Art in the Contemporary World is an open and expansive seminar course that seeks to critically explore current topics in contemporary visual arts practice through theme-based lectures and class discussions.

The course is aimed at senior year admission students entering the third year of study. Students will build upon the knowledge and experience gained through respective associate degree programmes and deepen their understanding of how critical theories and in-depth visual and historical analysis can support and enrich studio practice. The in-depth analysis of specific works of art will equip students with the analytical and research skills required to excel in subsequent studio-linked theory courses in support of their practice-based research. The course will broaden students’ knowledge of contemporary visual arts practice and explore issues of identity, values, the body, time and memory, globalisation and migration, technology and mass media, and institutional critique, among others. Course content will continually evolve to connect with topical international themes in art practice. Students will be expected to meaningfully contribute to the focus of the course by sharing thematic and theoretical concerns within their own studio practice for peer discussion facilitated by the course instructor.

The course will also familiarise students with the academic standards in verbal presentation and academic writing that will enable them to excel in further studies within the BA Programme at the Academy of Visual Arts.

Upon completion of the course, students will be equipped with the critical awareness to meaningfully articulate the major concerns of their studio practice and to contextualise and situate their own work in relation to recent histories, theories, methodologies, and practices.