Art Education in an Online Environment Creating A Fully Remote BFA in Drawing

There is a reason good artists are often considered radical- we have to be critical thinkers, capable of understanding the foundations of things rather than just their superficial structures in order to create (or at least justify our creations if we have things a bit backward) and understand where our next project is coming from . We get there by understanding ourselves and our experiences, delving into seemingly unrelated but interesting topics, learning basic techniques, applying those techniques, and finally requesting feedback. The feedback gives us additional information which we can use to think critically, find other ways to communicate that enhance the point we want to make, and then make the work accessible to more people. For most artists the process isn’t entirely conscious though improvement comes faster when it is. Art also requires information across disciplines. The nature of art in that it requires critical inquiry, a social environment, and the ability to handle intangible and often random ideas, which is also necessary to those in fields such as science and math. My goal in creating this program is to address critical thinking concerns and create an environment where students are encouraged to think beyond tradition, to make mistakes and get comfortable doing so while also working toward a goal and creating a finished product. I also want to prepare student for life as a working artist as most stop creating when they graduate. This overview of the program and it reasons for being, is designed primarily for educators to see how an online BFA in drawing is possible, and in some senses even preferable to traditional in-person classes. This paper covers the pedagogical concerns and much of what is needed to institute the change in environment.