Art Factor Forum
LEAD ORGANISATION
PROJECT SUMMARY
The Art Factor Forum was a one-day event held in October 2010 delivered by Oxford Brookes University's School of Arts & Humanities and aimed at students thinking about a future in Art and Design. An estimated 130 students attended, drawn from Oxford Brookes University, Abingdon & Witney College, Oxford & Cherwell Valley College and local Oxfordshire schools.
The event aimed to inform and inspire art and design students by gathering together inspirational speakers drawn from the creative industries, who presented their work and gave personal accounts of their creative career journeys. Most of the speakers had studied on the Foundation Course at the University, spoke of how they made their degree choices, their first jobs and current work. The speakers were joined by Brookes' Foundation Art and Design alumni, now studying various art and design disciplines at institutions throughout the country. The alumni brought along their portfolios for students to look at and shared their experiences of degree level study in response to questions from the audience.
IMPACT
91 feedback forms were received from attendees. Two-thirds of those feeding back were studying on a foundation year in Art and Design, while around 20% were in Year 12/13 and 12% were on degree courses. Almost all those feeding back agreed that the day had given them a better understanding of the careers available in Art and Design, and 93% agreed that they were more aware of the education options open to them.
Feedback from the event was very positive with one attendee saying:
"It was an extremely interesting and enlightening experience. Not only were we very well informed about careers but also we got the opportunity to speak with important and inspiring people".