Students are returned to the liberating joy of learning, an experience far back in the memory of researchers at this advanced level. Much education at a higher level and in research contexts is conducted in the spirit of guided co-discovery. Here, the clear distinction of students and teachers thus comes almost as a shock – but they have as a common purpose the process of learning, understanding and finding new relevance. For the duration of the project, this is a shared journey, and one that brought as much satisfaction and simulation to the teachers as to the students.
The openness of both students and teachers are key to engendering the trust necessary for the success of this project. The ethos of the week is set out in the pamphlet inviting applications. At the start of the week itself, the director, Jonathan Impett, gave an introduction to the ideas behind this project, to the structure of the bootcamp itself, and to the selection and relevance of the subjects to be studied.
The commonalities between the subjects taught, and their wide relevance to projects and issues in artistic research, emerge as lively debating points for students and teachers alike as they explore these areas together.