Abstract:

The Re-Cognition Studio is a series of innovative courses that draw upon Michel Foucault's concept of 'apparatus'. The courses have been designed to create sustainable and trans-formative learning experiences in the UK and Chinese Higher Education systems.

The Re-Cognition Studio is a theoretical application of my PhD research in the Art pedagogical and practical context, which offers an effective way of bridging different cultural contexts of understandings (painting practice for instance). These innovative courses encourage students to reflect critically on power relations and knowledge production within the practical approach, and aim to let art students rethink the institutions that control their creative processes and use this understanding to push the boundaries of their practice.

The Re-Cognition Studio program provides an advancing model of HE Art course innovation design, focusing on material thinking and visual language strategies, which aims to lead students to re-consider the practical material, cultural contexts, and conceptual dimensions of their artistic practice. Workshops, Crits, Discussions, and Group actions are designed to challenge and stimulate students' thinking.

The related innovation courses at the Royal College of Art (RCA, UK) and the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology (BIFT) incorporate a variety of experimental approaches to HE Art teaching and learning. The RCA "Explorative Art Practices, School of Arts and Humanities RCA Short Courses," employ a mixed model of teaching and learning to encourage students to adopt innovative methods that challenge existing categories and explore the unknown, from studio’s function and expand knowledge within Eastern and Western cultural traditions, through the lens of apparatus. In the Chinese context, the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology (BIFT) High-level Top-notch Innovative Talent Training Program places an emphasis on material thinking within the context of studio practice and highlights a critical reflection of the art studio's production processes. Within the program, studio practice functioned as raw material for further exploration and experimentation. Such methods may also facilitate the exploration of possibilities within the AICG model of learning.

Keywords:

Higher Education, life-long learning, Artistic Studio, Material Thinking, Apparatus, RCA, BIFT.