Fine Art Studios


Please ensure you have enrolled in the Fine Art Studio course in enrolment online.
You will not need to preference this course: students will be allocated to their home studios course relevant to their year level.

(Note: There is a separate page for Workshop classes and a separate page for ART: History+Theory+Cultures classes).

The Fine Art Studios are offered under the following course codes:

Fine Art Studio 2 VART 3645 (1st year)
Fine Art Studio 4 VART 3647 (2nd year)

These Fine Art Studio classes are 24 credit point courses and will require 6 contact hours per week.

For more information about a course, please contact the Studio Lead of the offering studio or course coordinator.

IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE: Although we would like to offer all of the options below, classes are subject to viability and may not run if numbers are too low. Fine Art Studios classes are in planning for campus access in Semester 2 2020. These plans are still subject to approval and confirmation to ensure they align to RMIT’s COVIDSafe Guidelines for the safety of our student and staff community. We are anticipating being able to confirm the plans and to provide more specific details at the end of June.

Course Information


  • Course Coordinator
  • Teacher
  • Contact hours
  • Location
  • Open to all students
Offering Studio & Studio Lead/Coordinator

  • AHTC – Tassia Joannides
  • Ceramics – Kris Coad
  • Drawing – Greg Creek
  • Gold & Silversmithing – Nicholas Bastin
  • Painting – Peter Ellis
  • Photography (BP117) – Alan Hill
  • Print – Richard Harding
  • Sculpture – Fleur Summers
  • Video – Greg Creek
  • Program Course – Martine Corompt

CREATURE-MAQUETTE (320) 1964 LYGIA CLARK 1920-1988 PRESENTED BY THE AMERICAN FUND FOR THE TATE GALLERY 2012

Advanced Studiowork: Concept and Construction in Sculpture


  • Fleur Summers
  • Fleur Summers
  • Friday: 9:30am – 12:30pm & 1:30pm – 4:30pm
  • 37.1.4
  • Sculpture – Fine Art Studio 4

This course focuses on developing student work by engaging with practical techniques in contemporary sculpture from test pieces to finished sculpture. In this course you will explore a range of experimental projects that relate to sculpture through object making, materials, development and construction. This will be supported by a series of hands-on sessions introducing and revising basic sculptural techniques and materials from simple joinery to spot welding and mold making. The course aims to give you the skills and hands-on experience to develop work with strong conceptual and sculptural properties whilst giving you the freedom and encouragement to develop your own projects.

Face to face contact hours:
This course is planning to run as a blended learning delivery mode of both online and face to face access. Face to face contact time would be organised as a rotational timetable system to adhere to social distancing and safe working practices. Details on class scheduling for on-campus activities would be provided in Canvas.

*If your situation prevents you from returning to campus in semester 2, you may continue to remain learning online though some courses are better suited than others. Please contact the Studio leader if this is your preference to seek advice.


Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, Alter Bahnhof Video Walk, 2012

Advanced Video-Sound Studio


  • Ian Haig & Philip Samartzis
  • Ian Haig & Philip Samartzis
  • Thursday: 9.30am – 12:30pm & 1:30pm – 4:30pm
  • 4.2.06
  • Video – Fine Art Studio 2 & 4

In this course you will further develop your Video and Sound practice as a contemporary interdisciplinary art form. You will strengthen your skill base engaging with mediums such as, installation, performance, live-art, distributable art, improvisation, internet-based practices & video and sound. During the semester you will develop works that consider the durational methodologies and consider what it means to experience/listen/watch an audio-visual artwork unfold over time and also to engage in the historical and cultural legacy of this genre. To gain experience, skills and knowledge in developing a career in the art industry you will review and analyse Exhibition Projects and artists practices. Supportive individual and group tutorials, lectures, collaborative workshops, technical demonstrations and individual studio work complement this course.

Face to face contact hours:
This course is planning to run as a blended learning delivery mode of both online and face to face access. Face to face contact time would be organised as a rotational timetable system to adhere to social distancing and safe working practices. Details on class scheduling for on-campus activities would be provided in Canvas.

 *If your situation prevents you from returning to campus in semester 2, you may continue to remain learning online though some courses are better suited than others. Please contact the Studio leader if this is your preference to seek advice.


Sonia Coco, Onward 2019, Screen Print

Atelier: Innovation in Print imaging


  • Andrew Gunnell
  • Andrew Gunnel & TBC
  • Friday: 9.30am – 12.30pm & 1.30pm – 4.30pm
  • TBC
  • Print – Fine Art Studio 2

In this course you will engage with the print workshop as a process of creation and as a site of practice and enquiry. It is studio based which means your learning is activated through experimenting, exploring, testing, envisioning, observing, and playing with a range of materials and art making processes and methods in a print based environment to develop your art practice.

You will engage in a range of learning activities such as practice based research, creating works, experimenting with materials, presentations, demonstrations, reflective writing, group discussions, consultations on your studio work and occupational health and safety demonstrations.

In class you will participate in critical reflection and reviews with staff and peers through a variety of group and individual tutorials. This feedback will assist you to track how your learning is progressing against the specified learning outcomes and capabilities for this course.

Face to face contact hours:
This course is planning to run as a blended learning delivery mode of both online and face to face access. Face to face contact time would be organised as a rotational timetable system to adhere to social distancing and safe working practices. Details on class scheduling for on-campus activities would be provided in Canvas.

 *If your situation prevents you from returning to campus in semester 2, you may continue to remain learning online though some courses are better suited than others. Please contact the Studio leader if this is your preference to seek advice.


Anonymous - student work

Extended Drawing Practices


  • Ben Sheppard & TBC
  • TBC
  • Thursday 9:30am – 12:30pm & 1:30pm – 4:30pm
  • TBC
  • Drawing – Fine Art Studio 2

In this course you will further develop your Drawing practice as a broad-based contemporary art form. You will strengthen your skill base and test how drawing practices that extend beyond the studio both employ and disrupt conventions of drawing. You will explore personal & public ideas, new materials and new ways of making and installing drawing works. A selection of initial themed projects will lead to you developing a self-directed and resolved body of work. To gain experience, skills and knowledge in developing a career in the art industry you will review and analyse Exhibition Projects and artists practices. Additional lectures, presentations and skills demonstrations will demonstrate how contemporary artists employ drawing concepts and methods that directly extend their studio practice.

Face to face contact hours:
This course is planning to run as a blended learning delivery mode of both online and face to face access. Face to face contact time would be organised as a rotational timetable system to adhere to social distancing and safe working practices. Details on class scheduling for on-campus activities would be provided in Canvas.

*If your situation prevents you from returning to campus in semester 2, you may continue to remain learning online though some courses are better suited than others. Please contact the Studio leader if this is your preference to seek advice.


Natalia Milosz Pierkarska, ‘Companion’ & ‘Playground, Brooches 2007

Gold & Silversmithing Narratives


  • Kirsten Haydon
  • TBC
  • Friday: 9:30am – 12:30 pm & 1:30pm – 4:30pm
  • 02.01.03 & 02.01.04
  • G&S – Fine Art Studio 2

In this course, you will undertake a series of creative projects where you will explore how Narrative can be used as a starting point in creating jewellery and objects. You will explore the possibilities of using gold & silversmithing processes and materials in conjunction with different materials and inspiration, to create new works by responding to a series of thematic projects.  

These authentic personal starting points will allow you to identify conceptual intentions and research broad themes of personal memory and popular culture. This research and idea development will define your chosen subject and develop your own narratives through your responding jewellery and objects.  

This course is suited to students from Gold & Silversmithing and those who have taken the elective Jewellery Fundamentals. You will need jewellery tools, PPE and materials including silver in this course.

Face to face contact hours:
This course is planning to run as a blended learning delivery mode of both online and face to face access. Face to face contact time would be organised as a rotational timetable system to adhere to social distancing and safe working practices. Details on class scheduling for on-campus activities would be provided in Canvas.

*If your situation prevents you from returning to campus in semester 2, you may continue to remain learning online though some courses are better suited than others. Please contact the Studio leader if this is your preference to seek advice.

 


David Ray Wild Thing, 2017, Earthenware, 66x66cm Photographer: Artist

Making Ceramic History Present


  • Kris Coad
  • TBC
  • Friday: 9:30am – 12:30pm & 1:30pm – 4:30pm
  • 04.01.01
  • Ceramics – Fine Art Studio 2

Using the esteemed ceramic collection of the National Gallery of Victoria as a starting point, students source an object that peaks their imagination, passion or curiosity. This ‘historic’ and/or ‘significant’ object is the conduit for a conceptual and technical research. Students will be encouraged to develop an individual approach and interpretation to develop new work, utilising a range of ceramic techniques.

Face to face contact hours:
This course is planning to run as a blended learning delivery mode of both online and face to face access. Face to face contact time would be organised as a rotational timetable system to adhere to social distancing and safe working practices. Details on class scheduling for on-campus activities would be provided in Canvas.

*If your situation prevents you from returning to campus in semester 2, you may continue to remain learning online though some courses are better suited than others. Please contact the Studio leader if this is your preference to seek advice.


Kylie Stillman 'Big Picture' 2017
Hand-cut paperback books and timber base
Collection of Town Hall Gallery, City of Boroondara

Painting, Narrative and Place


  • Peter Ellis
  • Louise Weaver, Peter Ellis & TBC
  • Friday 9:30am – 12:30pm & 1:30pm – 4:30pm
  • 02.03.04
  • Painting – Fine Art Studio 4

In this course you will be introduced to historic and contemporary art practices that approach the concept of storytelling and setting. With a focus on both abstract and representational forms, the course will examine the diverse ways in which artists engage narrative interpretations from individual experience to shared stories, whether real or fictional. Through studio- based investigation you will explore works that respond to content that articulates representations of place: incorporating the real, imagined and virtual. You will consider the history of painting and its influence on the production of contemporary narrative. Investigate the role of the internet on the discipline of painting and explore the networks and narratives between place and paintings, online and in real space. You will be encouraged to explore the medium of painting and related media as a means of visual mapping, storytelling, communication and the translation of non-visual content into individual art works.
You will experience working in series, exploring both reductive and expansive strategies of studio production. You will respond to a range of thematic projects that will lead to independent self- directed outcomes in a variety of media. You will gain experience, skills and knowledge in developing a career as a professional artist through an Exhibition Project, where you will curate, exhibit, critique and document your work in a collaborative theme- based group exhibition. You will experience individual tutorials, peer-to-peer discussion and group feedback sessions, online learning, demonstrations, health safety and proposal writing for professional practice and student presentations.

Face to face contact hours:
This course is planning to run as a blended learning delivery mode of both online and face to face access. Face to face contact time would be organised as a rotational timetable system to adhere to social distancing and safe working practices. Details on class scheduling for on-campus activities would be provided in Canvas.

*If your situation prevents you from returning to campus in semester 2, you may continue to remain learning online though some courses are better suited than others. Please contact the Studio leader if this is your preference to seek advice.


Peter Ellis, Titian’s Ghost, 1998, synthetic polymer emulsion, gouache, collage on canvas panel

Painting Transformations


  • Peter Ellis
  • Louise Weaver, Peter Ellis & TBC
  • Friday 9:30am – 12:30pm & 1:30pm – 4:30pm
  • 02.03.04
  • Painting – Fine Art Studio 2

In this course you will develop your own unique studio practice in relationship to the diverse field of contemporary art. You will expand, transform and deepen your Painting Studio Practice in experimental and innovative ways and discover new strategies for developing your imagination and generating ideas. You will develop a self-initiated practice, complemented by a series of open-ended projects where you will experience the interdisciplinary nature of painting as image, object and installation. Outcomes may include a range of paintings, drawings, collages, objects, digital and photographic works and related support materials that exemplify a Contemporary Art Practice. Through a contemporary studio investigation, exploring concepts, technologies and skills, you will develop an individual, flexible studio work proposal that is sustainable, and research focused to your individual ideas. Complementing your studio practice will be a series of visual lectures on historic and contemporary art and artists; including on site at the NGV which will focus on the historic & contemporary technical aspects of methods of production and contemporary ideas. This Fine Art Painting Studio course aims to - Encourage self-motivation, sustainable studio working methods, highlight lateral approaches to problem solving and ways to expand and extend ideas, techniques and skills.You will experience individual tutorials, peer-to-peer discussion and group feedback sessions, student presentations, field trips, online learning, demonstrations, health and safety; experiences that will enrich and sustain your continued development as artists in a supportive and stimulating environment.

Face to face contact hours:
This course is planning to run as a blended learning delivery mode of both online and face to face access. Face to face contact time would be organised as a rotational timetable system to adhere to social distancing and safe working practices. Details on class scheduling for on-campus activities would be provided in Canvas.

*If your situation prevents you from returning to campus in semester 2, you may continue to remain learning online though some courses are better suited than others. Please contact the Studio leader if this is your preference to seek advice.


Joseph Kosuth, One and Three Chairs (1965)

PRINT: Contextualising Practice


  • Richard Harding
  • TBC
  • Thursday: 9.30am – 12.30pm & 1.30pm – 4.30pm
  • 49.02.02
  • Print – Fine Art Studio 4

In this course you will experiment with various reproductive technologies as a process of creation and enquiry. You will learn to use technologies in ways that compliment and inform your current practice by exploring various philosophical and theoretical frameworks. You will employ analytical, technical and interpretative processes to critically evaluate the use of technologies for creative and informed print production. Through a mixture of demonstrations, seminars, lectures and group discussions you will deepen your analytical thinking and making skills to locate your studio practice within the broader context of the art industry.

You will also explore safe working practices and industry standards while extending your knowledge, language and vocabulary of technology.You will receive verbal and/or written feedback from academic staff and peers through a variety of consultations and tutorials. This feedback will help you to track how your learning is progressing against the specified learning outcomes and capabilities for this course. In classes you will engage in critical reflection and reviews.

Face to face contact hours:
This course is planning to run as a blended learning delivery mode of both online and face to face access. Face to face contact time would be organised as a rotational timetable system to adhere to social distancing and safe working practices. Details on class scheduling for on-campus activities would be provided in Canvas.

*If your situation prevents you from returning to campus in semester 2, you may continue to remain learning online though some courses are better suited than others. Please contact the Studio leader if this is your preference to seek advice.


© Richard Deacon
Congregate, 2011
Stainless steel
257 x 329 x 660 cm


Studiowork: Concept and Construction in Sculpture

  • Simon Perry
  • Simon Perry
  • Thursday: 9:30am – 12:30pm & 1:30pm – 4:30pm
  • 37.1.4
  • Sculpture – Fine Art Studio 2

This course focuses on introducing students to practical techniques in contemporary sculpture through the development of test pieces and finished sculpture. In this course you will explore a range of experimental projects that relate to sculptural practice through object making, materials, development and construction. This will be supported by a series of hands-on sessions introducing basic sculptural techniques and materials from simple joinery to spot welding and mold making. The course aims to give you the skills and hands-on experience to develop work with strong conceptual and sculptural properties whilst giving you the freedom and encouragement to develop your own projects.

Face to face contact hours:
This course is planning to run as a blended learning delivery mode of both online and face to face access. Face to face contact time would be organised as a rotational timetable system to adhere to social distancing and safe working practices. Details on class scheduling for on-campus activities would be provided in Canvas.

*If your situation prevents you from returning to campus in semester 2, you may continue to remain learning online though some courses are better suited than others. Please contact the Studio leader if this is your preference to seek advice.


Jiaying Wang (2016) 'Green is the main colour', acrylic, soft pastel, wood, wire, chair

Studio Drawing Projects


  • Greg Creek & TBC
  • TBC
  • Friday 9:30am – 12:30pm & 1:30pm – 4:30pm
  • TBC
  • Drawing – Fine Art Studio 4

In this course you will develop Drawing projects through their relations to your Studio practice. You will enrich and deepen your skill base and explore how to think through and transform traditions of drawing within the site of studio practice. You will explore graphic, pictorial & narrative themes, perception and translation of object, figure and image, cycles and series of image making, leading to the development of resolved and your self-directed projects. to gain experience, skills and knowledge in developing a career in the contemporary art industry you may participate in a collaborative exhibition project. Through lectures and presentations, writing about your practice and exhibition analysis you will further your understanding of the ways artists link methods and ideas to underpin and extend their studio-based projects.

Face to face contact hours:
This course is planning to run as a blended learning delivery mode of both online and face to face access. Face to face contact time would be organised as a rotational timetable system to adhere to social distancing and safe working practices. Details on class scheduling for on-campus activities would be provided in Canvas.

*If your situation prevents you from returning to campus in semester 2, you may continue to remain learning online though some courses are better suited than others. Please contact the Studio leader if this is your preference to seek advice.


Samantha O'Farrell, 2016

The Ceramic Vessel as Political or Social Commentary


  • Kris Coad
  • TBC
  • Thursday: 9:30am – 12:30pm & 1:30pm – 4:30pm
  • 04.01.01
  • Ceramics – Fine Art Studio 4

This course explores the contemporary ceramic vessel and how the vessel responds to socioeconomic, political and environmental conditions. Students will explore and experiment with different ceramic forming techniques and surface finishes in relationship to concept.

Face to face contact hours:
This course is planning to run as a blended learning delivery mode of both online and face to face access. Face to face contact time would be organised as a rotational timetable system to adhere to social distancing and safe working practices. Details on class scheduling for on-campus activities would be provided in Canvas.

*If your situation prevents you from returning to campus in semester 2, you may continue to remain learning online though some courses are better suited than others. Please contact the Studio leader if this is your preference to seek advice.


Inari Kiuri, Vessels, 2009

The Miniature and the Gigantic in Jewellery and Object


  • Nicholas Bastin
  • TBC
  • Thursday: 9:30am – 12:30pm & 1:30pm – 4:30pm
  • 02.01.03 & 02.01.04
  • G&S – Fine Art Studio 4

In this course you will investigate the place of the miniature and the role of the gigantic in your work. You will experiment with Gold & Silversmithing methodologies and explore how scale can be used to create jewellery and objects. The work you make in this course will focus on the power of the miniature object to transport the viewer into an alternate space through the consideration of scale within the larger world. You will investigate how the gigantic can be suggested through comparison, to imply aspects of public space and the environment. You will research contemporary artists who engage with the notion of the miniature and the gigantic and examine historical and contemporary examples of objects and spaces that can be used as reference points for your work.
This course is suited to students from Gold & Silversmithing and those who have taken the elective Jewellery Fundamentals. You will need jewellery tools, PPE and materials in this course.

Face to face contact hours:
This course is planning to run as a blended learning delivery mode of both online and face to face access. Face to face contact time would be organised as a rotational timetable system to adhere to social distancing and safe working practices. Details on class scheduling for on-campus activities would be provided in Canvas.

*If your situation prevents you from returning to campus in semester 2, you may continue to remain learning online though some courses are better suited than others. Please contact the Studio leader if this is your preference to seek advice.


Katharina Grosse, The Horse Trotted Another Couple of Metres, then it Stopped. 2018, Paint on 8,000 square metres of fabric. Installation detail, Carriageworks, Sydney. Photo Peter Ellis.

Thinking Through Abstraction - CANCELLED


  • Peter Ellis
  • Phil Edwards & TBC
  • Thursday: 9:30am – 12:30pm & 1:30pm – 4:30pm
  • 02.04.04
  • Painting – Fine Art Studio 4

This course explores modernist and contemporary painting as an expressive visual language leading to the individual production of abstract artworks. You will test and trial expanded painting strategies that build upon on your established practice, to develop advanced concepts and methods. Through sustained studio investigation, you experience the ever- changing and diverse concepts of painting as a way of thinking and making. You will investigate the material nature of abstraction, by exploring established and experimental materials. You will experience a series of initial projects, leading to individual self- directed projects. You may investigate generalised themes such as - Constructed or found 2D and 3D objects, expressive and analytical use of colour, geometric abstraction and the influence of popular culture on abstraction. Explore surface, gesture and pattern. You will research the use of generative systems such as maps and mapping. You will experience ideas of expansive installation and display strategies. You will investigate the use of chance, play and open experimentation to generate ideas, leading to an individual self-directed project. You will engage with a professional practice Exhibition Project, where you will curate, exhibit, critique and document your work in a collaborative group exhibition. This course features individual and group tutorials, student presentations, demonstrations, visual lectures, peer to peer feedback, gallery field trips and health and safety in the studio.

Face to face contact hours:
This course is planning to run as a blended learning delivery mode of both online and face to face access. Face to face contact time would be organised as a rotational timetable system to adhere to social distancing and safe working practices. Details on class scheduling for on-campus activities would be provided in Canvas.

*If your situation prevents you from returning to campus in semester 2, you may continue to remain learning online though some courses are better suited than others. Please contact the Studio leader if this is your preference to seek advice.