As an art educator, I feel that today's visual art undergraduate teaching should be well equipped with the 21st century challenges; that are to give students an understanding of technology coupled with the traditional principles of visual art, which are as follows;
a) Truth
b) Beauty
c) Goodness

While teaching at different institutions in the UK and abroad, I have felt a great need to revise the curriculum at the undergraduate level as it seems to have lost the core issues which are very much valid in this day.

The bases of visual arts and visual practice is to have a fine balance between the two and to give students in their initial years of training a thorough grounding in the studio practice and the students should be taught a visual language to communicate their ideas, focussing on the development of new ways of viewing and representing the world. This ideas-based approach is combined with practical tuition in a range of media techniques. They should be able to initially explore the basics through drawing, identifying an approach area of study for the future. The students should be encouraged to experiment with less conventional approaches. They can participate in selecting the content and direction of each project and they should be supported through lessons, practical workshops/demonstrations, and regular one-to-one tutorials, catering to an each individual.
It is of an utmost importance to give students a sense of pride in their rich artistic and cultural history and background, so that; they take pride in what they do in continuation of their cultural heritage. It is also pertinent to make a relevance of modern day visual arts studies with their cultural background. It is slightly different from ?art for art sake? to ?art for purpose?, approach.




Fatima Zahra Hassan (Agha)
MA (RCA) PhD London