Departmental Ethos

 To employ a multidisciplinary approach for fostering imagination and creativity in Art, Craft and Design. This is achieved by creating a challenging and heuristic educational environment that caters for all types of learners through the promotion of self-discovery, risk-taking and divergent thinking. This experiential type of learning is not only aimed at acquiring Art, Craft and Design skills and knowledge but it encourages the development of inquisitive sociocultural individuals with an active and responsible engagement in their own education and growth.
 

Departmental aims

• Develop in students an understanding of the nature of visual and critical thinking and the appropriate skills for creative thought and action to enable them to innovate and make effective responses.

• Develop an awareness of the relationship and distinction between value judgments based on invitation and value judgments derived from cognitive and analytical processes.
• Encourage experience in the use of materials, their limits and the effect that this might have on the nature of visual imagery and so to encourage in students’ flexibility, spontaneity and excitement in their work which stems from such understanding.
• Provide the experience by which students discover where their talents and interests lie.
• Enable students to relate their own work to that of other artists and designers in both contemporary and historical contexts.
• Develop an understanding of the holistic nature of Art, Craft and Design activity.
• Develop an understanding of the important role in a multi-cultural society, of Art, Craft and Design in evaluating, interpreting and communicating personal experience.