A Movable Print Studio: How can larger cohorts of illustration Foundation students have access to printmaking in the absence of a permanent print studio at Lime Grove?
During this academic year, building works have impacted the access to technical resources, leading to the print studio being either closed or with limited capacity. The increase in student numbers has also impacted the way we can access technical resources and deliver curriculum. This project aims to test if we can still use printmaking in the absence of a studio, and if we can rethink how we teach in larger cohorts by bringing print workshops into teaching areas.
By working closely with print technicians, I am hoping to remove barriers that stop students engaging with printmaking, the most present one being the lack of accessibility into the area due to closures and student numbers.
I am not looking to develop a love of print in students, but to expose them to technical tools so they can make informed decisions about the mediums in their work.
My positionality: I am a lecturer in illustration at UAL Foundation course and an illustrator with a freelance design practice. Through both of these roles I understand academic settings and client based professional environments, where they overlap, differ and feed into each other. The better understanding students have of production methods such as print, the better prepared they are to navigate professional settings. I am CSM alumni and was an international student learning how the UK’s education system worked and what barriers I faced when accessing technical areas.
1st Draft: After my proposed intervention in Unit 2 of the PGCert, I knew I wanted to address printmaking in large cohorts and how difficult it is to access those resources. The 1st draft focused more on the accessibility for students into print studioand visibility of the areawithlarge cohorts. At this stage, I was counting on print studios being fully functional by November.
2nd Draft: after a tutorial with tutor and peers, the focus shifted more into accessibility into print without a permanent location (technical studios not to be open) and how the student experience would be heavily impacted by this. I got confirmation that print studios will not be open for the full academic year – provisional studios with reduced capacity will be available by the end of 2025. Feedback also mentioned making sure students where not under the age of 18, so I requested the student profile from my line manager.
By the second draft I had the information that no students would be under the age of 18 at the time of the workshops. I was advised to be transparent and brief the students that I was conducting a research project and that I would be observing the session and taking notes. This was a key part of the Ethics of the project because the workshop was embedded into a teaching session that students could not opt out of. I would also take photos of the session. They could opt out of being photographed or have their work photographed without any repercussions. It was advised to censor all of the student’s and staff’s faces on the photos.
FINAL DRAFT: after tutorial and announcements of temporary studio location being ready by the second workshop. Focus shifts finally into accessibility and lessening the impact of not having a studio for the full academic year by bringing the print studio into teaching areas and facilitating the use of the smaller, temporary studio with large cohort.
Initially I was going to interview staff and students after both workshops happened, but after the final tutorial I reflected on how interviewing the students would not give me the data I was looking for. Because much of the ARP is around delivering curriculum without them being impacted by the absence of the print studio, bringing this to light would not be a good idea. Its better to focus on staff who have full knowledge of the closures and delay in opening of technical areas.
“not simply theoretical flexibility, but flexibility in terms of research question, sample size and constitution, data collection method, and approaches to meaning generation” (Clarke & Braun, 2017) thematic analysis
The changes on the research question seemed small but where heavily dictated by the construction works and no clear end dates throughout the project. I had to be flexible with it because I was never sure what would happen.
References:
Clarke, V & Braun, V (2017). Thematic analysis. The Journal of Positive Psychology
I’ve identified that workshops and interviews are the most adequate way to gather the data that I need for this project. Workshops with students using the 2 most requested print processes in the Print area.
The interviews focus on Staff rather than students. I would like to know what difficulties and discoveries Technical staff and academic staff faced when delivering the workshops from their unique perspective.
WORKSHOP 1: Screenprintingwith Specialist Communication Design students (October 2025)
2 groups of 41 students (82 students total) over 2 days. Bringing the print equipment into the teaching studio to give 82 students an introduction to basic printmaking as a group rather than 1 to 1.
The benefit of an in-class activity is the same as demonstrations, in that it increases attention and students are able to see a phenomena unfold, but are also able to personally manipulate and practice using that phenomena in a first-hand environment’ (Forsyth, 2003).
By having the equipment in the specialist rooms we can introduce a large cohort into the basics of screenprinting and do both academic and technical teaching in one session. Technical staff would not have to induct and brief small groups multiple times, taking some strain off them.This enables 2 types of teaching in 1 session.
Why a workshop? This has to be a hands-on embedded print workshop because it is a fundamental part of Foundation – students need to experiment, test and try new things.“The Foundation Diploma is designed to prepare students for specialist undergraduate degrees in art and design subjects. It’s a year of exciting projects, new faces and experiences that will inform your future study, career and creative life.” (UAL FAD Course overview, 2025)
Print technician Amber Ward briefing students before print session on colour separation and stencil cutting.Stencil Briefing material prepared by print technician Will Davey – available to students via Moodle.students screenprinting paper stencils / final 2 colour prints.students screenprinting with technicians Amber Ward and Will Davey.
WORKSHOP 2: RISOwith illustration pathway students (November 2025)
illustration pathway students in pairs (32 pairs)
By this stage, a temporary print workshop was available but at reduced capacity. For this workshop, the aim was to introduce students to Riso printing through an embedded workshop that allowed them to understand how Riso works, how they can access it and produce an outcome for their pathway project. The workshop was written in collaboration with technical where each pair received 20 prints that they later tiled onto areas of the building – showing the potential of the process.
Briefing on steps to create riso tile in pairs (delivered in studio by tutor)Technician Amber Ward explaining the Riso print process and use of machine with examples in the provisional Printmaking studio student work produced during the workshop
Reflection after the workshops:
I need to try and gather information on whether they had any impact. I don’t think you can quantify if the workshops were “useful” in a measurable way without a more extensive research project (using a control group over a period of time), but I can use observation and interviews.
Interview 1: Print Technician WD (face to face interview)
This was my first time interviewing people and I have to admit it was harder than I thought. When interviewing staff after the workshops I thought I wanted to have very Structured interviews (Alvesson, 2012) but I quickly realised that a more relaxed and conversational approach was better. So the in-person interview (with print technician) became Semi-structured where the interviewee could more freely reflect on their ambitions for the future rather than just reflecting on what had happened. I wasn’t expecting that the interview would lead into a conversation about thinking about possible future projects.
Because of time constraints, I could only conduct email interviews with my colleagues – Communication media (Alvesson, 2012) and how this affected the replies I got. I couldn’t ask for follow ups after the email was sent and the conversational tone was lost and the responses became more professionalised. If I had more time, I would have preferred to do all interviews in person and semi structured.
Alvesson mentions the Neo-Positivist approach of “Being neutral and avoiding getting personal”, but this was a difficult thing to adhere to. Because the people I interviewed where “in the trenches” with me, so to speak, it is inevitable that things get personal. “The problem with this, as is being increasingly recognized, is that respondents may produce only superficial and cautious responses” (Alvesson, 2012) The email interviews where useful but a lot less insightful. Does it matter if the interview gets derailed and descends into a rant about management? maybe this is exactly where the interview would be most useful?
References:
Hackathorn, J. (2011) ‘Learning by Doing: An Empirical Study of Active Teaching Techniques’, The Journal of Effective Teaching, pp. 45 – 60
Forsyth, D. R. (2003). The professor’s guide to teaching: Psychological principles and practices. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Alvesson, (2012) Views on Interviews: A Skeptical Review. Sage Research Methods
UAL (2026). UAL Foundation Diploma in Art and Design. [online] UAL. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/subjects/communication-and-graphic-design/pre-degree-courses/ual-foundation-diploma-in-art-and-design?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23272727930&gbraid=0AAAAApGAH_0UeRqffRUKErXQH8wBsKyn3&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxsSGhIOLkgMVN5NQBh2RZzYVEAAYASAAEgIhv_D_BwE [Accessed 14 Jan. 2026].
My data collection tools where live workshops embedded into projects and interviews with print technicians and Academic staff involved. I identified the following ways of analysing the data collected:
Field Notes and Observations: observing from both workshops, making notes.
Thematic analysis of interviews: with Technical print staff, Academic staff and Line manager.
Co-Authorship with Technical: collaborating, planning and reflecting with print technicians.
Field Notes: Getting myself into the role of tutor and also observer for the session required me to step back from my usual role to embody the role of the researcher. I constantly observe when I teach, but this time it was more intentional and I undoubtably missed things. “In everyday life we take for granted, hence rendering invisible, the very things that would be relevant to the observer.“ (Tjora, 2006)
Bearing in mind that “Field notes are encoded with author’s conscience, understandings and interpretations” (Coffey, 1996) These where things that I observed:
Tjora (2006) talks about “bracket one’s own knowledge in a somewhat extreme manner and apply an “extra – naive” metaphor” – in this case Im mixing mundane naive observation with my experience of teaching to make my observations and use them to proceed with the APR. This observations are through the lens of my own biased experiences, and would not be complete without speaking to other people that were present. Because I use print to teach and in my own practice, I am biased towards if the workshop was useful or went well.
2. Thematic analysis of interviews:
After the interviews there is a clear sense from staff wanting to collaborate, but the lack of course wide policy is an obstacle – the increase of student numbers is something that everyone is finding challenging.
Themes that emerged:
Large cohorts: numbers are not going down, so shifting the way we teach and deliver technical resources has to adapt. This includes how to expose more people to technical areas at the same time – doing in session workshops is a model that is worth looking at. How feasible is it?
Ambitious scale: larger student numbers can mean more ambitious ways of applying print – rather than think about how to solve bespoke projects, are there ways of writing projects that incorporate print at a large scale? collaboration between students (or even pathways) can shift the usage of print from bespoke and editions to scale and visibility
Management intervention (show don’t tell): shifting cultures in management can only happen through evidential examples – if we run workshops that show the ambition, there is a higher chance that changes can be considered. My line manager mentioned that she couldn’t see what the students did, she was not on the ground floor, but at management level people had taken note of the model.
3.Co-Authorship with technical:
Crafting workshops in collaboration through conversation and understanding both technical and academic needs. how can we make this meaningful for both? We Identified the most popular print methods that needed to be “inducted”. It was important that the workshops where embedded into the project to deepen the leaning – according to the technicians, inductions can sometimes not be effective because students don’t retain the information. By linking them to a project, students understand the process in context. technicians were invested in having students learn to use the print methods in a more meaningful way.
Conclusion:
From my point of view, There are things I would like to try out after this ARP. Ive opened my approach to teaching by wanting to do more collaborative projects with technical and not just print. Im currently arranging access to other technical areas that could use similar models of accessibility. One of the things I Like about teaching Foundation is that it is only 1 year long, making the turnaround faster and the delivery dynamic – we can re-evaluate every year and try things (if it doesn’t work, we can change it!)
References:
Tjora, A (2006). writing small discoveries: an exploration of fresh observer’s observations Qualitative research.
Jones, L. (2010). documenting classroom life: how can I write about what I am seeing? Qualitative research.
Coffey, A. (1996) ‘The Power of Accounts: Authority and Authorship in Ethnography’, Qualitative Studies in Education
Various maps I made to plan, visualise and brainstorm the ARP.
“Mess tends to have connotations of being sloppy, of not being a good researcher. By tidying away the ‘messy area’, however, we believed that research reports were not only giving researchers a false sense of what participation in research might look and feel like but also were not reporting what we were beginning to articulate as a valuable part of the process itself.” (Cook, 2009)
I feel an impulse to carve a clear path that explains my ARP similar to what we try and teach students: idea generation – research – experimentation – outcome, but now more than ever I can see that its not so straightforward. This project has gone through iterations and has unearthed many issues that can’t be “solved” but can certainly be acknowledged: unfinished building works, large cohorts, accessibility, student backgrounds. Narrowing down ideas was difficult because the issues are all interconnected. Here is where the mess comes in and where I had to identify what thread to pull.
It is Some students first time in UK education system and are not sure what the rules are. Expecting students to always take the initiative is not fair on them. Students that tend to use the print studio are the ones that already feel confident with doing so due to previous print knowledge (in school for example). These are some of the reasons I wanted to conduct this project, the more barriers I can lower, the better.
“in contemporary university, diversity encompasses language, background, ethnicity, class and financial background, age, sexuality, religion, disability, gender, previous educational experience and so on. With this comes a range of abilities, aspirations, motivations and behaviours…” “For these reasons, those of us responsible for teaching in higher education cannot make assumptions about the previous experiences and expectations of our students” (Bamber, 2015)
Email communications received by staff regarding technical spaces (left), Student briefing about spaces (right)
Students had no knowledge of technical spaces not being open, but they where not getting parity from last year’s cohort. Much of this relies on staff to “make it work” and when the goal posts keep moving, its difficult to plan accordingly. The project went through changes every time I received an email about the state of the workshops. As frustrating as this was, it made the project more focused and relevant – It felt like my project was important in the current climate and this fuelled me to continue.
The most inspiring part of the project was to see that many of my colleagues resonated and supported my ARP – it felt like a team effort and it became bigger than the PGCert. Without the intervention of my line manager, the enthusiasm of my colleague and the generosity of the print Technicians I don’t think it would have been possible. We where making this project work together, and it was benefiting our students noticeably. What could be more inspiring than that?
(From an interview with my Line Manager at UAL FAD) “With so many students on the course, we have been looking in the Illustration pathway for approaches which can introduce processes and open up access to technical facilities to a wider body of students.” (Alexander, 2026)
The interviews revealed that both academic and technical would like more collaboration and can see the benefit of embracing the large cohort. We can write and test more ambitious projects, expand the scope of what can be done with print and embrace collective learning. I am currently planning workshops for part 3 of the course with print staff.
The biggest barrier was shifting the culture of how to access technical. We need a new system that is ours, not a “this is how we have always done it” approach. Foundation has a chance to make something unique to us so why not try? We can look at how other colleges approach this as research, but we should only adopt what works for us. Change is how we keep current and relevant for our students.
An unexpected outcome from the project has been that Technical staff have ran workshops with other Pre-Degree courses. It is a model that has been expanded beyond my pathway and even Foundation. (From an interview with print technician at UAL FAD) “We ran an adaptation for another communication course on the pre-degree course and that was very similar and that went really well” (Davey, 2026)
What started as a way to solve a temporary problem has become something that can be integrated with more intention into how we teach. Its exciting to think that this project could provide insight into these new models of delivery.
References:
Cook, T (2009). The purpose of mess in action research: building rigour through a messy turn. Educational Action Research, Routledge.
Tjora, A (2006). writing small discoveries: an exploration of fresh observer’s observations Qualitative research.
Hackathorn, J. (2011) ‘Learning by Doing: An Empirical Study of Active Teaching Techniques’, The Journal of Effective Teaching, pp. 45 – 60
Bamber, V & Jones, A (2015), Enabling inclusive learning, ch 11, pp 154-168
Tjora, A (2006). writing small discoveries: an exploration of fresh observer’s observations Qualitative research.
Jones, L. (2010). documenting classroom life: how can I write about what I am seeing? Qualitative research.
Hackathorn, J. (2011). ‘Learning by Doing: An Empirical Study of Active Teaching Techniques’, The Journal of Effective Teaching, pp. 45 – 60
Forsyth, D. R. (2003). The professor’s guide to teaching: Psychological principles and practices. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association
Carey, J (2020). Thinking avant la lettre: A Review of 4E Cognition. Evol Stud Imaginative Cult. [Wellcome Trust Fellow in the Medical Humanities]
Lucero, J (2020). Teacher as artist in residence. The John F. Kennedy center for the performing arts,
Sams, C (2016). How do art and design technicians conceive of their role in higher education?. Spark: UAL Creative Teaching and Learning Journal.
Bamber, V & Jones, A (2015). Challenging students: Enabling Inclusive learning
Kara, H (2015). Creative research methods in the social sciences: A practical Guide. Policy Press, Bristol.
Bourke, J & Dillon, B (2018) The diversity and inclusion revolution: Eight powerful truths. Deloitte Review
Tormey, R (2021). Rethinking student-teacher relationships in higher education: a multidimensional approach. Higher Education.
Stoetzler, M & Yuval-Davis, N (2002). Standpoint theory, situated knowledge and the situated imagination. Feminist Theory, London
Clarke, V. & Braun, V. (2017). Thematic analysis. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 12(3), pp. 297-298
Cook, T (2009). The purpose of mess in action research: building rigour through a messy turn. Educational Action Research, Routledge
Alvesson, (2012) Views on Interviews: A Skeptical Review. London, Sage Research Methods
UAL (2026). UAL Foundation Diploma in Art and Design. [online] UAL. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/subjects/communication-and-graphic-design/pre-degree-courses/ual-foundation-diploma-in-art-and-design?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23272727930&gbraid=0AAAAApGAH_0UeRqffRUKErXQH8wBsKyn3&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxsSGhIOLkgMVN5NQBh2RZzYVEAAYASAAEgIhv_D_BwE [Accessed 14 Jan. 2026].
Coffey, A. (1996) ‘The Power of Accounts: Authority and Authorship in Ethnography’, Qualitative Studies in Education
British Educational Research Association [BERA]. (2024). Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research (5th ed.). www.bera.ac.uk/publication/ethical-guidelines-for-educational-research-2024
The FAD course at UAL has moved to a new campus where the location of the print studio has become difficult to access. Students with limited mobility have not been considered in the layout of the new building as it is located at the back of the campus only reachable through an uneven pavement that makes it difficult to wheel things through it. The doors to access the studio are heavy, old and cannot open automatically. There is only 1 lift in whole building and students on higher floors would have to take a long route to access it.
My intervention proposes to experiment and trial a movable print studio, where processes can be miniaturised and used in other areas of the building, bringing the print studio to students with limited mobility rather than asking them to go to it.
Context:
Teaching space and print studio in previous campus and current campus.
The illustration pathway where I teach has always had a strong connection to printmaking. The nature of the discipline embraces image making in many forms, print being an important one. In the previous campus, the print studio was attached to the teaching space, making it accessible to anyone. The lost connection to the print studio has diminished the link between the teaching environment and the technical one. Students are not integrating technical resources and their work has reflected this. The loss of what printmaking brings has also been noted – many of the things print facilitates in the studio organically, such as peer to peer learning, collaboration, active learning by doing have been diminished.
Inclusive learning:
If the print studio is difficult to access for students with limited mobility, there is a legal duty under the equality act to make ‘reasonable adjustments’. One of these adjustments can include bringing equipment to the student rather than expecting the student to access the space. To not do so could result in students taking legal action under UK law.
According to the UK Equality act (2010)
“The second requirement is a requirement, where a physical feature puts a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage in relation to a relevant matter in comparison with persons who are not disabled, to take such steps as it is reasonable to have to take to avoid the disadvantage.“
The social model of disability at UAL argues that people are not disabled, but they become disabled because of their environment, including buildings. To have a version of the print studio that is movable and adjustable is to change the building students inhabit. This is exactly what the social model of disability encourages:
“We are disabled by barriers in the world around us. We don’t need to change who we are. We can change the world around us. We can change buildings, and courses, and attitudes.”
The movable print studio would start to address some of the accessibility issues and in turn, cover other areas that would benefit students as a whole. The positive effects this intervention could have on the student cohort are unknown, but one of them would be collective exposure. The movable print studio would expose and explain print to more students rather than relying on their previous print knowledge. Many students, especially international students, are unsure on how to approach technical areas and this would expose them in a more collective way rather than putting this responsibility just on them.
The physicality of printmaking is an example of Embodied cognition theory: cognition does not only occur inside the head (Carney, 2020) and the use of our bodies is a part of how we process information – if students have different contexts in which they are learning, learning becomes more effective. Often times studio space is a big issue where I teach, students can become crammed into spaces and not move from their chosen seat, and actively encouraging them to use their body in a different way can increase engagement with the sessions. The same happens when students are able to get involved with a technical element as a group rather than going to the print studio one by one.
‘The benefit of an in-class activity is the same as demonstrations, in that it increases attention and students are able to see a phenomena unfold, but are also able to personally manipulate and practice using that phenomena in a first-hand environment’ (Forsyth, 2003).
Reflection:
As the FAD is undergoing so many changes, why not trial something different? The student cohort has gone from roughly 500 students in 2023 to 1000, and with that challenge we need to adapt how we teach. Some of the models we relied on might not be suitable moving forward, especially when it comes to accessibility. A movable print studio would give students the chance to explore working at different scales and in different locations of the campus or even outside. This intervention is important for the illustration area but could be scaled up to other areas and could also focus on students taking command of how they shape the studio.
Feedback I received from peers and my tutor mentioned interviewing print technicians to ask what processes could be made smaller and more versatile (miniaturised) – the answer was all of them. The size of the presses in the print studio vary from A2 to A5, but there are other types of relief presses exist that are lightweight and movable. Screenprinting can be done in other areas if paper stencils are used and there is access to a water source for clean up. The only process that cannot be reduced in size is the Risograph, however, it is a machine that can be wheeled out of the print studio and just needs an electrical outlet.
The main challenge is, understandably, the opposition to the intervention from printmaking’s line managers. This is new territory and there are some blurry lines that need to be decided: who pays for the resources? (ink and paper) Technicians cannot abandon their post in case other students need them (could this be a bookable session where the main print studio closes for a few hours?).
Action:
A trial of a in-studio screenprinting workshop will happen in early October of this year. 60 communication design students will create a 2 colour screenprint with the help of tutors and 2 technicians. Ive been in conversation through my line manager with the print technicians line manager and the conclusion was that we will take a leap of faith and test this mode of working. The involvement of the technicians would also include a briefing of what they offer in the print area as a technical resource. This is invaluable as a live experiment because Im sure there will be variables that I hadn’t even considered. I have the intention of doing an evaluation after the trial where I ask students, tutors and technicians their impressions of it. To have this trial happening has had resonance with other staff in the illustration area and the excitement of testing something different has made people support the initiative.
an A4 Pooki press
Recently, I learned that one of the course leaders who is familiar with printmaking purchased 4 small scale pooki presses for the communication area. With her decision to do this, we now have access to small scale relief presses. This is a great step on trialing other types of printmaking and the possibilities of their use are endless. The fact that she did this after speaking to my line manager makes me think that the need for more access to print is more prevalent than I thought and that there are people within the University that are resonating with this idea too. “The setting of specific diversity goals has been found to be one of the most effective methods for increasing representation” (Bourke, 2018) What can be more tangible and specific than physical equipment?
Evaluation:
This process has made me reflect on how I can approach an idea with enthusiasm and a level of naïveté, but that the technical aspects of an intervention need to be solved and looked at with an analytical head – this is what would make the difference between a vague idea and something tangible that can be enacted. Edward De Bono’s theory of 6 hats has been helpful to look at a challenge from every side including the negative and objective sides of it.
I have also learned that this intervention has to center disability as the main catalyst for inclusive learning. Just because, at present, I have not had a student with mobility issues does not mean that I shouldn’t think about how it can be addressed. In time, It would be of great value to run the idea by the disability advisor of Lime Grove to get the perspective of the group of people that are most impacted. This approach of being “culturally intelligent” and being attentive to others cultures and adapt as required (Bourke, 2018) is essential in a teaching environment if we want change to happen.
Conclusion:
Accessibility is currently an issue in the print studio at Lime Grove and my intervention proposes a movable print studio that allows inclusive learning for students with mobility issues. Plans are in place to trial run this type of teaching/learning to evaluate its effectiveness in delivering workshops to a broader student cohort. If students cannot easily access print equipment they are being excluded from learning spaces. This not only impacts their work but crosses into the legal requirements that the university has to provide.
It is clear to me that this intervention would require a top down approach where it needs to be bought in by heads of departments rather than me speaking individually to staff members. If staff members take shared ownership of this initiative, the success rate will probably be higher.
Sources:
Evol Stud Imaginative Cult. 2020 ; 4(1): 77–90. doi:10.26613/esic/4.1.172, Thinking avant la lettre: A Review of 4E Cognition James Carney [Wellcome Trust Fellow in the Medical Humanities]
UAL (2020). Disability and dyslexia. [online] UAL. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/students/student-services/disability-and-dyslexia. (accessed 19 Jun. 2025)
Arts.ac.uk. (2025). [online] Available at: https://canvas.arts.ac.uk/sites/explore/SitePage/45679/disability-service-training (Accessed 19 Jun. 2025).
GOV.UK (2010). Equality Act 2010. [online] Legislation.gov.uk. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/section/20.
Bourke, J. (2018) ‘The Diversity and inclusion revolution. Eight powerful truths’, Deloitte review, pp. 1 – 19
Hackathorn, J. (2011) ‘Learning by Doing: An Empirical Study of Active Teaching Techniques’, The Journal of Effective Teaching, pp. 45 – 60
Creative drawing workshop for Foundation online session, 2021
Some years ago, in the thick of online teaching in Blackboard Collaborate due to Covid-19 restrictions, I wrote and ran a workshop on Creative Drawing for Foundation students. One of the tasks was to make a self portrait that we would pop up to introduce some 3D thinking into the work. I asked students to draw a front and side profile of themselves and assemble it like in the example above. While I gave the group time to do this, one student raised their virtual hand and spoke up
“My religion does not allow me to draw faces. Can I draw an object instead?”
I replied that of course they could, but as I stared at the list of names of students I had never met in person on the other side of my screen I realised that this was the first time I had heard about this. It’s called Aniconism and is not uncommon in some religious faiths. Defined by Encyclopaedia Britannica, aniconism in religion is: opposition to the use of icons or visual images to depict living creatures or religious figures.
Since then this has made me reflect on the importance of inclusive teaching and adaptability. Advance HE mentions inclusive teaching and learning to:
“maximise the participation and engagement of all students in the learning environment. This could include acknowledging different identities, understanding different backgrounds or anticipating different requirements”(AHEA)
I write curriculum for my area alongside my colleagues and this is something that is not always present at the moment of crafting a project. Adaptability is possible, especially in art and design subjects, but until we are faced with a challenge we don’t often think about it while writing the material. Being fractional staff means that the time allocated to writing is limited and not always allows to cover all the bases before a project goes live.
Something I noticed while teaching online was the loss of any visual cues that could give me some insight into students. This is important from a safeguarding point of view, but there is a danger with the assumption that appearance and clothing can determine how a student will act or any beliefs they might have. Ibtihal Ramadan talks about the impact that the use of certain items of clothing can mean for female academics, and I think this relates to students too.
‘The hijab or the niqab are central to these discourses that highlight gendered Islamophobia. The discourse surrounding hijab or niqab designates MW’s ‘radical otherness’ and associates it with religious oppression and cultural backwardness’ (Ramadan)
To what extent are students worried about how they are being perceived by tutors and peers? Are the curriculum, projects and references presented supporting inclusivity?
Sources:
AHEA. (2018) ‘Religion and belief: supporting inclusion of staff and students in higher education and colleges’, Advance HE, pp. 01 – 23
Ramadan, I. (2021) ‘When faith intersects with gender: the challenges and successes in the experiences of Muslim women academics’, Gender and Education, pp. 01 – 16
Encyclopedia Britannica. (n.d.). Aniconism | religion. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/aniconism. (accessed 9 July 2025)
