School of Fine Arts

Background

The School of Fine Arts existed since 1976 under the School of Indian Music and Fine Arts offering hobby and certificate courses. In 2006, it was re-structured and it became known as the School of Fine Arts. It has expanded into a full-fledged School with five departments.

Presently, the School offers a number of full time and part time programmes of studies leading to the award of undergraduate and post graduate degrees in the fields of Painting, Sculpture, Printmaking, Visual Culture Theory, Advertising and Visual Communication and Digital Arts. Besides, the School provides opportunities to local and foreign artists to showcase their artworks through a number of workshops, seminars, conferences and exhibitions such as the annual ‘Salon de Mai’.

The main vision of the School is to become an established model for Visual and Media Art in the region.

Mission Statement

To provide a supportive, stimulating and challenging environment in which students are enriched though the study of the visual arts and the creation of a range of works that can sustain both critical and aesthetic analysis. To achieve excellence in instruction provided in the field of the Fine Arts and of Digital Arts.

Vision

The School of Fine Arts aspires to be a model for excellence in its specialized programmes. We shall strive to advance critical discourse, institute innovative interdisciplinary approaches and expand our programmes with contemporary technologies to be on a par with other institutions offering similar courses in other parts of the world.

Core Values

The school of Art values, supports, and promotes:

• Excellence in teaching ,research, creative activity and service
• Intellectual and artistic originality and academic excellence
• Ethical and professional standards
• The exchange and dissemination of diverse artistic and scholarly viewpoints
• The careers of professionals in the fields of art, art history, and visual studies
• The contribution of artistic culture to society
• We commit to embrace the digital age and its global implications
• Responsive to the needs of students – i.e, to be student-centric
• Nurturing integrity, team–work and mutual trust through open communication at all levels

Goals

1. Be a model and leader in the education of visual and digital arts
• Promote student achievement in creative work, critical thinking and research that contributes to their respective artistic disciplines.
• Create a model for a multi-cultural mosaic of thought that guides and informs the profession.
• Invest in the creative and scholarly work of the faculty.
• Increase support, development opportunities, and compensation for faculty to direct a more precise focus on the balance between our academic and research missions.
• Encourage students to pursue regional, national, and international professional opportunities.
• Foster an arts environment continually open to new, diverse, or provocative ideas and points of view.
• Promote closer interdisciplinary interaction among faculty.
• Expand the artistic experience through the integration of various arts disciplines, other colleges, and visiting artists.
2. Improve Student Academic Excellence
• Ensure integrity of existing degree programs.
• Enhance student education, preparedness and career choices.
• Develop internship program network and database for the studio arts and facilitate student placement.
• Research and develop improved teaching strategies.
• Improve health & safety and functional aspect of facilities
3. Engage students in the principal methods of inquiry and creativity, critical evaluation, and technical skills as a means for maintaining currency in their discipline.
• Promote fluency in emerging technologies in the arts
• Instill in students an understanding of the role of the arts in society and develop their leadership abilities for the advancement of the arts.
• Provide access for all students to experience and participate in diverse arts events to inform their understanding of contemporary society and global cultures.
• To set up an Art Theory specialisation, in parallel with other specialisations in Painting, Sculpture, Printmaking and Applied Arts.
• To launch new courses in the field of Art Theory.
4. Establish partnerships that serve as a model for integrating the arts and the community.
• Increase external funding by finding appropriate sponsors.
• Establish a physical presence in major arts centers to promote faculty and student creative work.
• Recruit and retain promising faculty and nurture their early career advancement.
• Promote student research through the dissemination of their work.
• Track and promote the professional work and accomplishments of College of Fine Arts alumni.
• Present artistic events that provoke introspection and discussion on relevant issues of our time.
• Invest in effective communication and marketing practices.
• Support collaborative projects.
5. Promote research and publication
• To actively encourage research in view of presentation of papers in seminars.
• To publish regular newsletter on arts as e-journals or in print
• To publish monographs on major artists
6. Provide access for all students to experience and participate in diverse arts events to inform their understanding of contemporary society and global cultures.
• Promote the finest examples of students’ work to the professional world beyond the university.
• Encourage students to participate in extra curricular artistic activities.
7. Increase Cultural Competence/Internationalization
• Continue to infuse curriculum with global perspective.
• Facilitate international visiting artist programs and residencies.
• Develop additional funding sources.
• Look up and explore links with international partners.
• Develop networks of artist organizations with international connections.
• Explore the possibilities of semester abroad and summer study programs.