The 2011 RCA Show has all the trade marks of an old hand at play, featuring the Sculpture, Print Making, Painting and Photography departments showing for the first time together in Battersea.

A review of Chelsea BA Fine Art 2011 Degree Show, by Jenny Evans

(Also published by a-n, Degrees Unedited)

Last week, Stephen Farthing said ‘art school can’t make anyone a good artist. A good artist happens to you.’ Art school can help, of course. But something is required of the individual.

By Matthew Miles

Forty years into their careers, many still expect Gilbert and George to serve up shocks. On this showing of 564 new postcard works, sensation-seekers better look elsewhere – unless, that is, the word ‘urethra’ gets you prickly with embarrassment.

Originally published in a-n Magazine as July-August 2010 Debate

In a recent presentation to peers, tutors and her Goldsmiths degree show audiences, Sarah Rowles asks: Does art education come with a key to understanding art and making more informed judgments about art?

Art cannot be taught and any teacher who thinks they can teach it is going to be a bad teacher. A good teacher is one who thinks of himself or herself not as a teacher at all but simply as an artist. Likewise a good student is one who doesn't see himself or herself as a student but again as an artist. All there is and all there can ever be between art teacher and art student is a conversation - an informal and spontaneous exchange of ideas, knowledge and experience - and this is quite enough.

Drawing from the Artists talking blogs (an.co.uk/artists_talking) this article will examine the many positive benefits of keeping an artist’s blog.