In todays tutorial session, we delivered short presentations about ourselves and our teaching practices. It started with an ice breaker that required us to draw the person next to us without a) looking at the page, and b) lifting the pen off the page. The results were interesting! It was also a good, less pressurised way to initiate interaction and eye contact with people we were meeting for the first time.
The presentations were interesting and one thing I was able to compare was the styles in which people chose to present themselves and their work. Some chose a very visual approach (like myself), using more images than text, some chose short, key words and focused on delivering the message themselves, whilst others favoured the more traditional, infographic-type presentation. It was definitely interesting finding out about what other people did both personally and professionally and also getting a glimpse into their teaching style by way of their delivery.
As part of my presentation I also highlighted one of the UAL Spark journals which focused of the ‘Reading Collections’ reading group which was set up in response to a specific set of circumstances, one being “the perception among Black students and others that the work of contemporary Black artists was not being documented (A conversation about recordings, 2018), and that information and resources related to the history, theory and practice of African-Caribbean, Asian and African art and artists, and of British artists of African-Caribbean, Asian and African origin or descent, were not available in academic or other institutional art libraries.” (Gustavo Grandal Montero, Rahul Patel,2019). This text resonated with me particularly because of the aims and objectives behind the arts organisation I run, Black British Visual Artists.
Overall, it was good to get an insight into other peoples styles and techniques. One of the questions raised from the session was around ways to get feedback from students. I am definitely swaying more towards letting students submit questions/concerns anonymously, as I feel it puts everyone on an equal footing and gives a voice to those who would not ordinarily feel comfortable speaking out in class.
Bibliography:
Vol 4, No 1 (2019): ‘Libraries, Archives and Special Collections’ special issue