Postgraduate Diploma in Fine Arts

Purpose

The purpose of the qualification is to provide practice-led innovation in the specialised creative fields of visual arts and its exhibition. The qualification aims to extend knowledge into areas of local, national, regional concern and bring this knowledge in line with the best practices when measured against global indices.

A focus of the research includes local issues and arenas within South Africa and the rest of the sub-Saharan African continent, within the context of global best practice concerns. The qualification has arisen through interaction, collaboration and alliances with individual African scholars as well informal partnerships with universities both locally and abroad. Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) are incorporated into many of our current Fine Art practices. The approach is to provide a collegial and supportive environment that rewards quality research.

Rationale

Fine Arts is a specialised and valuable creative practice-led discipline within South African. The qualification aims to encourage creative and innovative individual specialisations and professional best-practices within the local context. A primary aim of the qualification is to empower learners and enable them to compete nationally and to understand the global context of creative- and visual-arts productions. The qualification will significantly contribute to the advancement of African Scholarship. Should achieving learners wish to follow an academic career-path, the Postgraduate Diploma complements and gives access to a Bachelor of Arts Honours in Fine Art and or to the Master' Degree in Fine Art. Hence, this qualification provides a pathway that may advance to Doctoral and Postdoctoral studies. This qualification is necessary in order to provide the country with a cadre of practicing visual artists.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Recognition may be given for Prior Learning at other institutions, including those in the non-formal sector, as well as for informally acquired artistic capabilities. Learners that have been deemed to have acquired a broad understanding of a particular field and some basic research and practice-based skills at the required level in the Fine Arts, within a broad context of creative practices, productions and public exhibitions of visual art may be admitted to the qualification.

Entry Requirements

The minimum entry requirement for this qualification is

• Bachelors' Degree, Level 7 with a major in Fine Art, or equivalent.

This qualification consists of the following compulsory modules at Level 8 totalling 128 Credits.

• Fine Art 6: Studio Specialisation A, 64 Credits.
• Fine Art 6: Studio Specialisation B: 64 Credits.

1. Apply a critical and evaluative approach to analysing complex issues in Fine Art practices, specifically regarding identifying and conceptualising an area of performance pertaining to the creative development of a personal visual expression.
2. Demonstrate a comprehensive and systematic grasp of practical studio work productions in Fine Art.
3. Demonstrate critical understanding of advanced methodologies, techniques and technologies applicable to the selected area/s of practical production in Fine Art.

• Produce works of visual art, arising in own creative challenges for self- and cultural-expression, towards private work, commission and public exhibition with relevant workplaces, organisations and institutions (such as museums and galleries of visual art and culture).
• Provide evidence of self-motivated development and personal expression in art making, informed by the critical awareness developed during scholarly research in their chosen practical specialisations in Fine Art.
• Address local, regional and global issues pertaining to contemporary expressions of visual art and culture.
• Generate creative artworks and develop their personal expressions of visual art forms in local, national and international modes and genres, through the knowledge and technical skills that they have developed in their practices of Fine Art.
• Present research findings to fellow learners in seminars using appropriate exhibition media or means to disseminate their Fine Art productions.
• Synthesise and organise visual information, and mount their creative productions in an appropriate format (such as an exhibition of visual art).

Integrated Assessment

The achievement of learning outcomes will be assessed formatively through ongoing individual discussions, group seminars and presentations of practical work in progress during a semester. On completion of the creative project, a summative solo exhibition of practical studio work is presented for internal and external examination at the end of each semester.