When reflecting on Term One of 2025 at AUB with Lorna Doyle from BA (Hons) Fine Art, we spoke about her first week in halls through to her most valuable lessons from the term.
Can you summarise what you study as a first-year BA (Hons) Fine Art student?
So far, my course involves a significant amount of exploring different art forms, such as painting, drawing, sculpture work, performance and photography, rather than focusing on one style. I really enjoy the opportunity to learn more about contemporary art forms, which shows how relevant the course is to modern practice – quite like all AUB courses.
If you could summarise your first week moving into halls in three words, what would you say and why?
I would say my first week was busy, fun and social. I made a great number of new friends in the first few days, especially from going to lots of the fresher’s activities run through the ResLife at my halls. I really enjoyed activities like beach and Bournemouth orientation walks, movie nights, craft sessions like tote bag painting and getting out on my own. All these helped me form good friendships and to get to know the area.
What skill do you feel you have developed most during this term?
My favourite project was my final art piece for our end-of-term exhibition. I had been interested in body painting for quite a while, so to finally be able to do it was super exciting for me. I found being able to paint some of my flatmates and new friends from uni a really nice bonding experience, as we got to chat and get to know each other more. I also found it really satisfying to let loose and paint in any way I liked, it was a great starting point for my journey at AUB.
Additionally, I have learnt more about not taking my art too seriously. I have learnt to play around more freely with my work, not thinking too much about the final outcome but being present in the process of making. This more expressive approach to my work as helped me develop new skills and discover an approach that was quite unfamiliar to me before. The freedom to do what you love at AUB and tailor your project to your own style is amazing.
