Bachelor of Arts Honours in Visual Multimedia Arts

Purpose

The purpose of this qualification is to equip artists and practicing artists in the visual arts field with a set of skills and knowledge that will enable them to access professional training and advanced Postgraduate qualifications in the visual arts and multimedia.

On achieving the qualification, qualified graduates will be able to generate a body of artwork, drawing on their own ideas and research, supported by intensive engagement with a specialist range of media technologies and techniques. Qualified graduates will also be able to set up an exhibition of a body of their own artwork and critically analyse their own practice and the work of other artists drawing on key concepts from art-critical writings. They will also be able to coordinate work on projects involving teams of artists, and plan for the development of their careers as artists based on an assessment of their skills, interests, external constraints and opportunities. The module Entrepreneurship is offered to empower students to initiate and run their own studios and community projects.

The student as a professional practitioner will engage in critical and creative thinking and demonstrate competency with regard to articulating, understanding and assimilating contemporary modes in visual thinking.

Rationale

This qualification prepares students to function as creative artists in traditional fine arts media and/or in design and new media or multi-media. On completion of their studies students can take up careers as professional artists, self-employment, working individually from private studios as painters, sculptors, ceramists, printmakers software artists or in collaboration with other artists producing work of exhibition standard for galleries and art collectors, or work within the educational sector or design fields and in other industries as gallery/museum assistants, curators, illustrators, art projects managers, digital video editing, web design, graphic design, games, programming, etc.

Furthermore, this qualification is addressing the issue of scarce skills in the contemporary art practice and new media by expanding the capacity of graduates to various careers which were previously regarded as elite and to enable access by every qualified graduate irrespective of race. Thus, the qualification also represents a vehicle for the recognition of specialist visual arts and new media skills in a field in which specialist training has generally only been accessed by few and excluded the greater majority of South Africans from accessing visual arts and other related careers.

This qualification will enable graduates to become academically and professionally qualified to practice in any career which requires competency in visual arts and or multimedia including computer software artists. Secondly the qualification is aimed at ensuring that qualifying graduates become highly specialised professionals that have the potential of becoming leading practitioners in the contemporary art world both nationally and internationally.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Informal Prior Learning

Students may be given RPL if they can produce a portfolio of evidence or undergo any other recognised means of assessment that shows that they meet the Exit Level Outcomes and Associated Assessment Criteria specified.

Training with an approved professional artist and/or experience in the field of Visual Arts, such as a candidate who practised as a professional artist for a period of time, will be considered.

Formal Prior Learning

Accredited learning at tertiary level in relevant domains, which constitute credit-bearing units, is recognised. Candidates must hold an appropriate qualification that the Senate of the University deems similar to a University Diploma. This could be a three-year Bachelor of Visual or Fine Arts; a three-year Technikon Diploma in Visual or Fine Arts; Technikon Bachelor in Visual or Fine Arts; or Training at an approved art college.

Entry Requirements

The minimum requirements for admission into the Honours in Visual Arts Degree are

• A three-year fine arts and/or multi-media Degree, Level 7.

This qualification comprises compulsory modules at Level 8 totalling 120 Credits.

Compulsory Modules Level 8,120 Credits

• Professional Art Practice, 12 Credits.
• Visual Arts 1, 24 Credits.
• Visual Arts 2, 24 Credits.
• Contemporary Theories of the Arts, 24 Credits.
• Research Report on the Arts, 36 Credits.

1. Produce a body of artwork using either or both traditional and new media.
2. Coordinate visual arts projects within specified briefs.
3. Write critical commentary on artistic practice based on visual and contextual analysis.
4. Produce self-marketing material (catalogue, websites, invitation and business cards, etc.).
5. Demonstrate awareness of contemporary developments in new media and is competent, where appropriate, to use computer aided design packages.
6. Visualise thought processes and communicate orally and visually with visual art audiences.
7. Demonstrate the ability to independently set-up an exhibition of a body of artworks produced during the course of the study.
8. Demonstrate the ability to independently conduct a visual and theoretical research and demonstrate the interlinked relationship between practice and theory.

The Associated Assessment Criteria will be assessed in an integrated manner across the Exit Level Outcomes.

• Produce art works, which show coherence in form and content and which are relevant and functional within contemporary art making perspective.
• Use technical skills in art practice in a professional way.
• Apply conceptual skills in art practice in a professional way.
• Apply problem-solving skills and creative thinking in a professional way.
• Work independently of others with self-confidence and responsibility.
• Demonstrate self-responsibility and skill in time-management.
• Create own relevant forms of expression of original thoughts/ideas.
• Produce creative work in a variety of media as well as of an interdisciplinary and technological nature.
• Use relevant methodologies inherent to generating ideas, concepts and art making processes.
• Analyse and interpret the conceptual underpinning of artworks.
• Analyse and interpret the use of materials in artworks.
• Analyse and interpret the methodologies and strategies inherent to making art.
• Present research proposals, ideas, concepts and artworks in professional visual form.
• Use verbal language effectively to convey ideas and insights intelligibly and achieve own purposes.
• Relate, apply the knowledge gained in the academic environment to an entrepreneurial field.
• Create job opportunities through the application of creative and generative thinking.
• Create self-employment as a professional artist.
• Create self-employment in a variety of art related fields.
• Write a research proposal.
• Undertake a literature review.
• Formulate a problem statement, objectives, questions/hypotheses.
• Collect data and analyse data.
• Compile an academically written report with citations and references.

Integrated Assessment

Formative Assessment

There is continuous assessment involving the following

• Completion of practical and theoretical assignments and projects at home.
• Practical and theoretical assignments contain self-evaluation exercises and tasks.
• Students report orally on practical and theoretical assignments during workshops.
• Feedback on practical assignments through peer evaluation during workshops.
• Feedback on practical and theoretical assignments through team based assessment by a panel of internal and external lecturers.

Summative Assessment

• Practical and theoretical examinations to be team-based assessed by a panel of internal and external lecturers.
• Submission of a portfolio of practical year work to be team-based assessed by a panel of internal and external lecturers.
• Testing of the formative stage of learning on how to compile, arrange and present an exhibition of cultural objects to be team-based assessed by a panel of internal and external lecturers.