What is Studio?

Introduction

In the Australian education sector the diverse, complex and nuanced meaning and application of the term ‘studio’ is considered central to numerous disciplines, particularly in the fields of creative endeavour.  These encompass the plastic and performative arts along with other fields such as fashion, journalism, multi-media and creative writing.  This study limits itself to the traditional core of the plastic arts of Art, Architecture and Design where studio has a long-standing and fundamental role in defining the practice of educational concepts such as flexible learning, reflective practice, learning in action, and embedded learning.

Within the disciplines of Art, Architecture and Design, the role of studio is valued highly and considered intrinsic to learning. The Studio Teaching Project aim of identifying, describing and investigating the circumstances and characteristics of studio in Art, Architecture and Design was initially confounded by assumptions of a shared understanding of the concept of the term: ‘studio’. Despite widespread usage of the term in the sector there is a variety of divergence in intentions and meaning between disciplines, across disciplines and within institutions.  An elision between the use of studio as a noun and verb occurs frequently, unconsciously and culturally.

An understanding of studio and its contribution to learning is dependent upon first unravelling and illuminating these distinctions.  Consequently, in the educational context, studio can be identified as one or more of the following learning constructs: