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ACADEMY OF VISUAL ARTS
Director: Prof John Aiken
 

The Academy of Visual Arts (AVA) is committed to creativity, critical thinking, and professional ethos.  It is our belief that the most interesting work in the 21st century should be a product of crossing boundaries between disciplines and conjoining with media outside of established possibilities and canons.  Rather than just putting the focus on specialized skills training, we prepare our students for the great opportunities ahead by educating them to consciously perceive the world around them (“to see”), to critically analyse and evaluate their findings (“to think”), and to creatively develop their views into powerful artistic statements using whatever means are necessary to achieve their desired outcome (“to create”).

Accordingly, at AVA, students are not limited to examine a series of media and potentially specialize in one of them. Instead they are encouraged to investigate the idiosyncrasies of their personal ideas, free from material certainties.  In AVA’s interdisciplinary and holistic approach all creative disciplines are understood as equally valuable outlets for ideas and concepts. Recent developments within the visual arts have introduced new processes and situations, which have resulted in an expanded notion of artistic practice beyond the traditional concepts of art and/or design.  As a result the professional in visual arts will find a new context for artistic practice that is no longer based upon strictly distinguished disciplines or particular media but is rather a hybrid of many.

To be able to do so AVA believes that artistic work of high quality can only be achieved by well rounded, balanced artist-personalities who are willing and able to live up to the responsibilities and expectations of the profession.  The staff of AVA therefore puts great emphasis on a holistic approach in its teaching, aiming to also nurture students’ potential through a wide range of experiences.

 
- Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Visual Arts
- Minor Programme in Visual Arts
- Master of Visual Arts
 
 
 
©2014 Hong Kong Baptist University
Source: Calendar/Bulletin 2014-2015
Last modified: August 2014