As the coronavirus pandemic continues to affect most aspects of our lives, students are still trying to adjust to the sudden transition to online learning. This transition is especially challenging for art majors, and we can see that from the record high gap-year rates.
Disciplines that rely more on text-based study materials can be more easily taught remotely, but art courses are inherently more practical. They require access to certain equipment, and students get graded by creating art projects and submitting them for appraisal.
However, artists are known for their creativity and resilience, and as you would expect, they have found ways to adapt when faced with adversity. They’re experimenting with new mediums and coming up with unconventional ideas to make the most of the “new normal.”
The Arts Are Meant To Be Shared
The social distancing measures implemented to slow down the spread of the novel coronavirus have been especially hard for art majors who were just finishing their degrees since it was no longer possible to organize art shows and performances. These public presentations of the skills you have acquired during your studies were not just capstone experiences but also an important means for younger students to learn.
Some of these performances have been moved online, but many of the benefits were lost. Similarly, acting classes can make use of video conferencing platforms like Zoom, but the in-person contact and the vulnerability that comes with feeling a room fool of people watching you perform cannot be replicated remotely.
Students enrolled in dance programs have had problems finding the space they need to practice since administration and faculty were caught off guard and needed time to work out the logistics.
The transition was smoother for visual art programs since visual arts have historically been a solitary practice and therefore better suited for remote learning.
In this field, students also tend to be self-motivated and spend a lot of time doing independent projects, so resources like instructional videos and academic research transcription services have proved to be very effective. Professors can also find a lot of resources already online on platforms like YouTube since many people study visual arts as a hobby and this sort of content was popular even before the pandemic.
Of course, there are some challenges for visual arts as well. Attention spans tend to be shorter online, so lectures have had to be broken down to their essence. Moreover, having twenty students working on the same project in the same room meant that they learn from each other, and professors could correct them and demonstrate the proper techniques whenever needed.
Now, this has to be done digitally, and there’s less room for spontaneity and flexibility.
Teaching online is definitely more work and can never be a perfect substitute for in-person methods, but it does have its advantages. As we mentioned in the introduction, students are experimenting with different mediums, so as much as the pandemic has caused disruption, having to use their creativity to adapt has been a valuable learning opportunity.