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Visual Communications Blog Posts - Page 12 of 52 - The Open College of the Arts

To find out more details about the transfer to The Open University see A New Chapter for OCA.

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Visual Communications


Study event review: Halifax OCA-North Meeting thumb

Study event review: Halifax OCA-North Meeting

Our group comprised textiles, painting/drawing and photography students at all three levels. This, in itself, was an important factor contributing to open and critical discussion. Added to this was Rebecca’s excellent talk on her own practice and formation as an artist and tutor. Following this she led a discussion on work that several of us had brought along.

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How will learning something new boost your emotional wellbeing? thumb

How will learning something new boost your emotional wellbeing?

What did you learn today, this week, this year? As we grow older we need new opportunities and different environments to unleash our creativity.

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OCA Open foundations thumb

OCA Open foundations

If degree study is new to you or you are uncertain about where to start, look at the OCA’s Open Foundations courses. These courses are all designed to lead you into degree-level study, get you thinking academically, and putting you in the best position to start.

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The Open College of the Arts is 30 years old! thumb

The Open College of the Arts is 30 years old!

A lot has changed in the thirty years since Michael Young founded OCA. Cassettes became CDs, which then became downloads, and then streaming. Liverpool won their last league title just three years after we became a thing, and are still searching for the next one. Mario Brothers were all the rage… and still are, surprisingly.

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Produce, Re-use, Recycle… thumb

Produce, Re-use, Recycle…

In 2005 an 8 year old girl was told by a security guard to stop sketching Picasso and Matisse paintings as ‘they’re copyrighted’ (Jardin 2005). So what is a copy and how much new, creative work is required to term the work as ‘influenced by’, or an ‘homage’?  Is her version in a different medium a copy?

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Art, activism & ending violence against women thumb

Art, activism & ending violence against women

The 25 November marks International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and the first day in the United Nations campaign UNiTE, launching sixteen days of activism against gender-based violence that culminates on 10 December – International Human Rights Day.  

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Some thoughts on criticality thumb

Some thoughts on criticality

Critical Art can be hard to understand – it’s designed to be challenging after all – but the bracing experience of having one’s expectations re-calibrated so that we can understand everything anew, or at least from a different point of view is to be encouraged.

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