A new book by Foundation Curriculum Leaders Lucy Alexander and Timothy Meara shares a year of projects and techniques from the course
Central Saint Martins Foundation gathers together exercises from across the disciplinary spectrum of Central Saint Martins’ Foundation Diploma in Art and Design. Projects range from how to drape on the body to how to have a blindfolded discussion and are interspersed with student work and advice from staff and alumni. The book shares a lot from the year-long course, both the real work created by students but also step-by-step details of projects set for them.
At the heart of the publication is the desire to make creative education accessible and approachable. The book outlines the various disciplines within Foundation, making clear the more delineated pathways beyond the mono-form subjects of art and design taught within schools.
“Art education is more threatened in schools and we are passionate about it. This is an opportunity to open our process up to everyone.”
Lucy Alexander
The book is a snapshot of activity. The hope is that anyone interested in exploring creative practice – from schoolchildren and teachers to beyond the classroom – will benefit from the publication. While Alexander and Meara are the authors, they welcomed contributions from the large community of staff on Foundation to share their approach including Ignacia Ruiz, Karen Tang, Gary Colclough and many more.
“At the beginning there was a little anxiety about how generous the book was being, but we know that our course is created by the people on it. So we can be transparent about what the course does and how. By sharing this we’re not losing anything – we feel the opposite.”
Timothy Meara
Here, we share three example pages from the book:
Central Saint Martins Foundation: Key Lesson in Art and Design by Lucy Alexander and Timothy Meara with a foreword by Grayson Perry is published by Octopus Books.
