This unit of study concentrates on combining two modes of art practice; studio practice with critical thinking. Studio practice is individual tutored studio-based artwork which may extend across multiple media. In studio practice, you will develop two projects: a workshop introduction project and the major contemporary artwork project. Critical thinking is an introductory course developed in a seminar and concentrates on the practical, theoretical and material considerations of contemporary art and the relationship with individual studio practice. You will meet with the course coordinator on a weekly basis in a group tutorial situation and make theoretical presentations. Teaching strategies in this unit of study include studio tutorials, studio practice, studio group meetings, studio work review and critique, group seminars, student presentations, site visits and both formal and informal discussion.

This unit of study concentrates on combining two modes of art practice; studio practice with critical thinking in relation to the contexts within which contemporary artists produce work. Studio practice is individual tutored studio-based artwork which may extend across multiple media. In studio practice, you will develop and present a major contemporary artwork. Critical contexts is an advanced course developed in a seminar and concentrates on the advanced practical, theoretical and material considerations of contemporary art and the relationship with individual studio practice. You will meet with the course coordinator on a weekly basis in a group tutorial situation and make theoretical presentations. Teaching strategies in this unit of study include studio tutorials, studio practice, studio group meetings, studio work review and critique, group seminars, student presentations, site visits and both formal and informal discussion.

This unit of study gives a broad overview of contemporary art and the theories that underpin it. Although international in approach the unit will strive to ground the ideas in Australia through Australian artists. The unit is structured around themes relevant to 21st century practice including: beauty; nature; history; body/relations; politics and space(s). Although not exhaustive these themes will be discussed in the way they help explicate the question: What is the Contemporary?

This unit allows students to consolidate the skills and knowledge gained in the Project Major 1 and 2 units. Over the course of this unit students work on the development of a final creative project that is the culmination of their study towards the degree of Master of Contemporary Art or The Master of Moving Image. The final project created in this unit will be exhibited in the Graduation Exhibition with the associated artistic and professional development acting as a capstone experience to the completed degree. Working individually students will conceptualise, develop and realise creatively based projects that will build on the learning and development they have experienced in preceding units. Much of the study in this unit is self-directed with students responding to assessment milestones that contribute to the development of their major projects. Through an integrated program of seminars, tutorials, screenings, gallery visits and directed exercises students are provided with a framework in which to conceive and develop their major projects. Throughout the unit students are challenged to develop their ideas and artistic practice beyond their achievements of preceding semesters.

This unit of study allows you to situate your emerging practice within the context of a chosen professional field. Within the framework of this unit you are required to undertake one stream of professional development activity. The streams have been developed to allow you to customise your professional development experience by providing a range of industry related outcomes. The Professional Project stream allows you to create a singular practice-focused project that will act as professional documentation and a promotion tool in your chosen field of practice. Outcomes for this stream can include the production of print based portfolio document (book), a website or an iPad app.

This unit of study allows you to situate your emerging practice within the context of a chosen professional field. Within the framework of this unit you are required to undertake one stream of professional development activity. The streams have been developed to allow you to customise your professional development experience by providing a range of industry related outcomes. The Industry Placement stream of this unit provides you with the opportunity to work closely with recognised industry organisations in your chosen field of endeavour. It is intended that this stream contextualises your learning and develops your understanding of the expectations and responsibility of professional practice.

This unit of study allows you to situate your emerging practice within the context of a chosen professional field. Within the framework of this unit you are required to undertake one stream of professional development activity. The streams have been developed to allow you to customise your professional development experience by providing a range of industry related outcomes. The Research Project stream has been designed to allow you to become familiar with traditional research skills in relation to emergent and interdisciplinary methodologies drawn from reflective creative practice. This stream has been designed to facilitate students who wish to pursue further research-based study.

'If artists since Marcel Duchamp have affirmed selection and arrangement as legitimate artistic strategies, was it not simply a matter of time before curatorial practice - itself defined by selection and arrangement - would come to be seen as an art that operates on the field of art itself?' (Aaron Schuster, 2005). This unit of study focuses on contemporary curatorial practice and analyses emerging trends and new directions in curating. It considers the changing role of the curator, moving from traditional contexts in the art gallery and museum, to contemporary art spaces, artist run initiatives, public sites, community engagement, and into globalized and virtual settings. The unit considers a number of case studies of curatorial practice, both exhibitions and renowned international curators who have defined the contemporary scene, such as Okwui Enwezor, Hou Hanru, Catherine David, Hans Ulrich Obrist, and Harald Szeemann.

This unit of study gives you hands on curating experience within an intensive laboratory environment. The curatorial LAB is a critical space that encourages experimentation, exploration of curatorial frameworks and methodologies, and generates new discursive possibilities. You develop a curated project from concept to full realisation as an exhibition, guided by professional and theoretical feedback. The LAB emphasises the working relationships between curators and artists and the significance of the studio in contemporary art making. You do workshops on the main aspects of contemporary curatorial practice, including: production logistics for organizing exhibitions and public events; developing proposals; analysis and discussion of artist selection processes; curatorial decision making in relation to exhibition space; exhibition design and installation including new technologies; project management and funding; legal and ethical issues; and negotiating with artists, institutions, and the arts industry. The LAB emphasises the communication of curatorial ideas through research, critical writing, publication, marketing and promotion, and education and public speaking in both interview and conference contexts. The LAB uses the Sydney College of the Arts galleries, studios and workshops, encouraging you to work independently or institutionally to develop curatorial projects. The LAB offers you the opportunity to network with leading curators and artists working in the field.

This unit of study extends the possibilities of photographic practice to expand photographic ideas beyond a two-dimensional form. The unit plays with the traditional material outcome of a photograph by considering what a photograph is as 'an image'. The 'image' unlike the 'photograph' can be anywhere and anything. In the context of image/object it is also considered sculpturally, as an object. The relationship between objects and photography stretch the function of the image. How can the image encompass a sculptural and interactive dimension?

This unit of study will engage a studio-based approach to the production of sound art works through the prism of two of its primary means, namely recording and amplification. The emphasis will be on the production of recorded sound works and sound devices that can expand and develop the relationships between the analogue and the digital and between the composed and the open-ended structures of noise as an event. The unit will begin with ideas from sound ecology and music concrete and by way of field recording, sound manipulation and performance heading in an exploratory way towards the limits of sound as noise, situating the spectrum of a material practice with sound in a historical context. This unit will be conducted in an open studio framework within workshops, sound studios and digital labs suitable for candidates working in a broad range of artistic disciplines.
Sound has the potential to invent new sonic landscapes and to demarcate unheard psycho-geographies: from radical approaches towards production to potential new collaborations in the street (or in the landscape), from the technical and the scientific to oral investigations of the social. This open studio investigates sound as a primary vehicle for artistic expression in a work of contemporary art.

This postgraduate elective unit of study in Ceramics provides a studio-based approach to the production of creative work. At the beginning of each semester you will follow either a project-based curriculum, or develop an individual work proposal in consultation with an academic staff member. Your creative development will be supported by access to academic staff consultations. These consultations focus on the conceptual, creative and technical aspects of your elective work. The elective provides for the development and enhancement of critical skills through individual tutorials and critiques and the acquisition of technical skills appropriate to the assigned projects and/or individual work. You are expected to produce a body of work for review at regular intervals during the semester.

This unit of study introduces you to the techniques and conceptual underpinnings of screen printing, and develops your understanding of its application across a range of mediums. In addition to familiarising you with the practical skills necessary to use screen print as part of your own practice, the unit encourages you to critically engage with the medium by asking you to reflect on the specific qualities of this particular print process and its use more broadly in contemporary art.

This unit of study examines conceptual and practical applications of up-cycled and found glass through contemporary art and design. Your understanding of the ubiquity of glass and its reuse in various guises will be developed through a self directed research projects and presentation of your findings. Technical introductions using found and recycled glass allow you to traverse a raft of reductive and manipulative processes, including: diamond cutting, polishing, lathe-working, engraving and joining. Your projects will combine critical and practical skills learned to the development and realisation of artistic works. You may decide to work exclusively within the medium of glass or in conjunction with other media and processes as required.

This unit of study examines the glass vessel in everyday life and its application as a conceptual agent in contemporary art. By nature, the glassblowing process creates a vessel or container from a mass of molten glass. Through research projects you will investigate the psychology of the glass vessel through its function and physical properties. You will develop fundamental hand skills and glassblowing techniques through structured weekly workshops, and combine practical skills with contextual knowledge in the development of conceptually themed postgraduate level projects. You may work exclusively with glass or in conjunction with other media and processes.

From the symbolically charged through to the functionally utilized, the hammer formed metallic object builds upon the dynamic landscape of the body. In this unit of study you investigate the potential for an object to expand the metaphysical self. The malleable and ductile qualities of metal will be examined as a creative catalyst enabling material characteristics to form a transformative element of a work that is made for the body by the body. You will explore silversmithing processes, in alignment with your individual research interests, as a technical and conceptual starting point to negotiate ideas of metamorphosis and growth. The appropriate forming processes, including sinking, raising, hot forging and planishing, will be introduced alongside an examination of the historic foundations and key principles of contemporary metalsmithing, as a means to generate your own individual project.

For Aboriginal people of Australia, the place where saltwater and freshwater meet, is a site of intermingling, mixing and sharing of knowledge. The Yolngu people of north-east Arnhem Land call this place where the river meets the sea: Ganmu and it is usually used as a metaphor for 'two way learning.' This unit of study explores how contact with other cultures through the reciprocal sharing of images, stories, histories, experiences, ideas, skills and culture can activate collaborative practices to create meaningful connections both locally and globally. The investigation of issues such as representation and presentation, protocols and practices, combined with a critical understanding of the cultural complexities of Indigenous culture, will foster greater understanding and enable students to facilitate the development of a collaborative and sustainable practice.

This unit explores the historical emergence and rapid growth of contemporary international surveys of art since the 1960s. The Biennales, Triennales, Documentas and related international exhibitions are a spectacular cornerstone of today's global art industry. The proliferation of museums, exhibitions, art fairs and cultural events at the international level are now competing with other areas of mass entertainment. In particular, the international contemporary art survey has become a pre-eminent, critical platform for art, trade and cultural politics. The unit is run in conjunction with the Biennale of Sydney. It is an intensive class, with a large component held in situ at Biennale exhibitions, performances, conferences and satellite events.