09 June 2006 64/05

 

Fine arts back on course at Southampton Solent University

 

Southampton Solent University is launching a new Art, Design and Society Scheme and Continuing Professional Development Programme relevant to the 21st century art and antiques marketplace.

 

Hampshire-born artist and collector Graham Ovenden, who studied at Southampton College of Art and the Royal College of Art, will officially open the event at 2pm on Friday, 23 June. The launch will take place in the University’s unique Study Collection housed in the Sir John Everett Millais Building, facing onto Southampton’s beautiful city centre parks.

 

This event is to launch the three new degrees that make up the Art, Culture and Society Scheme: BA (Hons) Art, Design and Business; BA (Hons) Art, Design and Cultural History; BA (Hons) Art, Design and Practices of Display and a new programme of Continuing Professional Development for the coming academic year. These associated undergraduate degrees aim to be more relevant but also more intellectually rigorous, with a significantly higher entry level, than the BA (Hons) Fine Arts Valuation degree that suspended recruitment last year.

 

The new degrees offer a range of subject areas devised to take into account the many changes that have taken place in the art and antiques world in recent years, especially changes in government legislation, collecting patterns, marketing strategies and new technology. Consequently, added emphasis is being given to aspects of global economics and marketing, and the purchasing power of the resurgent economies of the Far East.

New study units on critical analysis and aesthetics provide the theoretical background for the more traditional areas of identification and valuation for the fine and decorative arts, from the antique to the contemporary. Commercial aspects of art promotion form an important part of the Scheme and will provide graduates with the skills to pursue successful careers in these areas.

 

Dr Scott Anderson, Course Leader for BA (Hons) Art, Design and Business stresses the importance of these degrees for students wishing to enter into a career in the commercial world of art and antiques retail and promotion. He says:

 

"These degrees provide a valuable addition to the provision of art and antiques education in Britain and a solid grounding for a successful career in this professional area."

 

Members of the public, industry professionals and those interested in the new courses are welcome to visit the Study Collection for this event to talk to teaching staff and a range of guests from the world of art and antiques. There will be a visual presentation of course content and activities running at regular intervals throughout the afternoon.

 

Visitors will also be able to inspect the large assortment of art and design objects in the Collection, which forms an integral part of the teaching strategy for the new degrees.

For more details please contact the Scheme Administrator, Dr Scott Anderson, on 023 8031 9294 or e-mail: robin.jones@solent.ac.uk| or scott.anderson@solent.ac.uk| 

 

MEDIA ENQUIRIES TO THE PRESS OFFICER, 023 8031 9040

 

Notes to editors:

Hampshire-born artist Graham Ovenden, who studied at Southampton College of Art and the Royal College of Art, paints haunting ruralist landscapes and is also known for his photography and book cover designs. He is a pioneer collector of Victorian photography, being a Lewis Carol, of ‘Alice’ fame, specialist. In his famous Cornish home, recently featured on the BBC’s Flog It programme, Graham has amassed one of the world’s finest collections of early sound recordings, and, rather more typically for a boy who grew up in Southampton, Titanic memorabilia. Later in the day, Graham Ovenden will be opening the Final Year Student Art Exhibition, also in the Millais Building.