OCA Fine Art: Student Story: Rita Lisnevskyte

Rita reflects on her recent course with Fine Art Programme Tutor, Hayley Lock

HL: Rita you have just completed your first Level 2 (HE5) unit on the Fine Art Degree programme titled Fine Art 2.1: Ideas, Research and Writing and will be moving onto your second out of three Level 2 units titled Experimental Encounters in the coming months. It would be great to respond to a few questions about the course, to share your experience with others who may be following you on the Fine Art pathway at the OCA.

HL: Can you let me know a little bit about you in relation to your background, what you have completed to date on the degree pathway, and what your ambitions are overall in regards to obtaining a BA (Hons) Fine Art Degree?

RL: I’ve considered myself an artist for as long as I can remember. I studied academic art during my school years, which laid the foundations for my creative journey. Currently, I work with children with special needs, an experience that has deeply shaped how I see the world and the potential art holds as a tool for communication and healing.

I’m now on the Fine Art degree pathway and currently completing the first unit of my second year, Ideas, Research and Writing (Unit 2.1). My long-term ambition is to deepen my artistic practice and explore the intersection between art and therapy. I’m especially interested in how art can be used to support others emotionally and psychologically. For me, obtaining this degree isn’t just about academic achievement, it’s a personal journey to expand my creative voice and hopefully use it to help others.

HL: Can you talk a little about the first unit at HE5 and what you enjoyed the most, and then perhaps expand a little more into the current unit Ideas, Research and Writing?

RL: Studying Unit 2.1 has opened entirely new areas of thought and creative practice for me. It’s been a surprising and enriching experience. I found myself exploring topics and concepts I never previously associated with art, like philosophy, theory, translation, and language.

At the beginning, I was honestly quite intimidated by the writing component. I’ve always struggled with writing, possibly due to undiagnosed dyspraxia or simply a longstanding difficulty I’ve had since school. The idea of writing serious or academic texts felt overwhelming. But this unit gently nudged me out of my comfort zone in the best possible way.

What once felt alien, writing as an artistic practice, using words as material, has become something familiar and exciting. I never imagined I’d be creating texts or viewing writing as a creative act. But here I am, not only doing it but enjoying it and finding it deeply rewarding.

HL: As your tutor, I feel that you have really taken a very open, experimental approach to this unit and as you have moved through each project within this unit, your inquiry has become more multifaceted both materially and contextually. Would you like to expand on what has developed from the work you have done and explain where you think your work is going contextually?

RL: At first, many of the themes in this unit felt completely out of reach, almost like they were from another world. But as I immersed myself in the projects, something clicked. I began to realise that many of these ideas were already quietly resonating with me, particularly around language, voice, and translation.

This unit helped me uncover parts of my practice I didn’t even know existed. For example, I started exploring art as performance, spoken word, and the written text as a form of artistic expression. These are areas I had never ventured into before, but now they feel like essential parts of my creative vocabulary.

It’s like this unit showed me “the other side of the moon.” I used to approach art from a more traditional, academic standpoint, but now my work is expanding into something more interdisciplinary blending voice, video, text, and conceptual thinking. I feel like I’ve found a new direction, and it’s one I’m very excited to continue exploring.

HL: You are close to completion of the unit now. Is there anything you would advise other students studying Fine Art to think about when embarking on this unit?

RL: My biggest piece of advice would be: don’t take things too seriously and stay open. This unit is all about exploring and experimenting, so let yourself play, get a bit lost, and try things that might feel strange or unfamiliar at first.

Even the topics that initially seem disconnected or irrelevant can end up becoming the most personal and meaningful. If you stay open-minded and give yourself permission to experiment, you’ll come out of this unit not only with new skills but also with a deeper understanding of your own practice and maybe even a few creative surprises.

HL: The next unit of study for you at Level 2 on the Fine Art Degree is Unit 2.2 Experimental Encounters, which will encourage you to work collaboratively, perhaps with your peers on the Fine Art and Music pathways and is designed particularly with further exploration and adventure in mind. I know you have no experience of the course as yet, but are you able to imagine where the work could go next? What aspects of collaboration could be taken forward and how might your explorations expand further?

RL: The next unit feels like a bit of an adrenaline rush, it’s both exciting and a little bit nerve-wracking, which I think is a good sign. Growth usually begins where comfort ends!

The title Experimental Encounters already sparks my imagination. The idea of collaborating with others, especially across Fine Art and Music pathways, feels full of possibility. I’m imagining soundtracks to spoken word pieces, performative video works, maybe even talking portraits or musical poems. What would it be like to paint with sound, or write with images?

I haven’t even started the unit yet, but my mind is already racing with ideas. I think working with others will really expand the boundaries of my practice and push me into completely new creative territory. I’m ready for it, excited to see what kinds of experiments and encounters lie ahead.

HL: Thanks Rita, good luck with getting ready for assessment and the start of your next unit.

Find out more about OCA’s BA in Fine Art here.