Demonstrating Research Methods for a Studio Practice in Art and Design

This course enables students to demonstrate how they consolidate and resolve the methodological approaches that underpins the meaning, intent and outcomes of their studio practice. This course supports self-directed independent research with an emphasis on practice-led research. Through an in-depth analysis of contemporary art and/or design practice, students will identify and apply appropriate modes of analysis, evaluation and comparative critical frameworks in order to clearly articulate the strategies and rationale for making their own work. The course is structured around seminar presentations and responses by staff, students and academic visitors, including artists, designers, curators and writers. It also involves visits to collections and displays at national institutions where different examples of research approaches are tested. Practice-led research is an approach that allows an artist or designer to incorporate their creative practice into research, therefore legitimising the knowledge they reveal by endorsing the methodologies, methods and research tools that are characteristic of that discipline.