Our Mission
Creative Action provides all BFA students with a series of collaborative experiences that extends beyond the boundaries of their own major, integrates disciplinary skills and knowledge, and is sited within a public context. Students work in interdisciplinary teams with a community organization, and focus on team building and research to address the needs of the communities and to implement real- world solutions when possible. The goal is to move beyond the traditional boundaries of the classroom and respond to community challenges using students’ diverse visions.
Creative Action Mission Statement: How Can Art Transform a Community?
Through collaboration between real-world partners and multidisciplinary teams, students investigate contemporary issues and utilize their art and design skills to propose innovative solutions. Creative Action, an Integrated Learning Program (CAIL), empowers students to consider the transformative power of their work. CAIL classes actively engage diverse communities on issues of social responsibility, environmental sustainability, and cultural diversity in a cooperative effort to affect change.
Program Learning Outcomes
CA classes carry thematic and pedagogical linkages between the various semesters, but they also uniquely focus on specific skill sets corresponding to the different grade levels.
Creative Action has 3 overarching Program Learning Outcomes (PLO) that are further dissected into Class Learning Outcomes (CLO). The PLOs are in place to provide students with a series of collaborative experiences that extend beyond the boundaries of their own major, integrate disciplinary skills and knowledge, and is sited within a public context. Formally, Creative Action's PLOs are:
- Through diverse research practices, students will be able to critically analyze the social, cultural and environmental contexts of art and design problems, identify ethical considerations and develop sustainable solutions that address the needs and aspirations of the communities we engage with.
- Students will plan, propose and in some cases implement creative solutions for a specific context, informed by engagement with a community and/or group.
- Student groups will synthesize knowledge and organize ideas in an oral and visual presentation to a community partner, a classroom and/or organization.
Foundation
Flowing from the PLOs, each class-level has specific learning outcomes that tie into the larger goals of the program. They are exposed to best practices as well as successful case studies in multidisciplinary collaboration. The foundation year teaches through participant observation, with students visiting partner sites as well as interacting with guest speakers and one another. Most of the faculty in the foundation year are practicing fine artists or illustrators and grades are given based on outcomes, collaborative skills, and professional development.
Formally, foundation year learning outcomes are:
- Students will understand best practices for working in teams on a collaborative visual art and design.
- Students will be able to give a clearly articulated classroom presentation,
- Students will respond to an issue and/or site using skills and concepts based on their community engagement and basic research.
Sophomore
The sophomore CA class is administered through Otis College’s Liberal Arts and Sciences Program (LAS) and focuses on strengthening the academic research and response skills of students. Social scientists, art historians, and community organizers predominantly teach LAS classes. A major signature assignment for sophomore LAS classes is a research paper. Every student completes an 8-page research paper that is focused on relevant topics to their site partner and students create hypothetical art and design projects in groups.
Formally, sophomore year learning outcomes are:
- Students will engage in context-driven research (in terms of history, culture, and/or politics) for a specific purpose.
- Students will develop collaborative skills and work in teams.
- Student teams will organize their concepts and communicate their ideas to community partner or group.
Junior
The junior level CA classes are the ultimate culmination of the skills learned at the foundation and sophomore level. At this point, students actively engage with their site partner, are able to independently research and assess needs within the community served, and finally utilize their art and design skills collaboratively with other Otis College students to fulfill the mission of the partner organization. Specifically, students do project-driven research; they look at the ethical implications of art and design; negotiate the complexities of art and design in each unique environment; and begin to learn about project management and successful implementation. While previous sophomore and foundation classes do not focus on the creation of an actual object or piece of intellectual property, junior CA classes require this.
Formally, junior year learning outcomes are:
- Through diverse research practices, students will be able to critically analyze the social, cultural and environmental contexts of art and design problems, identify ethical considerations and develop sustainable solutions that address the needs and aspirations of the communities we engage with.
- Student groups will synthesize knowledge and organize ideas in an oral and visual presentation to a community partner, a classroom or organization.
- Students will plan, propose and in some cases implement creative solutions for a specific context, informed by engagement with a community and/or group.
Electives