The degree show may not be your best show

ABSTRACT

Building upon a presentation given at the 2019 Paradox European Fine Art forum biennial conference in Riga, this paper investigates the efficacy of the ‘degree show’, a fixture that is common to nearly all university and academy courses of fine art. The paper presents a critical analysis of curriculum design and content in the run-up to the degree show, taking the BA (Hons) Fine Art course at Norwich University of the Arts (where the author works) as a case study. The paper questions if the traditional degree show is still fit for purpose and if not, how might it be made so. The paper draws our attention to some of the militating presence that skews the freedom of the degree show, primarily the issues arising out of accommodating performance, process and transience into an event governed by assessment, conventional expectations of the viewing public and institutional marketing. In response to applying the theories of experiential and situational learning, conclusions from this paper propose models of exposition (a critique of the degree show) that support the fine art student as a learner adequately equipped to undertake creative practice, employment or further study within a fast-changing geopolitical landscape.

KEYWORDS:

• Degree show
• creativity
• situation
• experience
• learning
• employment

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Carl Rowe is Associate Professor and Fine Art Course Leader at Norwich University of the Arts. Rowe studied Fine Art at Manchester Polytechnic, graduating with an MA in 1985. He has been a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy since 2014 and is an HEA Reviewer at NUA. Rowe is a key member of NUA’s Created and Contested Territories research group and will be submitting for the forthcoming Research Excellence Framework in 2020. Rowe is a regular contributor to Impact Printmaking Conferences as well Paradox London 2017 and Cork Printmakers 2017. He is an artist member of OUTPOST gallery in Norwich and a member of the Printmakers Council. He has an international exhibition profile specialising in printmaking, public commissions and published multiples.