Abstract
The Feral Art School was set up in July 2018 in response to the decimation of Hull School of Art and Design by its FE college owner, as the result of a financial crisis. The decision to dismantle an historic, financially-viable art school whose presence in the city of Hull since 1861 provided high quality art education, and to make its body of staff redundant, left only a skeleton provision for higher education art and design. Not only did this action fail to improve the financial situation of the FE college, but it reflected a financially-focused business attitude towards creative learning that has become increasingly prevalent in higher education policy-making in the UK (McGettigan, 2013; Royal Academy, 2019; CVAN, 2021).
Four years on, The Feral Art School, a cooperative comprising former tutors and students from HSAD working with other artists in the city, has developed a countercultural response to the withdrawal of provision by setting up a model of art education based on cooperation and community. With the support of Arts Council National Lottery Project funding and of partners including a local property developer and community organisations, it has to date provided courses in painting, printmaking, drawing, textiles and photography for more than 1000 individuals from communities within the city. It also provides studio space for a professional textiles and fashion collective. It has developed a business model that includes pathways from courses to supported and independent studios, training for primary school teachers, sessions for children and parents and links with community groups including asylum seekers and those with mental health issues. A cooperative approach to management keeps course fees as low as possible, while support from a local trust offers subsidies to individuals who are financially challenged.
The structure and programmes of The Feral Art School have developed through knowledge of context and need and can be described as practical decisions and actions based on a philosophy shared between members of the priority of education over profit. However, it is the results of interaction and community through this approach to art and design education that are proving its wider value in developing self-confidence, independence and the pursuit of creativity as an essential life force. It also exemplifies the benefits of organisational flexibility in being responsive to developments of what is essentially an ongoing action research project.
This presentation will set the context and approach of The Feral Art School, provide case studies explaining the impact of involvement in a structured art and design community on individuals and discuss the debate relating to quality and values in which The Feral Art School is engaged with another of its partners, The Cooperative University Project.
Bio
Jackie Goodman is a Director and Founder Member of The Feral Art School, based in Hull. She has a BA(Hons) in Textile Design & Fine Art, a MEd in Collaborative Arts Practice and a PhD which researched the narrative power of domestic space. She has taught in secondary schools and sixth form colleges and lectured in critical & theoretical studies at Hull School of Art and Design, where she was Associate Dean and course leader for Journalism and Digital Media. Jackie is a member of the Cooperative University Federation Working Group, a community of education co-operatives working to develop alternative models of education and to nurture co-operative learning.