Territories of Practice: Expanding space for risk, collaboration and agency within a Fine Art curriculum.

This paper discusses the role of assessment within the Fine Art curriculum at Chelsea College of Arts. The paper seeks to provide a model whereby the elements of a Fine Art curriculum that might previously have been described as hidden become foregrounded. Through describing the broader educational context within which the course operates including students’ educational experience prior to University and ever increasing emphasis on assessment and accountability across the educational sector the paper discusses the current status of assessment within the Fine Art curriculum. Citing previous models and approaches to Fine Art education, including my own experience of study, this paper asks what might replace assessment as arguably the most powerful aspect of a student’s experience if attainment of a grade is removed as an outcome of a unit of study. The instigation of the pass/fail unit on the BA Fine Art course at Chelsea, entitled Territories of Practice, is designed to provide a space in the curriculum where the focus is shifted away from the grade achieved towards the characteristics and principles that are of most value to the Fine Art educational experience. A key area explored throughout this paper is the ambition to orientate the emphasis of a Fine Art experience away from the perceived product towards the process of learning and making art. The paper explores what aspects of a Fine Art educational experience might be most precious including emphasising potential for experimentation, risk taking, participation and collaboration.