A Discussion on Arts: Rachel Smith and Trine Wade Engage in Dialogue
In the world of creative arts, Trine Wade's name stands out as a testament to the transformative power of interdisciplinary practice and self-led exploration. Wade's journey through the Open College of the Arts (OCA) has been a personal and professional odyssey, marked by growth, experimentation, and a deep-rooted commitment to her art.
Wade's process-led practice is grounded in an auto-ethnographic focus and a phenomenological methodology, allowing her to delve into the realms of embodied experience, the 'being-in-place'. This approach, coupled with her interdisciplinary method of working, has seen her create a diverse body of work spanning photography, printmaking, collage, sculpture, text, installation, and video.
The Creative Arts degree at OCA, with its flexible, multi-disciplinary structure, has been instrumental in Wade's creative development. Students can study at least two different creative subjects, such as photography, painting, music, textiles, and creative writing, enabling them to mix and match disciplines and develop a unique, personalized approach to creative practice.
Wade's advice to current and potential students is to treat the coursework and assignments as guidelines, not set in stone. She encourages students to make the coursework and assignments work for them, reflecting on their choices and documenting them for the tutors and assessors. This approach, she believes, allows for a more authentic and meaningful creative journey.
Time has been a significant factor in Wade's growth and development of her art practice. She prefers to work with long-term projects that allow her ideas and intentions to develop over time. This patience and dedication are evident in her most recent project, where she symbolically brought her grandad home to a coastal town in Norway through site-specific art installations.
The journey has not been without its challenges. Wade admits that working in isolation, particularly in terms of lacking peers to bounce ideas off and learn techniques from, has been a significant hurdle. However, she has found solace and support in the online student community, which she describes as a valuable source of encouragement, suggestions, and camaraderie.
The highlight of Wade's degree has been the degree itself and the personal projects developed during stage 3. Her degree experience has been personally meaningful, reaching an audience beyond the OCA. As she continues her creative journey, Wade is currently applying for a practice-based PhD to continue developing as an artist and researcher.
In conclusion, the Creative Arts degree at OCA fosters interdisciplinary creative practice and confidence in students, providing a flexible, student-centered framework that encourages exploration across artistic fields and nurtures creative confidence. For Trine Wade, this approach has been a catalyst for personal and artistic growth, transforming her into a confident, interdisciplinary artist with a unique and powerful voice in the world of creative arts.
[1] Open College of the Arts (OCA), (2022). About OCA. Retrieved 15 March 2023, from https://www.oca.ac.uk/about-oca
[2] Open College of the Arts (OCA), (2022). Creative Arts. Retrieved 15 March 2023, from https://www.oca.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate-courses/creative-arts
[3] Open College of the Arts (OCA), (2022). Creative Arts: Mixing and Matching Disciplines. Retrieved 15 March 2023, from https://www.oca.ac.uk/blog/creative-arts-mixing-and-matching-disciplines
- Trine Wade's transformative journey in the creative arts, marked by interdisciplinary practice and self-led exploration, underscores the potential for personal and professional growth in education-and-self-development programs like the Creative Arts degree offered by the Open College of the Arts (OCA).
- Despite the challenges of working in isolation, Wade's unique and powerful voice in the world of creative arts is a testament to the confidence fostered and the interdisciplinary creative practice encouraged by education-and-self-development programs such as the Creative Arts degree at OCA.
