Foundation Studies Program (Standard) - Arts (X0F:1) (0100808) + Diploma of Arts - Art and Curatorial Practices (A1A) (0100746)

Program Description Foundation Studies Program (Standard) - Arts (X0F:1) (0100808): The Foundation Studies program is a direct academic pathway to first-year undergraduate degree study, or an equivalent. The program acts as a bridging course for international students who wish to study a university undergraduate degree course but who don’t yet meet academic requirements and/or have the English language skills for tertiary study.

To successfully complete the program, students must achieve a 50% pass in all units, including English.

Upon successful completion of the course, graduates can enter one of the University of Tasmania’s undergraduate degree courses.

Diploma of Arts - Art and Curatorial Practices (A1A): The Diploma of Arts provides students with opportunities to interpret human culture and behaviour from different perspectives and periods. Their studies will explore today’s big questions. They will learn how to support the social and economic development of the human race and/or to be immersed in creativity, performance and innovation.

This award is designed to allow students to choose their path: it can be the first year of Bachelor of Arts study, or they may enroll in this degree to pursue their passion and undertake one of the majors in the Bachelor of Arts. The Diploma of Arts gives them the flexibility to choose from a wide range of subjects with over twenty named majors and minors, they can select subjects to build their knowledge, and electives to enhance skills.

In a time when the term ‘curated’ is thrown around everywhere, the Art and Curatorial Practices major shows how an understanding of art as both artefacts and experiences can shape how creative work is made, analysed and communicated. Curatorial practices, as a term, encapsulates the idea that curatorship question the traditional narratives of art history, and create transformative encounters with creative work. In this major, students will develop visual and spatial literacies in conjunction with high level writing and project management skills, enabling them to conceptualise and carry out curatorial projects in the visual arts. This major immerses in contemporary curatorial debates and practices, using object-based learning, authentic assessment, and industry contextualisation. Students will develop an understanding of art theory and history from a contemporary Tasmanian standpoint, with a commitment to decolonisation, ecological awareness, and place.

This major will prepare students to work in areas such as curating and administrating in emerging, independent and events-based arts, as well as equipping them for further study in postgraduate coursework and research. The major will provide training in project management and develop their effective communication strategies and digital literacy. Unit choices allow them to explore how art and curatorial practices can facilitate the voices of diverse communities, become part of tourism and cultural heritage interpretation, and bring the past into the present through digital humanities. In their curatorial practice project, students will develop and pitch an idea for their curatorial project to a panel of industry experts, ready to take next step through connections with art institutions and experimental, independent art organisations.