as a textile student you are asked to comment on the work of others and your own creative output. This is a skill that does not necessarily come naturally, and many students struggle with it. It is therefore important to get some help. This book is different from the many “how to” writing books because it makes a strong case for knowing your subject and writing creatively about it.
Study event review: Art & environment weekend. Day 1.
The multi‐disciplinary aspect of the group was a great catalyst for different ways of thinking about a subject in this case the wildness of urban spaces, and was found very useful by many of the OCA participants.
OCA MA Fine Art: Introducing tutor Les Bicknell
As an educator I’m interested in asking questions but also listening, I see myself as someone who makes connections and points stuff out, a conduit of sorts. This thinking is established in my ongoing blog which acts as a reflective tool, supporting my thinking and making process.
Scroll-free September
#weareoca will feature updates from staff members across the month of September – I will personally be trying the ‘night owl’ (take a break from social media after 6pm each night) after an unsurprising check on my usage via an app-monitoring tool. We’d love you to join us – let us know how you fared on the quiz and share which plan you’ll be doing!
In conversation with: Rebecca Fairley
As part of the #weareoca30 campaign we are having creative conversations with some of our tutors. Watch and listen to OCA Programme Leader for Textiles, Rebecca Fairley, answering questions from students.