Structure
Course Structure
The Artist Teacher Scheme has two stages. Stage 1 is our summer school at the end of July and Stage 2 is a series of Saturday sessions and workshops throughout the academic year, beginning in September and working towards an exhibition at The New Art Gallery Walsall at the end of the summer term.
The ATS has no set learning objectives, no ‘In this session we will be learning to.....’ Instead, it creates environments where the conditions that lead to learning exist; we never know exactly what that learning might be. Or to put it another way, we set off on the journey each year knowing that along the way we are going to meet some interesting people (teachers, artists, researchers, educators) and encounter some amazing art, but we don’t know in advance where the journey will lead to. For some people the ATS experience is life-changing. If you are excited by the prospect of taking some time out of your busy life as a teacher/educator to explore where the ATS journey might lead you, please contact us.
For more information and to book a place please contact Carol.Wild@bcu.ac.uk
Stage 1 - Summer School
23-27 July 2012*
An intensive week-long summer school enabling students to establish a basis for continuing practice. While the content varies slightly every year the following outlines our typical programme:
- Two-day ‘drawing in space’ workshop led by fine art staff from the School of Art
- Exploration of different aspects of contemporary art practice and the relationship between art practice and education facilitated by art and education academics at Birmingham City University and visiting artists. Sessions take the form of discussion groups, practical activities and informal lectures.
- Guided tours of participating galleries with learning curators and visiting artists.
Artists and educators who have contributed to recent summer schools have included Mona Casey, Janet Hodgson, Kelly Large, Francoise Dupre, Carol Wild, Kate Self and Zoe Renilson.
*Some schools have INSET days on Monday 23 July 2012. It is hoped that teachers will be permitted to miss this day to attend the whole week of the summer school. If this is a problem please contact us.
For more information please contact Carol.Wild@bcu.ac.uk
Stage 2 - Saturday Sessions
September 2012 - July 2013
The Saturday sessions provide ongoing support through eight workshops, lectures and seminars over one academic year. Every year is different and reflects the interests of those involved, and current exhibitions on show. However, the commitment to offering days that are relaxing, challenging, motivating, and fun stays the same. Each session includes time for you to discuss your work in progress with your peers and at key points in the year the group presents their work more formally to invited artists and teachers for feedback.
Over the year sessions provide opportunity for discussion of themes raised by the practice of contemporary artists and the gallery space, some sessions will also include practical workshops, and others will encourage you to explore the links between your experiences on the ATS and your practice in your educational setting. Our programme is finalised in July each year; the current year's programme is shown below.
Comments from 2010/11 participants
"Very enjoyable again. I want to go and make things. I’m feeling inspired."
"I have really loved the Saturdays – just time to look at art, find ways into work not familiar to me or initially easily accessible to me - also experimenting and meeting other people. ‘Me’ time."
"A very positive experience – I have really enjoyed it and the exhibition at the end feels like a perfect end to celebrate and wrap up the experience. Great!"
Outline of Saturday Programme for 2011/12
(The 2012/13 programme will be published in July 2012)
10 September 2011 – Viewing of Art Based Masters MA shows at Margaret Street and lunch time discussion.
29 October 2011 – Session led by Harminder Judge, performance artist and artist in residence, at the New Art Gallery Walsall.
12 November 2011 – Session responding to paintings, posters and sound pieces on show. Work by Kitagawa Utamaro, Stephen Earl and Oliver Beer.
10 December 2011 – Day workshop with artist and teacher Kirsten Adkins who works with film in both her art practice and her classroom, a chance to experiment with and developing editing skills.
28 January 2012 – Exploring film and photography by Stuart Whipps, John Myers and Dean Kelland. An afternoon session with Emily Pringle, head of learning at Tate Modern, Anita Reardon from Birmingham City University and Kate Self from Ikon exploring different approaches to learning in art taken by artists, teachers and learning curators.
25 February 2012 – A day spent with artist teachers Sheri Horn, Elena Thomas and Sue Gibbons.
28 April 2012 – Practical workshop at Ikon responding to the work of Hamish Fulton and Annie Pootoogook.
12 May 2012 – ‘What’s the point of drawing?’ day at Margaret Street presentations and workshop given by artists who work with drawing as a medium, including Jeremy Wood.
9 June 2012 – Preparation for exhibition meeting at The New Art Gallery Walsall
27 July 2012 – Exhibition at The New Art Gallery Walsall.
For further information about the course and to book a place please contact: Carol.Wild@bcu.ac.uk