Artistic and technical laboratories 2300-S2-MAD-LAT
The Artistic and Technical Laboratory is a workshop-based course focused on learning through action, design and reflection on experience. Its starting point is the creative studio as a learning environment: a place where knowledge is not only transmitted but produced through contact with material, tools, design problems, other participants and the potential recipients of future educational or animation activities.
The program includes a series of workshops organized in collaboration with the UW Incubator. Each student creates their own personalized schedule from the offerings of Makerspace@UW. Available workshops include DIY, sewing, computer embroidery, woodworking, electronics, and 3D printing. The goal of the workshops is to acquire specific practical skills useful for carrying out social and artistic projects.
The classes involve developing a concept for a mini-project that utilizes the tools and techniques learned during the selected workshops. During the course, students go through a full cycle of work: from formulating an idea and choosing a medium, through participation in workshops and making a tangible form, to documentation, presentation and critical discussion of the outcome. The work may take the form of an artistic or technical installation, a functional object, a sculpture, a decorative or artistic textile, a prototype, a scenographic element, an educational tool, a craft-based form or another construction connected with artistic, technical or socio-cultural practice. The choice of means is determined by the actual possibilities of the selected studio, safety requirements and the quality of the educational process.
The course is not limited to producing a material object. It is equally important to understand how the process of making can become a tool of socio-cultural animation: building relationships, including diverse participants, initiating cooperation, developing agency and designing activities for children, young people or other groups. Each project should therefore be described not only as an object but also as a potential educational situation: who may use it, what kind of experience it initiates, what competences it develops and under what conditions it may be applied.
The course develops manual, design, communication and reflective skills. Students learn to document the process, justify their decisions, draw on expert knowledge, work in an open atmosphere and critically evaluate their own actions. The final outcome is a presentation of a tangible creative work accompanied by documentation and a brief self-reflection on its educational, animation and socio-cultural meaning.
Course coordinators
Type of course
Learning outcomes
In terms of knowledge, the student knows and understands:
• the relations between alternative education, artistic education, socio-cultural animation and creative making practices in a workshop environment (K2_W02);
• the specificity and operating principles of institutions and spaces that support non-formal, laboratory-based and creative forms of learning, with particular attention to makerspace-type studios as institutions within the fields of alternative education and arts education (K2_W05, K2_W06);
• basic principles of designing educational, artistic and technical activities in an inclusive, organisationally responsible way, adequate to participants’ needs (K2_W08);
• teaching methods characteristic of alternative and arts education (K2_W12);
• the role of art process documentation as a tool for reflection, communication and evaluation of animation and educational activities using information and communication technologies (K2_W17).
In terms of skills, the student is able to:
• select an appropriate studio, medium and technique, taking into account personal interests, available resources, work safety and the educational purpose of the project (K2_U02);
• design and make a tangible artistic-technical form: an object, installation, functional form, textile, sculpture, prototype or another construction consistent with the course objectives (K2_U10, K2_U13);
• document the creative process through a photo report, video or another clear record that enables analysis of subsequent design decisions (K2_U02, K2_U11);
• present the completed work, justify the adopted solutions and discuss its possible uses in alternative education, socio-cultural animation or cultural institutions (K2_U02, K2_U04, K2_U09);
• carry out basic self-reflection and evaluation of one’s own work process, identifying its strengths, limitations and possible directions for further development (K2_U07, K2_U11).
In terms of social competences, the student is ready to:
• use space, tools, materials and expert knowledge responsibly in a workshop environment (K2_K02);
• cooperate (especially in educational and artistic fields), exchange experiences and discuss creative works in an atmosphere of respect, openness and constructive criticism K2_K03, K2_K07);
• take into account diverse needs of participants in future educational and animation activities (K2_K05, K2_K07);
• continuously develop one’s pedagogical, artistic and technical workshop through practice, reflection and contact with institutions (K2_K01, K2_K06).
Assessment criteria
Assessment methods and pass requirements:
• attendance and active participation in classes and workshops; according to the provided table, two unexcused absences are permitted;
• completion of a tangible creative work consistent with the course objectives;
• documentation of the process and outcome in a form chosen by the student, such as a photo report or video;
• presentation of the work and a brief discussion of its educational, animation or socio-cultural potential;
• participation in the final discussion and reflection on the completed works.
Qualitative criteria:
• clarity of the project concept and consistency with the profile of the artistic-technical laboratory;
• reliability of the making process in the selected technique or studio;
• responsible use of tools, materials and workshop space;
• quality of process documentation: the possibility of tracing decisions, changes and outcomes;
• ability to present the socio-cultural or educational meaning of the work.