Positive Externalities in Fine Art Education Traditionally students elect to study fine art because they perceive the making of art as a means of expressing themselves. It is all about them. While self-expression is an element in art production it is a limited source of inspiration and does not reflect the breath of possibilities and strategies afforded by the contemporary art world. A recent revaluation of the fine art programme was an opportunity to consider how we teach art, and to discuss the strategies we use to prepare students for life after university. It was also an opportunity to embed lessons learnt from pilot projects carried out over the last two years. This paper will discuss three projects that encouraged students to engage with the world around them, both locally and globally. Cheap Trends asked students to consider the materials used to make art, and to explore the potential of waste from local textile factories as a material and source of inspiration. The Writing Lab provided a physical space and resources to give students, who are often averse to academic writing, an opportunity to explore text as an element in their creative practice rather than an onerous requirement of the course. The Legacy of Leather invited students to use objects from the Museum of Leathercraft as a source of inspiration. Each of these projects had a significant element of collaboration and social engagement. All were funded and in some cases the students were involved from the initial design of the project, the funding application, the execution and review of the project. The projects were designed to give students real art world experience and each project was a model for creating and funding projects post university.

Pedagogical research and research informed teaching.