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Studio+ and Visual Culture+

Studio+ and Visual Culture+ is an optional additional year between the second and final year of study open to undergraduate students in Design, Fine Art and Visual Culture. This is an exciting opportunity to combine different experiences from a range of options allowing NCAD students build a bespoke learning experience to suit their particular skills and ambitions.

Studio+ and Visual Culture+ offers you as an NCAD student the opportunity to immerse yourself in real-world work environments, to learn from the skills & expertise of students and staff from other disciplines and to engage creatively with community and civic society. It is designed to enrich your learning experience by enabling the development of your practice across a range of cultural and social settings. You will be challenged to consider your work outside of the college environment and to actively pursue areas of interest particular to your creative and professional ambitions. You may use this as an opportunity to deal with experimental inquiries that are less familiar to you but that will build your space, time, and knowledge.

Accredited work and study programmes can be undertaken locally or with industry and educational partners internationally. Your tutors will guide you through the range of modules and options available and will help you in your decision. The range of modules available to each discipline can be found by clicking on the tabs above. Further information on international study mobility and international work placements can be found at the following web page Erasmus or by contacting the Erasmus Office - erasmus@staff.ncad.ie The deadline for Erasmus applications is 21st February 2024.

There is a lot of very useful general information on how the Studio+ year works in the FAQ section above.

How to Apply: All second year students in Visual Culture, Fine Art and Design will be sent an invitation to apply for Studio+ by email. You will be asked to choose 60 credits worth of options that will constitute your Studio+ year. You will be asked to make your choices in late Feb / early March 2024. Where you have already applied for an Erasmus study placement you will be asked to confirm this choice.

Students who successfully complete 60 credits during the Studio+ year will return to complete the fourth and final year at NCAD. Graduates will be awarded a degree with recognition of 60 credits earned through Studio+ on your transcript. Where 30 or more credits are earned through study or internship abroad, a BA International is awarded.

Studio+ / Visual Culture+ queries can be directed to:

Cian McHugh, Student Mobility Officer: studioplus@staff.ncad.ie

There are five Visual Culture options outlined below.

Option 1: Visual Culture Plus Internships

The Opportunity: This option is an opportunity for you to develop the professional skills required for a career in a cultural or commercial context. It takes the form of trimester-long placements with arts organisations like museums, galleries or archives or commercial businesses like design companies. NCAD has long-standing relations with national and international organisations in these sectors. The Visual Culture Plus Internships are an excellent way of testing whether your interests in a particular professional sphere might develop into a career.

How will I learn? Each internship will be tailor-made to suit the needs of the student and the host organisation. Typically, students will work alongside professionals on real projects and operations. In this way, you will develop team-working skills, increase your initiative and confidence, and develop an inside knowledge of a professional setting. Where training in systems or software is required, this will be provided by the host organisation. A learning agreement is made between the host, college and student, and progress is reviewed on a regular basis.

How will I be assessed? A student on an internship is required to complete regular reports on his or her own progress. This form of critical self-reflection is reviewed by the host organisation and the Visual Culture team at NCAD. Host organisations provide mentors who give regular feedback on a student’s progress in the form of one-to-one meetings.

Location: A student is based in the host organisation. Internships provide opportunities for students to remain in Ireland or to go abroad.

When is this option available? This option is available in trimester 1 and trimester 2. By negotiation, it may be possible to undertake this option outside trimesters (for instance, in the summer). Opportunities will be dependent on the Covid situation at the time.

Credit value: This option can be undertaken on a 30 credit basis (a one trimester internship), or on a 60 credit basis (two trimester-long internships).

How many places are available? Visual Culture Studies will be available to a maximum of 6 students.

Who can apply? Year 2 BA Visual Culture students

Module Coordinator/ Contact: Dr Emma Mahony, mahonye@staff.ncad.ie

Option 2 - International Study/Erasmus

The Opportunity: Students who opt for the Studio + Year can include a trimester of study abroad at one of NCADs partner institutions as one of their options. Study exchanges to European partners are organised through the Erasmus programme with a small funding grant available to students to help finance living expenses while abroad. Students who successfully complete 30 credits of international study will gain a BA Fine Art/ Design/ Visual Culture (International).

What will I learn? A learning agreement will be drawn up between the host institution and NCAD which will be approved by your Department.

How will I be assessed? You will be assessed by your host Institution. These results will then be converted to an equivalent grade in the NCAD grading structure and recorded at an NCAD Exam Board.

Credit value: A single trimester abroad is equivalent to 30 credits. Students who opt to take a full year study abroad will gain 60 credits.

Location: The Erasmus Office has a comprehensive list of partner institutions across Europe and can discuss this with you. NCAD also has a number of international partnership options outside of the Erasmus programme particularly in North America, this option can also be explored with the Erasmus Office.

When does this module run? This option is available in both the first and the second trimester.

How many places are available? NCAD is allocated a set number of Erasmus+ grants from the HEA annually. We have not yet received confrimation of our allocation for 24/25 however it is anticipated that as per in previous years the allocated grants will be sufficient to cover all students wishing to avail of this option.

Who can apply? Year 2 BA Fine Art, Design, and Visual Culture students

Deadline: 21sr Feb 2024

Contact name: Cian McHugh and Nuala McCarty - Erasmus / Exchange Office NCAD - erasmus@staff.ncad.ie

Option 3 - Studio Practice modules

The Opportunity: This option is an opportunity for you to explore contemporary art and design studio practice by taking second year modules offered by various departments in the School of Fine Art and in the School of Design at NCAD. This option will be available in limited numbers in trimester 1 of 2024/2025. Studio Practice modules are an excellent way of developing your understanding of techniques, materials and processes by undertaking practical, creative art and design work. Places are limited and students will need to demonstrate a keen aptitude for studio practice.

How will I learn? You will learn through studio / workshop pratice

How will I be assessed? Students will be supported and assessed on the same basis as all studio based students at NCAD - via crits, one-to-one tutorials and written feedback.

Location: Students will have access to the studios and workshop facilities in specific departments at NCAD.

When is this option available? This option is available in trimester 1

Credit value: This option can be undertaken on a 30 credit basis.

How many places are available? TBC.

Who can apply? Year 2 BA Visual Culture students

Module Coordinator/ Contact: Dr Emma Mahony, mahonye@staff.ncad.ie

Option 4: NCAD Field Project - Environmental Practice

The Opportunity: For NCAD FIELD we will work collectively and individually to reckon with the past, present and future potentials of the NCAD Garden site adjacent to the College. There is a layered history of use of this site which has fallen into dereliction in recent years. There is also an expanded ‘community of interest’ both within and outside the college which we need to consider and exchange with regarding the site. Nowhere we ever go is ever a ‘blank slate’ or ‘terra nova’ for us to use as we please, so our approach to this project will need to be open and responsive. A key component of this project will be immersive and environmental learning. Most (all?) of us have been conditioned to learn things almost exclusively indoors in carpeted and electrically lit, central heated spaces. Often, we are tethered to furniture and technologies which condition how we learn and our bodies adapt to these conveniences accordingly, losing connection with the outdoors. For this project we need to reckon with our ‘disconnect’ from our environment and consider experimental exercises and practices to develop modes of creativity and action to ‘reconnect’ and rehabituate ourselves outdoors.

We need to reckon with how our institutional calendar does not align with seasonal time. We will need to create and recreate ways of working meaningfully in the environment as we move through changing seasons. Our approach needs to embrace the experimental, the experiential and the environmental. We need to learn to be nimble and responsive to a dynamic environmental context as well as a broader societal challenges and issues. Within the context of this project the term environment is being given broad scope to enable diverse and individual responses, but we also cannot escape the spectre of human induced climate change, biodiversity loss, and extinction which will define this century. We need to sensitively cultivate our understanding of these century defining issues, while creating intelligent and perception shifting knowledge and experience.

Recent film work made through NCAD FIELD:

RHIZOME – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbZpSIUG7cI&ab_channel=ProjectArtsCentre

NCAD FIELD Scythe Day - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lcl0DgUuYg&t=606s&ab_channel=GarethKennedy

How will I learn? You will learn the through :

Field Work, Workshops, Readings, Screenings, Presentations, Demonstrations, Examples of local, national and international practice , Individual and group learning, and through innovative and achievable project work that will develop your curiosity, interests and skills.

How will I be assessed?

• VIVA presentation of your practice including visuals / powerpoint, etc.

• Physical outputs / actions

• Reflective journal that incorporates commentary and images of your experiences and your understanding of the context. Evidence of self-organised field explorations.

Final event day to take place in the FIELD at the end of Trimester

Credit value: This option can be undertaken on a 25 credit basis (comprising two sequential modules of 10 & 15 credits each and a CFA 5 credits elective = 30 ), or on a 50 credit basis (comprising four sequential modules of 2x10 & 2x15 credits and 2 CFA 5 credit electives = 60)

Location: NCAD FIELD - Adjacent to the College

When is this option available? This option is available in Trimester 1 (Autumn/Winter) and Trimester 2 (Spring/Summer). Students can elect to do the full year thereby experiencing different course work across all four seasons

How many places are available? 12

Who can apply? All Year 2 BA Design, Fine Art and Visual Culture students

Contact name: Gareth Kennedy, Artist, Lecturer and Coordinator NCAD FIELD. Since 2020 Gareth has been lead coordinator on NCAD FIELD. NCAD FIELD is based in a derelict brown field site beside the college which is being reappraised as a ‘novel ecology’ due to the diverse flora and fauna found there. The foraging, growing, harvesting, processing and ingestion of food from the FIELD is a key element in dynamic course work that tasks students with developing new ‘Naturecultures’ for the 21st Century. kennedyg@staff.ncad.ie

Option 5: VideoLab

The VideoLab Module brings together students from different NCAD programmes to develop a public digital platform for audio and video work. This will be an opportunity for students to make and present a new audio and video output for dissemination. We anticipate that students will use this opportunity to develop production and technical skills as well as contributing to a student-led digital platform. This might range from artists’ films, digital studio visits, online screenings to forms of journalism or the curation of existing works.

The content and the purpose of the platform will be determined by the student cohort. The platform will be organised to foster independence, teamwork and collaboration.

When is this option available? This option is available in Trimester 1 & Trimester 2 for 15 credits and will require to be undertaken with another 15 credit Module

How will I be assessed? You will be assessed through:

A presentation of your practice including visuals / powerpoint, etc.
Physical outputs / actions
Research notebook that incorporates commentary and images of your experiences and your understanding of the context. Evidence of self-organised field explorations.

Credit value: This option can be undertaken on a 10/15 credit basis (and must be taken in conjunction with another module).

How many places are available? TBC

Who can apply? Year 2 BA NCAD students (Fine Art, Design and Visual Culture)

Contact names: John Beattie, beattiej@staff.ncad.ie

The Design options for 24/25 are outlined below:

Option 1: Design Bureau for 2024/25

Introduction

Under the direction of NCAD staff and industry practitioners, students identify opportunities, generate ideas, and make tools for positive industry and/or social change.

The Bureau forms part of the Studio+ suite of modules, which seek to give Design students at NCAD a sense of independence and professionalism as they work collaboratively with each other, and with external organisations.

The Bureau experience is underpinned by lectures, seminars and workshops that enable students to formulate innovative and enterprising, self-initiated concepts and strategies. Exploring and placing your creative practice in the context of your disciplinary field whilst also exploring interdisciplinary approaches relative to the wider creative industries.

The Bureau has been created to help you gain experience through specific pillars of learning. The aims of which are to increase your employability, develop your team-working skills, provide you with an interdisciplinary peer network and develop critical thinking ahead of your final year in college and your early post-college career.

The 3 pillars are:

Real World Projects – live commercial, social and cultural projects within departmental and/or disciplinary teams.
Thematic Pillars – a selection of interdisciplinary design projects addressing the big challenges of today
Design Positions – a collaborative module which runs in two parts. Students from each discipline work in teams with a third party organisation to generate relevant research and present this in an exhibition or public facing context

The Opportunity: You will work on live commercial, social and cultural projects within a Studio+ interdisciplinary design bureau. Under the creative direction of NCAD staff, you will identify opportunities, generate ideas, and make tools for positive industry and/or social change. This will be underpinned by skills training and thematic design research projects.

This option will enable you to gain real life ‘practical’ experience within a multi-disciplinary design team; increase your employability, develop your team working skills and provide you with an interdisciplinary peer network.

The suite of modules are underpinned by lectures, seminars and workshops that enable students to formulate an innovative and enterprising, self-initiated concept and strategy. These will help you to develop self-generated concepts within a research platform and develop creative business plans. Exploring and placing your practice in the context of your disciplinary field whilst also exploring interdisciplinary approaches such as introductory business fundamentals relative to the creative industries.

This will enable you to embody knowledge; creative thinking, introductory business fundamentals and experience gained and present artefacts and development work which is intellectually explored, industrially viable and informed by appropriate theory, research and development.

What will I learn? On successful completion of projects within the design bureau, you will be able to:

Demonstrate an understanding of how to work with clients to research, develop and deliver design for industry and social design projects.
Demonstrate project planning and organisational skills.
Apply interdisciplinary and discipline specific design skills, knowledge and understanding acquired in the programme, to a workplace situation.
Demonstrate professional, interpersonal and communication skills appropriate to start-up and team based workplace situations.
Demonstrate an understanding of micro and macro design industry trends and methods, and how to develop an appropriate strategic research project that responds to the changing design landscape.

How will I be assessed?

You will submit a written critical evaluation of the project/s undertaken along with a portfolio of design work which should provide evidence of all work carried out by you during the project/s. The modules are graded pass or fail.

Credit value: This option can be undertaken on a 25 credit basis (along with a CFA 5 credit elective for 30 credits), or on a 50 credit basis (along with 2 CFA 5 credit electives for 60 credits)

Location: Grace Gifford House / Design Building main campus

Blended Learning: 3/4 days a week on campus with additional online taught content and supervision

When is this option available? This option is available in Trimester 1 and Trimester 2

How many places are available? 100 places per Trimester

Who can apply? Year 2 Design Students. Year 2 Fine Art students and Visual Culture students can also apply subject to aptitude and availability.

Contact names:

Claire Campion / John Slade, Design Bureau - Communication Design - campionc@staff.ncad.ie, sladej@staff.ncad.ie

Brian Gough / Donal Healion, Design Bureau - Interaction / Product Design - goughb@staff.ncad.ie, healiond@staff.ncad.ie

Síofra Caherty, Design Bureau - DBE, cahertys@staff.ncad.ie

Option 2: Design Industry Internship

The Opportunity: You will undertake a full-time or part-time work placement in accordance with an agreed learning plan of work within a vetted industry partner.

The aim of the Design Industry Internship is to provide you with the opportunity to apply your subject specific design skills, knowledge and understanding, as well as personal transferable skills, acquired in your programme of study, to the real world environment of work.

You will gain real life ‘practical’ experience within your chosen area of study, increase your employability and begin to build a professional network within your chosen industry. All internships are structured as a three-way partnership between the employer, the student and NCAD, where you will be given the opportunity to work and learn in a professional environment relevant to their design studies, in order to achieve set goals.

Please note that you may undertake several work placements and study other studio+ modules alongside a part-time internship.

What will I learn? On successful completion of an internship, you will be able to:

Discuss the function and structure of the organisation in which they are placed, and its use and application of design.
Understand and discuss the role/s of design within companies and organisations.
Demonstrate planning and organisational skills.
Apply subject-specific design skills, knowledge and understanding acquired in their programme, to a workplace situation.
Demonstrate professional, interpersonal and communication skills appropriate to a workplace situation.

How will I be assessed? You will follow an agreed learning plan in order to receive meaningful, study-related work experience, which will be of significant advantage to you when in post-graduation employment. You will record your experience in both a logbook, placement report and a reflective journal, and your performance at work will be assessed by your respective in-placement company via an evaluation form. The module is graded pass or fail.

Credit value: This option can be undertaken as a 15, 30 or 45 credit basis.

Location: Within an appropriate design company, consultancy or organisation.

When is this option available? Trimester 1, 2 and/or 3.

How many places are available? Unlimited (dependent on students successfully being chosen from a competitive internal competition or alternatively securing an appropriate internships opportunity themselves)

Who can apply? Year 2 Design students

Contact names:

Angela O'Kelly, Head of Design for Body and Environment Department, okellya@staff.ncad.ie

John Paul Dowling, Head of Communication Design Department, dowlingjp@staff.ncad.ie

Sam Russell, Head of Product Design Department, russells@staff.ncad.ie

Option 3 - International Study/Erasmus

What will I learn? A learning agreement will be drawn up between the host institution and NCAD which will be approved by your Department.

Credit value: A single trimester abroad is equivalent to 30 credits. Students who opt to take a full year study abroad will gain 60 credits.

When does this module run? This option is available in both the first and the second trimester.

Who can apply? Year 2 BA Fine Art, Design, and Visual Culture students

Deadline: 21st Feb 2024

Contact name: Cian McHugh and Nuala McCarty - Erasmus / Exchange Office NCAD - erasmus@staff.ncad.ie

Option 4: Visual Culture Studies

The Opportunity: Visual Culture Studies gives you an opportunity to acquire a deeper knowledge of art and design history and theory and to develop your writing, research and analytical skills.

What will I learn? You will take modules on NCAD’s specialist Visual Culture BA programme. Taught by the team from the School of Visual Culture, the modules include ‘electives’ (already on offer to all NCAD students), and specialist lecture series on The History of Modernism in Art and Design since the late C19th, on Digital Culture Today and on Situations (the times and places like New York in the late 1970s when culture has undergone dramatic transformation ). With one-to-one supervision, you will develop your writing and presentation skills. You will work in small groups to develop your own ideas and confidence as a speaker and thinker. By negotiation, short term placements in arts organisations like galleries and museums will be available.

How will I be assessed? Your essays and presentations will be assessed by the tutors and occasionally through peer-feedback. Feedback will usually take the form of written reports.

Location: Classes on the Thomas Street campus as well as specialist visits to galleries, museums and arts organisations in Dublin and further afield.

When is this option available? This option is available in Trimester 1 and Trimester 2

Credit value: This option can be undertaken on 15 or a 30 credit basis in each trimester. They can be taken in both trimesters. Modules are taken of the duration of a trimester and so if taken in combination with other modules consideration needs to be given to timetabling.

Students who take a full year with Visual Culture may be entitled to graduate with Joint honours award after 4 years (i.e. a Joint Honours Degree in Design and Visual Culture).

How many places are available? Visual Culture Studies will be available to a maximum of 10 students

Who can apply? Year 2 BA Fine Art and Design students

Module Coordinator/ Contact: Dr Emma Mahony, mahonye@staff.ncad.ie

Option 5: Design Engineering at UCD

The Opportunity: As an NCAD Product Design student you can undertake a trimester within the School of Engineering at UCD, providing you with the opportunity to develop your technical skills in more depth, and provide a firm foundation for a more design engineering focused final year project and subsequent career path.

This Studio+ option will suit pragmatic problem solvers who wish to combine their creative design skills with a deep functional and manufacturing understanding.

By choosing this Studio+ option you will undertake an agreed learning plan consisting of 20 credits worth of UCD delivered modules and a 10 credit NCAD module. The UCD modules are as follows:

Trimester 1
• Manufacturing Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering Design
• Engineering Project Management
• Medical Device Design

These modules will run in parallel to your participation in the 10 credit Design Bureau Minor module which will allow you to apply your technical design engineering skills in a studio setting in NCAD Bureau.

What will I learn? This particular blend of creative and technical subjects will prepare you for your final year, helping you to develop your technical and engineering knowledge.

How will I be assessed? Modules will be assessed through a combination of coursework and exams

Credit value: 30 credits, 1 Trimester

Location: UCD School of Engineering (4 days a week) and NCAD Campus (1 day a week)

When is this option available? This option is available in Trimester 1 only.

How many places are available? 5

Who can apply? Year 2 BA Product Design students only

Contact name: Sam Russell, Head of Product Design, russells@staff.ncad.ie

Option 6: NCAD Field Project - Environmental Practice

Recent film work made through NCAD FIELD:

RHIZOME – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbZpSIUG7cI&ab_channel=ProjectArtsCentre

NCAD FIELD Scythe Day - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lcl0DgUuYg&t=606s&ab_channel=GarethKennedy

How will I learn? You will learn the through :

How will I be assessed?

• VIVA presentation of your practice including visuals / powerpoint, etc.

• Physical outputs / actions

• Reflective journal that incorporates commentary and images of your experiences and your understanding of the context. Evidence of self-organised field explorations.

Final event day to take place in the FIELD at the end of Trimester

Credit value: This option can be undertaken on a 25 credit basis (comprising two sequential modules of 10 & 15 credits each and a CFA 5 credits elective = 30 credits ), or on a 50 credit basis (comprising four sequential modules of 2x10 & 2x15 credits and 2 CFA 5 credit electives = 60 credits)

Location: NCAD FIELD - Adjacent to the College

How many places are available? 12

Who can apply? All Year 2 BA Design, Fine Art and Visual Culture students

Option 7: VideoLab

When is this option available? This option is available in Trimester 1 & Trimester 2 for 15 credits and will require to be undertaken with another 15 credit Module

How will I be assessed? You will be assessed through:

A presentation of your practice including visuals / powerpoint, etc.
Physical outputs / actions
Research notebook that incorporates commentary and images of your experiences and your understanding of the context. Evidence of self-organised field explorations.

Credit value: This option can be undertaken on a 10/15 credit basis (and must be taken in conjunction with another module).

How many places are available? TBC

Who can apply? Year 2 BA NCAD students (Fine Art, Design and Visual Culture)

Contact names: John Beattie, beattiej@staff.ncad.ie

Option 8- Making Materiality

The Opportunity:

In today’s world, a graduate of Art and Design must successfully be able to engage in any creative task regardless of their specialization.

Avant-garde designers and artists are multidisciplinary, and as such, they are able to take part in a vast range projects and commissions for which they either train or self-learn trough practice and commitment to their vocation, this allows them to work in a wide range of materials and processes, research methodologies, and the progress of dreams onto successful work.

Making Materiality offers Studio + students the opportunity to research through making as they investigate unfamiliar materials and the way in which their current training, skills and personal intuition can be assimilated onto meaningful work you may not have come up having stayed within you comfort zones.

The ability to work with a wide range of mediums, methods and settings makes today’s Artists and Designers more fulfilled in their practice and more attractive to employers and collaborators.

What will I learn?

Making materiality as part of the Studio + programme will drive you to expand your self-direction skills and independence as you work within your own plan to a set goal wile colouring outside your current guidelines.

You will learn to steer your research, and studio time trough good project management to new original work; a combination of the work methodologies natural to you, and new materials and knowledge.

In this way, you will be responding to contextual research and contemporary practices materials and processes in in a different manner to what you are accustomed to, as you conceive experimental, yet well thought out work personal to your own assimilation of new materials.

How will I learn?

This studio + program is self-directed, and you are expected to have a strong commitment to research trough making, sampling, testing and developing ways to use materials and processes new to you.

You will be working in your own studio space with ample room to engage in your studies and investigations, with access to peers and weekly tutorials.

During the trimester you will be invited to talks and presentations by talented artists and designers from different artistic, professional and cultural backgrounds.

As needed, your tutor will also deliver demonstrations, workshops and peer crit sessions.

Unlike a regular academic year, Studio + programme gives you the time and space to develop your practice beyond the realm of your current path at your own phase trough good time and project management. The programme prompts you to be resourceful and creative in the sourcing of research materials and the building of networks.

How will I be assessed?

Physical presentation of your research for the period of study
Physical body of work

Sketchbook(s) recording research and design development and including reflective records of your work

Digital notebook, summarizing your journey for the trimester

Evidence of self-organised field explorations

Participation in class and engagement with your tutor.

Credit value: This option can be undertaken on a 10/15 credit basis (and must be taken in conjunction with another module).

Location: The Annexe Studios / C&G studios main Campus

When is this option available? Trimester 1 & 2

How many places are available? 12

Who can apply? All Year 2 BA Fine Art, Design students

Contact name: Prof Philip Napier, Dr Helen McAllister

Creative Futures Academy & Studio+

The Creative Futures Academy (CFA) is a major academic partnership innovation at between NCAD, IADT and UCD

NCAD Creative Futures Academy is supporting, Creative Futures 5 Credit Electives delivered in Trimester 1 & 2 as part of Studio+

These sit in addition to other larger Studio + Pathways in Fine Art & Design. You are offered choices near to the time of delivery.

WHAT DOES THIS MODULE AIM TO DO?

Intention, Ambition and Action

The Creative Futures electives seek to empower creative practitioners from a range of disciplines, with the sustainable and adaptable skills and attributes that they will require to shape the future of Ireland’s creative sector.

A range of creative electives will be offered to students, enabling students to deepen, widen and enrich their studies.

The electives are intended to encompass a network of experiential online and hybrid elective courses that act as platforms for deeper consideration of thematically based and skills-led knowledge, for intensive skilling or for shaping and sharing critical dialogues. Learners will engage in a set of learning experiences that build into a body of specific, clear and relevant knowledge which can be transferred directly to their creative and/or professional practice.

The learner should have an opportunity to test their direction, thinking, appetite and practice in a supported and connected learning environment that encourages continued, creative exploration.

The electives (5 credit module in Trimester 1 and 5 credit module in Trimester 2) form part of the Studio+ suite of modules, which seek to give students at NCAD a sense of independence and professionalism as they work collaboratively with each other, and with external organisations.

Contact Name: Bernie McCoy, mccoyb@staff.ncad.ie

The following are the Fine Art Studio+ options for 2024/2025:

Option 1: Studios / Micro Organisations

Parity Studios / Catalyst Arts

The Opportunity: The pattern of students leaving college and joining studios is familiar. This Studio+ option allows you to develop a working base that is responsive to your self-directed motivation, and informed by a wide variety of studio operations drawn from National and International Studio Models.

Small micro organisations such as studios each evolve differently, often with a particular ethos, engaging a range of practices, alternative arrangements with different framing. You will be supported and expected to make studio visits and meet organisations to explore their approaches and to place these within your sphere of new knowledge will be possible for students to come together as a group and ‘build’ a studio base by making a joint proposal. Your proposal might be constructed through shared thematic interest or attitude or through a shared discipline. This is often how studios evolve. Through your work you will be asked to engage in joint projects to supplement your individual learning that may involve ‘real world’ engagements or outputs

What will I learn? It is a question for you how your studio develops. It may be the site of both the production of artworks and a question whether you will facilitate exhibition or other forms of talks seminars discussion facilitation consistent with contemporary studio practices. Working through a Micro Studio you will learn about the effort required to build a structure and momentum that nourishes your creative work and direction.

It is expected that you will have a strong commitment to developing your practice through individual work and work with others.

How will I be assessed? You will be assessed through:

• VIVA presentation of your practice including visuals / powerpoint, etc.
• Physical outputs / actions
• Reflective journal that incorporates commentary and images of your experiences and your understanding of the context. Evidence of self-organised field explorations

Credit value: This option can be undertaken on a 25 credit basis (comprising two sequential modules of 10 & 15 credits each and a CFA 5 credit elective = 30), or on a 50 credit basis (comprising four sequential modules of 2x10 & 2x15 credits and 2 CFA 5 credit electives = 60)

Location: NCAD will initially establish up to two studio bases off-campus. Studio+ Micro Studios will be supervised 6 hrs per week and you will have access to NCAD technical facilities as required.

When is this option available? This option is available in Trimester 1 and Trimester 2

How many places are available? TBC

Who can apply? All Year 2 BA Fine Art Students.

Contact: Taffina Flood, floodf@staff.ncad.ie

Option 2: NCAD Field Project - Environmental Practice

Recent film work made through NCAD FIELD:

RHIZOME – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbZpSIUG7cI&ab_channel=ProjectArtsCentre

NCAD FIELD Scythe Day - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lcl0DgUuYg&t=606s&ab_channel=GarethKennedy

How will I learn? You will learn the through :

How will I be assessed?

• VIVA presentation of your practice including visuals / powerpoint, etc.

• Physical outputs / actions

• Reflective journal that incorporates commentary and images of your experiences and your understanding of the context. Evidence of self-organised field explorations.

Final event day to take place in the FIELD at the end of Trimester

Credit value: This option can be undertaken on a 25 credit basis (comprising two sequential modules of 10 & 15 credits each and a CFA 5 credit elective = 30 credits), or on a 50 credit basis (comprising four sequential modules of 2x10 & 2x15 credits and 2 CFA 5 credit electives = 60 credits)

Location: NCAD FIELD - Adjacent to the College

How many places are available? 12

Who can apply? All Year 2 BA Design, Fine Art and Visual Culture students

Option 3: Visual Culture Studies

The Opportunity: Visual Culture Studies gives you an opportunity to acquire a deeper knowledge of art and design history and theory and to develop your writing, research and analytical skills.

How will I be assessed? Your essays and presentations will be assessed by the tutors and occasionally through peer-feedback. Feedback will usually take the form of written reports.

Location: Classes on the Thomas Street campus as well as specialist visits to galleries, museums and arts organisations in Dublin and further afield.

When is this option available? This option is available in Trimester 1 and Trimester 2

Credit value: This option can may be undertaken on a 15 or 30 credit basis in each trimester. Modules are taken of the duration of a trimester and so if taken in combination with other modules consideration needs to be given to timetabling.

Students who take a full year with Visual Culture may be entitled to graduate with Joint honours award after 4 years (i.e. a Joint Honours Degree in Design and Visual Culture).

How many places are available? TBC

Who can apply? Year 2 BA Fine Art and Design students

Module Coordinator/ Contact: Dr Emma Mahony, mahonye@staff.ncad.ie

Option 4 - International Study/Erasmus

What will I learn? A learning agreement will be drawn up between the host institution and NCAD which will be approved by your Department.

Credit value: A single trimester abroad is equivalent to 30 credits. Students who opt to take a full year study abroad will gain 60 credits.

When does this module run? This option is available in both the first and the second trimester.

Who can apply? Year 2 BA Fine Art, Design, and Visual Culture students

Deadline: 21st Feb 2024

Contact name: Cian McHugh and Nuala McCarty - Erasmus / Exchange Office NCAD - erasmus@staff.ncad.ie

Option 5 - Dublin 8 Neighbourhood Residency

What Does He Need? public poster project, Fiona Whelan, Brokentalkers & Rialto Youth Project, The LAB gallery, Dec 2020. Photo by Louis Haugh

The Opportunity:

The Dublin 8 Neighbourhood Residency programme offers students an in-depth learning experience of the richness of community-based collaborative art practice. Art-making that engages with and responds to people and place, is a significant and growing strand of contemporary art practice. This residency offers a means of developing skills, experiences, resources and networks, in addition to informing students about the importance and leverage of this work. This residency will be of interest to students motivated by social and political injustices; those interested in engaging other people as part of their art practices; those with a hunger for multi-layered research processes that uncover and engage with complex social phenomena; those who want to get an experience in the contemporary field of socially engaged art/collaborative art/participatory art practice.

Each trimester NCAD is offering 8 residencies to Studio+ students interested in leading a creative project in Dublin 8, which includes an engagement with one of our local community based partners. Students will develop creative research processes that engage adults, young people or children towards the development of artwork that responds to the context of Dublin 8 and its people. Current partners include

Rialto Youth Project who work with children and young people aged 5-21 in Rialto, and includes two homework clubs based in Fatima and Dolphin House. http://rialtoyouthproject.net/
The Bridge Project on Francis Street which works with men and women subject to the criminal justice system. http://bridge.ie/
Robert Emmet Community Development Project right behind NCAD who work with lots of different adult community groups in the local area and also run an afterschool project for children. https://recdp.ie/
Liberties Weavers - A project honouring a thousand years of textile and weaving heritage in The Liberties and breathing life into weaving in its historic centre. https://www.thelibertiesweavers.ie/
Fatima Group United, a community development project providing services in the areas of health & wellbeing, education, employment, arts, childcare, counselling support, information & advice, family support and advocacy in the Fatima/Herberton area of Dublin 8. https://www.fgu.ie/

What will I learn?

The teaching programme takes place two days a week and includes four key strands:

Skills - Through a programme of workshops, students are taught a range of skills important for engaging others in their art practice, including facilitation, workshop development, interviewing and practice based research.
Practice - Through tutorials, crits and workshops, students are supported to develop their practice ideas for engaging with the Dublin 8 context.
Exposure - Through reading groups, presentations, and a visiting lecture series supported by Create (the national development agency for collaborative arts), students are exposed to the contemporary field of collaborative and socially engaged art practice and related critical discourses.
Context - Through walking tours and presentations, students are immersed in the Dublin 8 context.

The remainder of the time, students are engaged with local community organisations, in their studio and carrying out self-directed research.

How will I be assessed? You will be assessed through:

VIVA presentation of your practice including visuals / powerpoint, etc.
Physical outputs / actions
Reflective journal that incorporates commentary and images of your experiences and your understanding of the context. Evidence of self-organised field explorations.

Location: Dublin 8

When is this option available? This option is available in Trimester 1 and Trimester 2 - Some students may wish to do both Trimesters

How many places are available? Dublin 8 Neighbourhood Residency is available for 8 students.

Who can apply? Year 2 BA Fine Art students

Contact name: Sinead McCann, mccanns@staff.ncad.ie

Option 6 - Drawing: Analysis and Synthesis

The Opportunity:

Analytical drawing is the examination of an actual or virtual subject, for the purpose of gaining knowledge of that subject. Synthetic drawing is the sharing of visual knowledge, made manifest in diagrammatic, spatial, durational, conceptual or representational forms.

Drawing as an activity and process within practice open doors to communication and collaboration within the world. Observation connects every human and drawing situates itself as a language common to all. The Studio+ Drawing: Analysis and Synthesis module sets out to test and establish drawing as a key component and strategy of your practice to expand the potential of your own work and process through the testing of contemporary drawing methodologies. It also aims to equip you with first hand experiences, knowledge and insight into the capacity and agency of drawing to connect, to collaborate and to enter circumstances, contexts, institutions, collections and other fora that are normally inaccessible.

Emma Cocker, in explaining a form of analytical drawing, proposes an approach that evolves beyond rendering imitable fact and representation – specifically the aim is “to produce germinal conditions wherein something unexpected or unanticipated might arise” (Cocker, xiii in Hyperdrawing). In this sense, analytical drawing can deliver a valuable insight into actual and virtual worlds, providing a connective tissue between the ever-expanding range of methods we use to interface with reality.

It is proposed that you would use analysis and synthesis in drawing to explore and evolve your art practice and to progress your subject matter through a range of complementary drawing methodologies. In this module, you will develop artworks, informed and enabled by the most up-to-date conception of what constitutes drawing, and explore their appropriate use in practice.

Through the module, you will engage with live drawing practice, in both studio and off-campus situations. You will be given instruction in drawing from Fine Art tutors, and participate in research seminars and lectures in conjunction with institutions and organisations such as Trinity College School of Medicine, Dublin Port Company, University of Limerick and the Royal Hibernian Academy of Art.

As well as maintaining a personal studio practice, we will collaborate in the following specifically aligned projects:

Drawing in Two, Three and Four Dimensions.
Interior and Exterior Spatial Constructs
Sensory awareness – Haptics and Touch
Memory and Recollection
Exterior Live Action Reflex Drawing
Human Anatomy / Ethics of Body Ownership / Post-humanism.
Perception and Motor Cognition / Brain-Computer Interface / Proprioception

What will I learn?

Within your learning you will identify and develop skills, approaches, fluency and confidence with analysis and synthesis in representational, non-representational and expanded drawing contexts. Students will also develop a variety of practical methodologies, approaches and skills in drawing appropriate and transferable to a range of contemporary art practices and situations. Drawing: Analysis and Synthesis will also support conceptual development relevant to your personal practice in addition to enabling fluency in drawing as a research and networking tool.

How will I be assessed?

Presentation of physical artwork.
Documents of performative and action based drawing.
Reflective journal that identifies a structured methodology and includes references to your central studio practice and the relevant use of drawing

Credit value: This option can be undertaken on a 10/15 credit basis (and must be taken in conjunction with another module).

When is this option available? This option is available in Trimester 1 & 2

How many places are available? 14

Who can apply? Year 2 BA Fine Art students

Contact name: Philip Napier, napierp@staff.ncad.ie

Option 7 - VideoLab

When is this option available? This option is available in Trimester 1 & Trimester 2 for 15 credits and will require to be undertaken with another 15 credit Module

How will I be assessed? You will be assessed through:

A presentation of your practice including visuals / powerpoint, etc.
Physical outputs / actions
Research notebook that incorporates commentary and images of your experiences and your understanding of the context. Evidence of self-organised field explorations.

Credit value: This option can be undertaken on a 10/15 credit basis (and must be taken in conjunction with another module).

How many places are available? TBC

Who can apply? Year 2 BA NCAD students (Fine Art, Design and Visual Culture)

Contact names: John Beattie, beattiej@staff.ncad.ie

Option 8- Making Materiality

The Opportunity:

In today’s world, a graduate of Art and Design must successfully be able to engage in any creative task regardless of their specialization.

The ability to work with a wide range of mediums, methods and settings makes today’s Artists and Designers more fulfilled in their practice and more attractive to employers and collaborators.

What will I learn?

You will learn to steer your research, and studio time trough good project management to new original work; a combination of the work methodologies natural to you, and new materials and knowledge.

How will I learn?

This studio + program is self-directed, and you are expected to have a strong commitment to research trough making, sampling, testing and developing ways to use materials and processes new to you.

You will be working in your own studio space with ample room to engage in your studies and investigations, with access to peers and weekly tutorials.

During the trimester you will be invited to talks and presentations by talented artists and designers from different artistic, professional and cultural backgrounds.

As needed, your tutor will also deliver demonstrations, workshops and peer crit sessions.

How will I be assessed?

Physical presentation of your research for the period of study
Physical body of work

Sketchbook(s) recording research and design development and including reflective records of your work

Digital notebook, summarizing your journey for the trimester

Evidence of self-organised field explorations

Participation in class and engagement with your tutor.

Credit value: This option can be undertaken on a 10/15 credit basis (and must be taken in conjunction with another module).

Location: The Annexe Studios / C&G studios main Campus

When is this option available? Trimester 1 & 2

How many places are available? 12

Who can apply? All Year 2 BA Fine Art, Design students

Contact name: Prof Philip Napier, Dr Helen McAllister

Option 9 - Self Arranged Internship: Placement

The Opportunity: Please discuss with your Head of Department

For some Fine Art students a self arranged internship model may suit their particular interests so the following information should be of use. We have had a number of different examples

How can I find an Internship?

The first thing you should do before is to update your CV and portfolio. Securing a work placement can be competitive – so you will need to make sure you document any work experience you already have as well as other relevant skills and qualities you possess. This could be a Saturday or holiday job or field experience

• Think about whether services, production, distribution, organisation support / assistance are part of your interests

• The type of work you’d like to do

• What your long-term career goals and interests are

• What skills you want, need to develop

• Research who to apply to

• What you have to offer!

Write it down as this will help you with your CV, covering letter, portfolio and interview

Be Creative!

You have an advantage over many other job seekers because you are creative so use it!Think of creative ways to get yourself a placement.

Be Organised

Make sure you have up to date documents

• A CV that promotes your special skills, achievements and any experience

• A covering letter that summarises your key selling points for that specific opportunity/ organisation

• A portfolio that highlights your best work to date. It’s useful to have this online so that you can share with the organisations you are applying to.

You can use the following resources to help you:

NCAD Careers Service

The Careers Service will provide you with help and assistance with creating your CV. The Careers Adviser runs sessions on CV Writing. Individual appointments are also available

Networking

Make the most of your contacts and always build good working relationships. Identify people, perhaps those you met at a course project or via friends or relations who may be able to help you get some work experience. Speak to Academic staff and let them know the kind of thing you are looking for. They may have relevant leads or suggestions

It takes energy and creativity but the more people you speak to the better chance you have of success. Your network will help you access the hidden job market by providing information on opportunities and make introductions to others who can help you professionally. Your network aim is to get yourself known and to get career/ employment information.

It is important to understand that arts facing organisations can be of different scales or small organisations that may or may not be able to support an internship

The internet is an excellent resource for internship research, with a range of websites listing work experience opportunities within Ireland and internationally.

Speculative Applications

Use magazines, internet, careers service and the library to source contacts. The more specific you can be at this stage the better your chances are.

• make your letter and CV specific to each organisation you apply for;

• be clear about what you are looking for;

• articulate clearly why you want to work for that particular company organisation

• try to get hold of the name of the person who organises internships for the company, the manager or the department you would like to work with and then your letter stands a better chance of reaching the right person.

Now you have found an Internship, what next?

Whether you have found your internship yourself or have had help, it is very important to think and prepare yourself for your time there to ensure you get the most out of it.

• Have a clear set of personal objectives in mind. Write them down.

• Agree the length of your internship.

• Discuss the skills and experience you hope to gain. This is a very good opportunity so make the most of it.

• Discuss this with your NCAD tutor and your host company/organisation mentor

• Agree the daily hours of your work.

• If your internship is unpaid find out if you are entitled to any expenses.

• Identify the areas you would like to develop.

• Fill out the Learning Agreement form (see attached)

If you are unsure of anything or something is unclear sort it out at an early stage. Don’t let it spoil your internship experience.

Please note that there is more information about self arranged internship / placement

How will I be assessed?

You must submit the following pieces of work upon completion of your internship in order to be assessed and receive credits for your internship. Please note that internship modules are simply graded pass or fail

• A written critical evaluation of the internship/s comprising of a logbook, a reflective journal, and an evaluation form completed by the student’s host company/organisation.

• A portfolio of art work which should provide evidence of all practical work carried out during the internship/s.

Contact name: Léann Herlihy, herlihyl@staff.ncad.ie

Creative Futures Academy & Studio+

The Creative Futures Academy (CFA) is a major academic partnership innovation at between NCAD, IADT and UCD

NCAD Creative Futures Academy is supporting, Creative Futures 5 Credit Electives delivered in Trimester 1 & 2 as part of Studio+

These sit in addition to other larger Studio + Pathways in Fine Art & Design. You are offered choices near to the time of delivery.

WHAT DOES THIS MODULE AIM TO DO?

Intention, Ambition and Action

A range of creative electives will be offered to students, enabling students to deepen, widen and enrich their studies.

The learner should have an opportunity to test their direction, thinking, appetite and practice in a supported and connected learning environment that encourages continued, creative exploration.

Contact Name: Bernie McCoy, mccoyb@staff.ncad.ie

What is Studio + / Visual Culture +

Studio + / Visual Culture+ is a new initiative in NCAD open to all BA students. It first ran in 2017/18 as a pilot project for Design students and is now offered to all 2nd year students across the Schools of Design, Fine Art and Visual Culture. The programme is an optional additional year of study between the second and final year of study that offers you the opportunity to combine accredited work and/or study placements, allowing you build a bespoke learning experience to suit your particular skills and ambitions.

Studio+ offers you a range of opportunities, including: immersing yourself in real-world work environments, to learn from the skills and expertise of students and staff from other disciplines and to engage creatively with community and civic society; studying or working abroad; extending and deepening your studies in new contexts within and beyond NCAD. It is designed to enrich your learning experience by enabling the development of your practice across a range of cultural and social settings. Students are challenged to consider their work outside of the college environment and to actively pursue areas of interest particular to their creative and professional ambitions

Studio+ / Visual Culture + is a 60 credit year after year 2 of the existing BA (Hons) programmes which will allow you to gain practical work experience, study abroad and connect with art and design studios, venues and businesses across Dublin and the wider global NCAD creative network.

Studio+ / Visual Culture students will have the opportunity to work on live commercial, social and cultural projects, undertake industry internships and study abroad. The Studio+/ Visual Culture + programme seeks to give students at NCAD a unique sense of independence and professionalism as they work collaboratively with each other, and with external organisations.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What modules can I study?

Studio+ / Visual Culture+ is structured to enable students to design their own programme from a range of options:

You will find information on the modules and combinations available to you on the web site here.

Who do I speak to about Studio+ / Visual Culture+?

You should speak with your Head of Department in the first instance.

You can also speak with the Student Mobility Officer: Cian McHugh; studioplus@staff.ncad.ie

Do I have to pay fees for the Studio+/ Visual Culture + year?

Yes, fees apply to this year as normal.

Can students who are in receipt of a grant apply?

Yes, the grant will cover the Studio+ / Visual Culture+ year as per a student’s normal entitlement.

Is there funding for international study and internships?

Yes, the Erasmus+ scheme provides support for students studying and working in the European Union. There is a small additional fund for Access students (further information is available through the Access Office). It is also possible for students to go on international study and internships on a self-funded basis. Erasmus+ funding does not interfere with SUSI or Back to Education grants.

Where can I study abroad?

The Erasmus / Exchange Office has a comprehensive partner list and can discuss options with you. Contact: erasmus@staff.ncad.ie

Are Erasmus places limited?

Yes, a set number of Erasmus+ grants are allocated to NCAD by the HEA each year. In the event of oversubscription funding is allocated to students based on criteria such as academic merit and departmental allocation. Students not successful in getting funded through the Erasmus programme can still partake on a self-funded basis.

What is the process of finding or selecting an internship?

Students are expected to identify and make first contact with organisations which might offer internship opportunities. Guidance is given about how to identify suitable organisations and the best way of making the approach. We also have long-standing contacts and relationships with potential host organisations. When the organisation indicates that it can offer an internship, NCAD provides full details including a Learning Agreement Form.

How can I be sure that an internship will provide a worthwhile experience?

The college signs a Learning Agreement Form with the partner organisation offering the internship which ensures the internship meets the requirement, namely to provide challenging professional experiences in a supporting environment. Partner organisations are required to outline the number of working hours per week, and, where appropriate, to commit to delivering appropriate training. You also sign an acceptance form which outlines your responsibilities. The college will monitor your placement through regular contact with the host organisation and with you.

Do I need to provide documentation to prospective internship hosts?

Yes, you will need to agree a learning plan with tutors and internship host companies/organisations.

Will I be paid for my work whilst on an internship?

Some organisations meet travel costs or provide financial support, others don’t. The nature of any kind of financial support as well as other matters like work insurance arrangements are outlined in the Learning Agreement Form.

How will my work achievements on internship be measured?

The host organisation will be required to write a statement indicating your achievements and skill development during your internship. You will also be asked to keep a logbook or your activities and reflective journal in which you reflect critically on your experiences. Design students will produce a portfolio of work which provides evidence of the practical work carried out during the internship.

Can I do Studio+ / Visual Culture+ if I have failed modules from the previous year?

No, you have to have successfully completed your previous year’s modules by the start of the new academic year (September). Acceptance onto the Studio+ or Visual culture+ year is subject to the final approval of your Head of Department.

When do I need to apply to undertake the Studio+ / Visual Culture+ year?

All 2nd year students will be sent an email with information on how to apply. You should speak to your Head of Department to confirm you wish to undertake the additional year of study. Your modular choices will need to be approved by your programme tutors. The deadline for submitting your application will be Feb/March 2020 (date TBC). Should an internship or Erasmus placement fall through, Studio+ provides a range of alternative modules students can undertake based in NCAD.

What happens if there are more applicants for a module than places available?

Where there are more applicants for a Studio+ / Visual Culture+ module than places available, places will be allocated on the basis of results achieved in trmester 1 of year 2. Where the module is primarily a studio module or a Visual Culture module and two students are on the same grade, places will be allocated to the student with the highest grade in the relevant area.

What happens if I fail to complete the full Studio+ / Visual Culture+ year.

A full Studio+ or Visual Culture+ year is equivalent to 60 credits. If you do not achieve the full credits for the year for whatever reason, you will have the option of returning the following year into the final year of your degree and proceed to get a 3 year BA. Unless your reason for non-completion is due to medical or other very exceptional personal circumstances there will be fee implications as you will effectively be repeating a year. If you find yourself in these circumstances you should contact Student Services & Admissions as soon as possible.

Will my degree award change if I take a Studio+ or Visual Culture+ year?

Students who complete a Studio+ or Visual Culture + year will complete a four year honours BA with 240 credits. The additional credits from the Plus year will be reflected in your degree transcript. If 30 or more of your additional credits are gained through a study or work placement abroad your will get a BA Fine Art/ Design or Visual Culture (International).