Writing Visual Culture in Cambridge, England

Visual culture is all around us. It greets us in signs, images, media, objects, architecture and technology—it is what we see. It has the power to influence our ideas, values and understanding of the world. As artists and designers, we have the power to inform and affect the world because we shape visual culture. We bear the responsibility of the impact our work has on viewers.

To understand our own work, we will study the work of others. In this two-week intensive writing course, you will become better observers and interpreters by writing about various visual media, including fine arts, photography, design, advertisement and architecture. As a group, we will examine visual media through social and political viewpoints in order to understand how we read images. Through different writing exercises, you will learn how to communicate in written and oral form to clarify and present ideas coherently, an important asset in navigating any professional field. The knowledge and experience gained through the workshops will provide insight into your own studio practice as well as help enrich your creative identity.

Through different writing exercises, you will learn how to communicate in written and oral form to clarify and present ideas coherently, an important asset in navigating any professional field.

Cambridge offers the tranquility for concentrated thinking and writing, while the city’s rich cultural traditions provide a visually stimulating environment. Museum visits and tours will supplement the workshops. These include: Fitzwilliam Museum and a punting tour in Cambridge; Tate Modern, Design Museum, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, The Photographers’ Gallery and a street art tour in London.

English