Expanded Photography MA

This module provides an exploratory framework for you to investigate the expanded field of contemporary photography and its broader historical, critical and theoretical contexts. You’ll engage with and evaluate current evolving debates around representation, ethics and aesthetics and how these are deployed within the arts and creative industries. Seminars, workshops, presentations and written assignments will give you the opportunity to contextualise your own developing practice and to form your own innovative arguments and critical communication skills. Several equivalent options for writing portfolio submissions will support you to develop the contextual understanding and communication style most relevant to your individual mode of practice.

This module offers a framework for you to initiate and develop innovative approaches for your visual practice. You’ll experiment with different materials, technologies and conceptual approaches, and engage with a range of methods and relevant critical contexts. The resulting work should consider theory through practice and be presented in an appropriate manner for a range of diverse audiences, including those in the arts and creative industries. The module will encourage ethical approaches that prepare you for onward study and the development of your Master’s Project.

This module will support you to develop an independently defined practice-led project, grounded in the contextual understanding of your area of practice, relevant theoretical debates and creative industries. The output may take the form of either practical outputs, written dissertation, or a combination of both. The output format is negotiable in terms of the balance of written and practical elements but should be the equivalent of 10,000 words; you’ll work with your tutor to negotiate the balance between text and practice. Workshops, talks and seminars are offered to introduce you to a range of research and practical skills, such as writing proposals, project management and dissemination strategies. Through critical reflection, you’ll consider the societal impact, ethical implications and sustainability of your cultural practices.

This module offers a framework for you to reflect, develop and identify your professional interests and future career path. You’ll gain a working knowledge of the creative industries landscape, while supporting you to develop a range of relevant professional skills. Through a series of talks, seminars, workshops and external visits, you’ll be introduced to a variety of working practices in the art and creative industries. Support is offered through tutorials to monitor your progress and live projects, advise on your professional development needs and provide direction to relevant resources and networks. You’ll also be supported by the Careers and Employability service and Westminster Enterprise Network (WeNetwork) to identify opportunities, develop skills, and make informed decisions about your career plans.

This practice-led module is hosted by the Global Contemporary Art MA and focuses on the range of practical and conceptual skills involved in curating for diverse contexts of global contemporary art and creative industries more widely. The module’s emphasis is on new forms of curation which are collaborative, innovative and disruptive and where the concept of the ‘exhibition’ becomes a site of negotiation and challenge. You’ll be introduced to theories and histories about the artistic and social role and function of the curator in arts practice in a shifting landscape.

This module is hosted by the Art and Emerging Technologies MA and investigates the potential of digital art and design practices and advanced technologies such as 3D scanning and photogrammetry to expand and create the archive of the future. You’ll consider archives, and source sites as curatorial tools to present and experience collections, employing transmedia approaches and interactive and immersive platforms, and participatory practices to democratise access, engage new audiences and create dynamic ‘living’ archives. You’ll work in cross disciplinary groups and engage with live projects within archives, galleries, and heritage sites. The module also addresses the societal, ethical, and sustainable aspects of archival practices, including contested material and narratives.

This module is hosted by the Global Contemporary Art MA. It is a research-led module that may take either a text-based or practical approach to address concerns with global issues of climate, social justice, and biodiversity. The module will include experimentation, fieldwork and/or digital/material investigations. Outputs could take the form of interventions, artworks, performances, or presentations, supported by documentation and research findings. A key feature of this module is the development of ideas that are actionable in the context of future challenges and that provide audiences with an understanding of these issues and their global context.

This module is hosted by the Expanded Photography MA and addresses essential aspects of future-facing photographic production, cutting-edge presentation and dissemination of projects for specific audiences and industries. The module will enable you to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to create and distribute photographs and related practices in a sustainable and ethical manner while remaining responsive to changing technological and cultural contexts. Seminars and workshops will address a range of innovative physical and virtual spaces where current practices are disseminated, including but not limited to digital platforms, social media, galleries, pop-ups, site-specific public interventions, magazines and photobooks. You’ll develop exploratory methods for presenting a self-directed body of work in a particular context, demonstrating a self-critical use of technologies, emerging research and understanding of the relevant creative industries.

This module is hosted by the Art and Emerging Technologies MA and investigates the scope and potential for digital art practices and emerging technologies to be used to develop new forms of experiences and approaches to interactive storytelling. Through technical exploration and project development, you’ll critically engage with techniques, methods and concepts used in digital storytelling, interactive and immersive experience design, virtual environment creation and world building, game design and digital simulation. The module will further challenge you to consider cultural and industry-based audiences in the creation of their practical self-defined projects by emphasising the user experience and participatory elements of interactive technologies.

This module is hosted by the Expanded Photography MA and aims to engage students with expanded notions of photography within virtual spaces, such as gaming, AR, VR, AI, creative coding and 3D visualization. You’ll be introduced to the critical and ethical context of these practices in media and aesthetic theory. Workshops are offered to deepen your technical understanding of specific virtual photography practices and how they function in the creative industries more broadly. You can choose to produce either a visual or written project in response to a self-directed research question to analyse the functioning mechanisms of photographs, as well as ethical and legal challenges in the rapidly changing visual culture.