Both the Environment Studio and its Field Studies
program provide academic supervision and logistic assistance
for sustained field research in a wide variety of locations
in conjunction with any of the School's Major Workshops.
Field research may proceed individually or on a group
basis with courses and projects proposed each semester.
Environment Studio specifically assists students
and staff who wish to address environmental issues in
their artwork. It provides an academic forum and network
within the School of Art and facilitates access to the
University's own National Institute for Environment with
its internationally renowned environmental experts. Through
collaborative field work students may contribute as exhibiting
visual artists to national agencies that are helping communities
move toward a sustainable future. The Studio is represented
on the University's Environmental Management Planning
Committee and is active within the University in pursuing
the aims and objectives of the Talloires Declaration.
Students may apply for entry to the Schools Honours or
Graduate programs with proposals for supervision through
the Environment Studio in conjunction with the School's
Workshops.
Field
Studies provide students from the School of Art with
logistic and academic assistance to undertake sustained
field research on any topic. A wide variety of landscapes
are easily accessible from Canberra—from alpine
to coastal, semi-arid to rainforest, from wilderness to
rural, to urban. Students from any discipline in the School
may undertake Field Studies through participation in the
specific projects proposed each semester. The collaborative,
inter-disciplinary and outreach potential of Field Studies
greatly assists the development of participants' work
proposals.
Field research may be orientated to the formulation
of ideas, the generation of knowledge, consultation
and interview with community and professional
experts, the seeking of inspiration, the gathering
of materials and visual data or the undertaking of site specific work.
Field Studies also provides participants with temporal and conceptual space for independent analysis,
reflection and contemplation as an essential part of the material construction of artwork.
Field Studies may be undertaken as part of a Major, Honours or Graduate course of study.
The exact nature of the field research and/or art production is determined by each
participant's work proposal through consultation with their workshop or course
supervisor and the relevant Field Study co-ordinator. For undergraduate students
the approval of the major workshop is required. At Honours and Graduate level, a
Field Study may proceed on an individual customised basis.
Typically a Field Study involves 15 days of fieldwork at the same field location in the form of
three 5-day field trips, usually Wednesday to Sunday, in weeks 2, 6 and 10 in any one semester.
Transport is provided. A Field Study Co-ordinator is responsible for the academic and logistic
co-ordination of the group in the field. Periods between field trips allow for further development
and critical appraisal of work back in the School.
Field experts and members of local communities may consult
with the group to enrich the field experience. A Field
Study usually culminates with a group exhibition of artwork,
performance or published text produced as an outcome of
the participantsŐ individual field research. The exhibition
usually takes place at the School and often also at a
venue at or near the field location.
A
Complementary Study may also be undertaken by undergraduate
students. This is based on individual work proposals and
consists of fourteen days of fieldwork, undertaken as
two 7 day blocks during mid and end of semester breaks.
The Complementary Study may be taken as a Field Study
(field research on any topic) or as part of the Environment
Studio (field research on environmental issues).
2005 Environment Studio Field Trip
(PDF Format, 240KB)
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