Home: Welcome

WELCOME,
TO YOUR STUDENT ASSOCIATION

We are different, together.

Allan O'Neill

When I decided I wanted to try to do something more creative with my life, OCA were really welcoming and offered the perfect blend of practice and academia with a friendly supportive culture - after 10 years with OCA, I’m still very grateful for this.

Jade Chaplin

All of my tutors have been incredible and I have learnt so much from their feedback and experience in their respective creative fields. That is probably one of the best parts of learning with OCA; I had never received such detailed feedback before, and at so many stages of my projects.

Catherine Levey

I came in to the degree barely able to draw so it's been a steep learning curve. I accepted I had a lot to learn and soaked it all up like a sponge. The experimentation has been fun and I found the failures were just as much about developing as the successes and this is one of the most important things I'll take away from this degree...progression not perfection.

We have some wonderful student led events coming up during week 1 of our Student Voice Festival, please do come along and show your peers some support, we'd love to see you there. Programme link and events link available in our bio.

Thank you to those who made it along to our Day 1 events!

#WeAreOCA #OCAStudentAssociation #OnlineLearning #StudentVoiceFestival #Creativity

Disability Pride Month is observed annually in July to celebrate the diversity, creativity, and strength of disabled people while actively challenging societal ableism.

This work was submitted by Zoe for our EDI Calendar.

"As someone who is diagnosed with Autism and ADHD. I created this piece to reflect the heartbreak we often experience not at the hands of others but through our own sensitivity and fragility. As both ADHD and Autism cause us to misunderstand and be misunderstood by others."

#WeAreOCA #OCAStudentAssociation #OnlineLearning #Degree #EDICalendar

We're excited for our upcoming Student Voice Festival: 6 - 17 July 2026. Across two weeks you will have the opportunity to meet your peers and share your thoughts and experiences on being a student at OCA. You will hear from Operational and Academic staff and take part in a variety of activities and events.

We hope you'll join us. Find a link in our bio. Open to OCA students, staff and alumni.

#WeAreOCA #OCAStudentAssociation #OnlineLearning #StudentVoice #Creativity

⏰Monday lunch time sorted! Join Oscar and BAFTA award-winning filmmaker Asif Kapadia as he shares insights into his practice.

A talk not to be missed - FREE and open to all. Monday 29 June, 12-1pm BST. RSVP ➡️ Find the events link in our bio.

#AsifKapadia #weareoca #onlinelearning #CertHE #FilmandMedia #Photography #artseducation @opencollegearts @ocastudentassociation @theopenuniversity

Who's escaping the heat to join us for an hour of speed portrait drawing to music tonight? With @kirsty.a.lockhart and @pencils4tea.

Find our event link in our bio. Open to OCA staff, students and alumni!

#WeAreOCA #OCAStudentAssociation #OnlineLearning #Degree #OCAFriends

Today 18 June is Autistic Pride Day. This work was submitted during our EDI Calendar Callout.

"The inspiration came from my own journey and recently being late-diagnosed with Autism and ADHD, making me AuDHD, in my late forties and as a mum of four young children.

Having found out I’ve been unknowingly masking all my life (until hitting burnout when I had to stop) the topic of what masking and unmasking means has become and area of interest and research for me.

The flamingos, as well as being one of my favourite birds, are constantly trying to keep balance, just to exist. They are also at various stages of unmasking. Those who have unmasked are light pink and calm, those masked are deep pink/red indicating a more stressed status, and those in the process of unmasking are gradually calming. I’ve tried to show this through a limited color palette for greater impact. Of course in life it isn’t that simple, but I was trying to find a way to make people more aware of autism and masking through this piece of work."

#WeAreOCA #OCAStudentAssociation #OnlineLearning #EDI #Pride

“I am right at the beginning of the Textiles Degree, just finished Unit 1.1 A totally absorbing and enjoyable few months spent tinkering about creating drawings, samples and collages. I am 57 and am really glad I signed up for this course.

My piece is a direct response to listening to Jess Phillips MP, who every year reads out the names of women killed or suspected of being killed by a man. Jess does this every year in Parliament as a reminder that violence against women must be tackled and must end. On March 12th she read out 107 women's names that have sadly died over the last year. These names are forever linked by this chilling statistic.

I have stitched together 107 pieces of fabric ( each fabric different ) and then woven them together. This is a rough version of my idea and so far I have tried out two colours for the warp thread. Both colours giving a different effect. I have hand stitched the number 107 over the weaving. Its not overly visible which is probably the point.”

Thanks to @cathysewsstuff for submitting her piece ‘107’ for our Protest edition of edge zine. Fine it via the link in our bio.

#WeAreOCA #OCAStudentAssociation #Protest #OnlineLearning #Zine

Excited for our virtual life drawing session with @2bornot2bcollective tonight! Who's coming along @opencollegearts students? Find the event link in our bio.

#WeAreOCA #LifeDrawing #OCAStudentAssociation #OnlineLearning #Degree

Featuring work by @opencollegearts students and alumni, this issue of edge zine brings together a powerful collection of student work that examines protest not just as a public act, but as a psychological and domestic reality.

Release day is tomorrow - 22 May!

Congratulations to all involved!

#WeAreOCA #OCAStudentAssociation #Zine #OnlineLearning #Creativity

It's Mental Health Awareness Week (11 - 17 May 2026).

The image is of a WWII Veteran who suffers with PTSD which was submitted during our EDI Calendar callout by @fotomashed.

Thanks Lee!

#WeAreOCA #OCAStudentAssociation #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek #EDI #OnlineLearning

BookLab is a monthly space for exploring the innovative world of artists’ books, photobooks, experimental narratives and hybrid forms of publishing. It focuses on creative, visual, and interdisciplinary book practices. analysing books that sit between art object, archive, narrative and experiment.

Join us tonight for the first session with @katrina.whitehead. Link in our bio.

#WeAreOCA #OCAStudentAssociation #ArtistBooks #OnlineLearning #Creativity

A selection of drawings from @opencollegearts student Eryn who attended our @ocastudentassociation x @pencils4tea Speed Portrait Drawing session last night with @kirsty.a.lockhart.

Thank you for sharing Eryn! Hope to see you next time! Thank you to everyone who attended and we hope you had fun.

#WeAreOCA #OCAStudentAssociation #SpeedPortrait #Drawing #OnlineLearning

Happy Earth Day 2026.

This year’s OCASA Summer of Sustainability is going to be a bit different. A group of participating tutors, from across OCA courses, is going to hold an online ‘round-table’ discussion about what sustainability means to them, their practice or their specialism.

This will be preceded by a mini video presentation by each tutor introducing their perspective on sustainability.

To start the video series you can view the presentations by Graphic Design Programme Tutor Dr Emma Powell and Creative Arts Programme Tutor Katrina Whitehead. Available now on our blog - link in our bio.

Featured Image: Lisa Gray

#WeAreOCA #OCAStudentAssociation #EarthDay #OnlineLearning #Sustainability

"Last year I completed the Creative Education short course. It is a course I had been wanting to do for years and I finally decided to put in my application. At the time I applied I was questioning whether it was time to change career paths. I had spent the previous decade working in education administration and was gradually moving towards my goal of being a learning developer.

I now work as a Course Designer so I am part of the team that helps get OCA Learn ready for you. My favourite part of the role is the project work, and I love having the opportunity to speak from my perspective as an alumna. It feels very exciting to have an impact on services I used to access when I studied here and getting to meet all the staff from the support services."

Read about OCA Alumna Nina's journey from student to staff member on our blog. Link in our bio.

Congratulations Nina!

#WeAreOCA #OCAStudentAssociation #Creativity #OnlineLearning #LearningDesign

"My observed paintings are, amongst other things, a form of documentation and serve as both an anchor and a spring board for the rest of my practice. The links between the abstract and the representational sit with the cognitive dissonance experienced by a viewer in both cases. I am particularly interested in the philosophy of existing in a liminal state: the idea that endless possibilities can arise from these thresholds. To me, this mirrors my current journey as an artist and I am interested in putting the viewer in a similar space."

Read about Stage 3 BA (Hons) Painting student Anna Pike’s learning journey on the WeAreOCA blog site where she is in conversation with Painting Programme Leader Emma Drye. Find the link in our bio.

#WeAreOCA #OCAStudentAssociation #OnlineLearning #Degree #OCAPainting #Painting #Creativity #LifelongLearning #Exhibition

"I am Diane Goring, a recently completed BA Hons Fine Art student, having retired from Social Work I pursued my second passion, my love of art and have successfully completed my degree. I never imagined that my social conscience and previous experience as a social worker would be reflected in my art work."

Read about Diane's learning journey on our blog - link in our bio.

#WeAreOCA #OCAStudentAssociation #OnlineLearning #Degree #OCAFineArt #FineArt #Creativity #LifelongLearning

"We are two BA Drawing students who have spent the past year developing three collaborative projects together. In this first post, we’re excited to share our response to Igor Stravinsky’s ground breaking 1913 ballet score, The Rite of Spring.

Our drawing became more than a response to Stravinsky’s music; it became a map of our interior landscapes - a record of instinct, influence, memory, and exchange. Collaboration revealed perspectives and impulses that might otherwise have remained hidden."

Read about Charles Worvill and Sarah Johnston's collaboration on our blog. Link in our bio.

#WeAreOCA #OCAStudentAssociation #OCADrawing #OnlineLearning #Degree #Drawing #Collaboration #Drawing #Creativity #Music

"I am a Textiles student at the OCA in my early 20s, unemployed, part of the chronic illness community, hoping to have a career in Textiles. For the first time in my academic life, I have felt seen by my teachers and my work has been recognised. Even though I am still in the beginning stages of the course, I have been assisted in seeing my work from a different perspective, work freer and have been encouraged to be more creative when creating."

Read about Alice's learning journey on our blog - link in our bio.

#WeAreOCA #OCAStudentAssociation #OnlineLearning #Degree #OCATextiles #Textiles #Creativity #LifelongLearning

Thanks to @vickywhitefineart for submitting this work ‘A Simpler Time’ for our Nostalgia edition of edge zine.

“I am interested in the human form and enjoy exploring social stories within my work. These acrylic paintings were created recently whilst awaiting enrolment on my next fine art course. The brief ‘nostalgia' induced a plethora of responses, but it was reflection on past experiences and activities that hooked me in. I’ve recently worked on reducing my colour palette to evoke tension, atmosphere and to allow the paint itself to create an emotive response.

Nostalgia can be defined as a personal reflection – a happy memory rooted in the past. Both these works, painted in acrylic on board 40 x 50cm, offer the viewer a moment's reflection to activities that were once commonplace in childhood experiences. Our fast-paced society and intrusion of AI means some things are taken for granted and we no longer recognise the simplicity of playing Mum and hanging out dolls’ laundry or indeed the magic and strangeness of listening to audio from a portable device for the very first time.”

Thanks for sharing Vicky!

Submit for our next issue - Protest - link in our bio for information.

#WeAreOCA #OCAStudentAssociation #OnlineLearning #Zine #edgezine #DigigalMagazine #Painting #Drawing #Nostalgia #Memories

The theme for Issue 17 of edge zine is ‘Protest’. We welcome ideas, sketches, works-in progress, writing, images and music. Released quarterly @opencollegearts students, alumni and staff are encouraged to submit work to be published in our digital zine.

Founded in 2016, edge zine began with the idea of bringing the creations of students who live apart, together.

Find info via the link in our bio.

#WeAreOCA #OCAStudentAssociation #Zine #Protest #OnlineLearning #Creativity #StudentMagazine #DigitalMagazine

"I chose to do an illustration for international woman's day. I was raised by 2 of the strongest women I've ever met, my mum and my gran. With occasional help from my auntie. I then grew up and got married to another strong and smart woman, we had two kids together a boy and a girl, they're both great but I can already see the strength in my daughter, she has her mum's smarts and my humour.

When I think of all of the women in my life and how far all women have come over the years, I felt inspired to draw an image dedicated to all of the women out there."

Thanks to @opencollegearts student Kevin for submitting this work for our EDI calendar callout.

Today - 8 March - is International Women's Day.

#WeAreOCA #OCAStudentAssociation #Equity #Diversity #Inclusion

@opencollegearts and the @ocastudentassociation is in the process of organising our Student Voice Festival 2026.

In order to inform it we need your input. Right now we are collecting information regarding the student experience at OCA. We are sure that there are things that OCA can be doing better, and we want to hear all about what you have to say on that topic. We are also very interested in the things that you like about OCA and what is working well.

Find the link to our survey via our linktree in our bio.

#WeAreOCA #OCAStudentAssociation #StudentExperienceSurvey #StudentVoiceFestival #Voice #Survey #Feedback #OnlineLearning #DigitalPedagogy

"I am a behavioural scientist and artist currently studying painting at the Open College of the Arts. I paint in oils and acrylics. I also enjoy video art. In my nascent practice I tend to explore the intersection of cognition and embodiment, informed by my professional background (I work as a professor of behavioural science). My subjects tend toward the ordinary: objects from daily life, reflections in water, moments and memories that catch my attention. I completed my Foundation Diploma in Painting in 2024 and began my BA (Hons) in Painting in January 2026.

In Dictée Magique II, I revisited a submission rooted in nostalgia I had created for the last assignment of my Foundation Painting course. I had decided use a treasured childhood toy, called "Dictée Magique" (a happy mistranslation of the English "Speak & Spell") as inspiration for a still life painting. I managed to source a replica and played with it with my daughter. After a couple of times hearing the male robotic voice telling her she was wrong, we both felt like turning it off: "it's creepy!" she said. "I totally agree!" I answered. That experience made me completely reconsider that nostalgic memory and my fascination with that same machine as a child in the mid-eighties. Looking at it through my adult parent mind's eye, I felt a little sorry for that little girl, considering she was raised by her single mother and there was no male voice at home! After that realisation I no longer felt like lingering in nostalgia and spending hours painting that toy but I also wanted to capture that sensation and somehow get closure. So I created that video piece as a response. I submitted it as an aside to explain why I had changed track. I was surprised by the feedback that it could "easily be shown and viewed as a painting." That really expanded my conception of what a painting is or can be!"

Thank you to @opencollegearts student @gaelle.artstudio who submitted this work for our Nostalgia issue of edge zine - find it in the link in our bio.

#WeAreOCA #OCAStudentAssociation #OnlineLearning #Creativity #Zine #edgezine #Nostalgia #VideoArt #OCAPainting #Painting #MixedMedia

@opencollegearts students, alumni and staff are welcome to join us for one of our most fun events - Speed Portrait Drawing to Music - Tonight! With @kirsty.a.lockhart and @pencils4tea.

Register via the events link in our bio.

#WeAreOCA #OCAStudentAssociation #OnlineLearning #Degree #Creativity #Drawing #Portraits #Music #SpeedPortrait #Community

@opencollegearts student Mary sent this textile work to celebrate Losar -The Tibetan New Year: 18 February - 20 February 2026.

"This Textile was inspired by Tibetan folklore which is also deeply rooted in Tibetan Buddhism. Tibet lost their independence to the Chinese in 1959 and this is my small way of keeping Tibet on the map."

#WeAreOCA #OCAStudentAssociation #OnlineLearning #Degree #Losar #NewYear #Tibet #EDICalendar #Equity #Diversity #Inclusion #OCATextiles #Textiles #Creativity

Yesterday - February 11th - was The International Day of Women and Girls in Science. It is an annual observance adopted by the United Nations General Assembly to promote equal participation of women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics fields.

This image was submitted by @opencollegearts student Sara during our EDI Calendar callout.

#WeAreOCA #OCAStudentAssociation #OnlineLearning #Degree #EDICalendar #Equity #Diversity #Inclusion #WomenAndGirlsInScience #STEM #STEAM

Congratulations to our @opencollegearts Creative Arts tutor @rachel_artsmith for being one of five nominated artists in the UK, to be considered for the Women to Watch exhibition series, which will be held at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington DC in 2027. The exhibition will focus on book arts within contemporary art practice.

Find out more on our WeAreOCA blog site - link in our bio. Well done Rachel!

#WeAreOCA #OCAStudentAssociation #OCACreativeArts #CreativeArts #WomenToWatch #Exhibition #ContemporaryArt #ArtistBooks #BookArts #SustainingPractice #Creativity #OnlineLearning

"When I finished sixth form, I definitely felt finished with school and learning, and I was quite lost in terms of what I wanted to do in the future. I never really wanted to go to a brick-and-mortar university because it seemed very stressful to me. I also went to quite an academic school that didn’t value artistic subjects at the same standard, so although art was my passion, I felt almost pushed away from studying it further. I ended up going straight into employment after school, but still never felt satisfied. I didn’t find out till about a year later about the OCA and that studying Fine Art at a degree level was possible online. This was kind of life-changing for me because I had finally found something that I actually really wanted to do. I love that I have the flexibility to work whilst I study, but there is still enough structure to keep me engaged with the work."

Fine Art Programme Tutor, Hayley Lock, discusses the student journey so far with Jess Reid, a student on the @opencollegearts BA Fine Art degree, read more on the WeAreOCA blog - link in our bio.

#WeAreOCA #OCAStudentAssociation #OnlineLearning #FineArt #OCAFineArt #Creativity #PerformanceArt #Film #Photography #MovingImage #CrossDisciplinary #Self

We're delighted to bring you issue 16 of edge zine - Nostalgia. You can view it via the link in our bio.

Thank you and congratulations to everyone featured.

Apologies for the delay in getting this out. Watch this space for the next theme, we hope you'll get involved!

#WeAreOCA #OCAStudentAssociation #OnlineLearning #Degree #Zine #edgezine #Nostalgia #CreativeArts #Creativity #DigitalMagazine #StudentMagazine #ArtAndDesign #MixedMedia

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