ART & DESIGN: UAL LEVEL 3 EXTENDED DIPLOMA IN CREATIVE PRACTICE

Bryan Parsons is an artist and teacher who has engaged in a number of interdisciplinary projects. For 20 years he has developed his creative practice to encompass painting, screen printing, performance, video, interventions and installation work; many of these projects have also involved explorations into educational models and ways of rethinking structures that frame artistic production and development. In the role of Subject Leader for Pre-Degree Art and Design at Arts University of Plymouth, Bryan engages with our students to develop their creative potential. He works closely with our teaching team to create an exciting curriculum that provides students with the opportunity and support to develop their existing skills but also to broaden their experience in a diverse range of art practices. He promotes learning through making, while at the same time, promoting discursive practice to help develop resilient autonomous learners. He oversees the development of the course and management as we look to respond to continuously evolving challenges, finding a way to work through them together. In the last 10 years, Bryan has worked as an Art and Media Teacher, specialising in conceptual and contextual development, as well as improving independent learning and critical thinking skills. Bryan has worked as part of a number of collaborative groups since 2003, including Sunday League, Fiveplustwo and Measure by Measure, as well as taking part in other collective shows and events. ​In 2008, Bryan trained as a teacher at the Institute of Education and worked as an Art and Media Teacher at BSIX Sixth Form College, London until 2019. In 2013 Bryan completed an MTEACH for the Post Compulsory Sector with the Institute of Education and passed with Distinction. His research project entitled, ‘Teaching and Learning Strategies: Developing Autonomous Critical Practitioners in Art and Design’, was the beginning of an ongoing interest in student centred independent learning and he has successfully applied many of his ideas to programmes across Art and Media courses from Level 2 to Level 4.

David has been teaching since 1998, bringing his animation and video skills to the university in 2014. Working under the pseudonym ‘Crooknose’ for his personal practice, David also makes and sells paintings and even has a background in crafts, as well as being a trained blacksmith. He’s created music videos for bands, moving image for nightclubs, and had a short animation piece featured on BBC Three.

Lucy started her career in secondary education by successfully completing her PGCE in 2001. She then progressed on to teaching within further education at Somerset College, before moving to Arts University Plymouth. Throughout her time here, Lucy has taught on many different programmes ranging from Level One to Level Three. Her degree is in 3D Design but as her knowledge has progressed, she has taught across a range of different disciplines, with a particular interest in printmaking.