To find out more details about the transfer to The Open University see A New Chapter for OCA.
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Puppetry and illustration might not have the most obvious connections but for Jereme Crow (who is currently undertaking OCA’s Illustration module) and for many other artists the links seem natural ones. They both explore visual narratives, storytelling and characterisation and often with a good deal of humour thrown in. Before Fluck and Law brought the […]
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How important is freedom of expression to you? How far does public status/fame/celebrity as an artist protect you? Ai Weiwei had reason to be an outspoken artist for up to a short while ago he was the only creative voice daring to express views that challenged the status quo in China, and seemed to all […]
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Caroline Wright (OCA MA Fine Art unit leader) raises lots of questions about the purpose of exhibiting art. This five minute segment of her first lecture in the online MA Fine Art programme gives a taste of the sort of issues that are raised for discussion within the 15 strong MA cohort, and poses questions […]
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Yorkshire Landscapes are the theme of our next art study visit and practical workshop. Landscape artist Stephen Court will be leading his highly popular Monoprint workshop at York Art Gallery on the 21st May. The workshop will start with an introduction to David Hockney’s largest landscape work ‘Bigger Trees Near Water’, which is enjoying its […]
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‘Mire’ is the visual outcome of a three year research art/science project by artist and Open College of the Arts Tutor, Liz Douglas. She has been researching diatoms found in pools at Murder Moss, one of the Whitlaw Mosses in the Scottish Borders. Whitlaw Mosses are a National Nature Reserve, a site of special scientific […]
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Andrew Haydon’s coverage of the Arts Funding Cuts was an excellent exploration of what was good, bad and indifferent about them. It made me think that anyone who cares about the arts should be engaged in the debate about arts funding cuts, it may mean fewer (or different? even – better?) exhibitions and theatre and […]
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The rallying call of Spero raised questions for me and the OCA students who came to the Nancy Spero exhibition. Spero confronts in her installation Maypole Take No Prisoners II which is made from steel, silk, wood, nylon filament, handprint on aluminium. It’s composed of hand-printed severed heads with protruding tongues attached to the maypole […]
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Last Saturday afternoon a small group gathered in front of the Serpentine Gallery in Hyde Park. After a brief exchange of information –how far we had travelled, our connection with the OCA, what courses everyone was on – we were straight in. We were here on a mission — to respond to Nancy Spero’s life […]
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The British Art Show 7 is not a title that would normally send you rushing to the Hayward Gallery eager to see the brightest and best of contemporary British Art . As an exhibition it comes around ever 5 years or so and tries to give an overview of those who are to be considered […]
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The designer Ken Garland published his first things first Manifesto in London in 1964 and with it he challenged a generation of visual communicators to rethink their role as designers and to do something more useful with their creative talents than simply create commercial advertising for cat food, stomach powder and aftershave lotion. In 2000 […]
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