VART1305 Arts and its Histories I and VART1306 Arts and its Histories II are required introductory theory courses to be offered in consecutive semesters of Year 1 of the BA (Hons) in Visual Arts-programme of AVA. They will be offered in parallel with the required practice courses VART1005 Visual Arts Practice I and VART1006 Visual Arts Practice II. Together these courses are intended to introduce fundamental practical and theoretical knowledge, skills and work attitude to first-year students to train up their ‘minds’, ‘eyes’ and ‘hands’ for further study in various academic/artistic subject areas within the BA-programme, and to familiarize them with the settings of teaching and learning at the Academy of Visual Arts.

VART1305 Arts and its Histories I aims at introducing key developments in the history of mankind through the production of visual arts under changing socio-political, cultural, scientific and philosophical conditions. Each thematic block of the course will link a comprehensive analytical survey of global canons of creative artefacts with relevant historical and cultural theories, and draw connections with the everyday lives of students.

The in-depth analysis of specific works of visual art will broaden the knowledge of creativity and explore issues of multi-cultural creation, belief, ideology and reception. The in-depth examination of the issues of art and culture through the detailed analysis of human artefacts will broaden students’ knowledge and understanding of creative practices across cultures, and how they reflect belief systems, ideologies and/or socio-political realities of different areas.

VART1305 Arts and its Histories I will be delivered in blocks of learning with assessments after the end of each block.