Overview
Independent Arts Practice is an advanced, self-directed capstone course in which students develop and complete a coherent body of artistic work supported by a critical rationale. Students define a significant creative or research problem, establish an individual practice agenda, and negotiate appropriate objectives, methods, resources, timelines, and presentation formats with a supervisor or mentor.
The course accommodates disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches across appropriate media. It emphasizes sustained experimentation, research-informed decision-making, reflective documentation, critical dialogue, professional conduct, and ethical engagement with materials, subjects, communities, and cultural knowledge. Major milestones include proposal development, research review, interim critique, production, technical or curatorial planning, final presentation, and a written exegesis or reflective report.
Learning Outcomes
- Formulate an independent artistic research problem and establish achievable objectives, methods, resources, and timelines.
- Synthesize relevant artistic practices, theoretical positions, cultural knowledge, and research sources into a coherent critical framework.
- Develop and sustain a rigorous body of creative work through systematic experimentation, evaluation, and revision.
- Apply informed conceptual, technical, material, and production decisions to complex artistic problems.
- Integrate supervisory feedback, peer critique, and research findings into the development of an independent practice.
- Resolve complex technical, logistical, curatorial, and ethical challenges encountered during production.
- Articulate artistic intentions, critical contexts, methods, and decisions in oral, written, and visual forms.
- Present artistic work professionally through an appropriate exhibition, performance, publication, screening, digital dissemination, or equivalent format.
- Evaluate the contribution, limitations, ethical implications, and future directions of the completed practice.
Timetable
| Type | Length | Frequency | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seminar | 2 hours | Weekly | All semester |
| Studio | 3 hours | Weekly | All semester |
| Tutorial | 1 hour | Fortnightly | All semester |
| Critique | 2 hours | Fortnightly | All semester |
Assessment Schedule
| Type | Description | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment | Project proposal and oral defense | 15.00% |
| Assignment | Research review and annotated bibliography | 15.00% |
| Test | Interim critique and documented progress | 15.00% |
| Deliverable | Studio process portfolio and reflective documentation | 20.00% |
| Capstone | Final artistic work and exhibition or dissemination | 25.00% |
| Assignment | Written exegesis or reflective report | 10.00% |
Prerequisites
Teaching Staff & Programs
This course is delivered jointly by faculty from the participating programs listed below. In line with the Douchewater Way, the University of Sexology tailors core instruction directly to each cohort's specific discipline — adapting curriculum to program needs rather than forcing students into a one-size-fits-all model. Learn more about our approach at The Douchewater Way.
