Art Helps Redevelop Community / The Queen’s Brooch / A Gallery For The Community / Alumni-Online
creative / Summer 2013
update
University for the Creative Arts Alumni Magazine
Issue 08.
UCA at the Movies / Zandra Rhodes / Creative Fund / A Facebook Adventure
Cover image Watercolour of the punk-inspired The Conceptual Chic Collection, 1977-8 Š Zandra Rhodes 2012
Welcome
Welcome to the eighth edition of Creative Update, the magazine of the UCA Alumni Association In this edition of the UCA Alumni Magazine, Creative Update, we report a number of major successes for our alumni, for the University and for the work of the alumni relations team.
news p3 features
p10
advice
p15
news features
p16
academic matters
p22
development
p21
profiles
p25
advice
p29
update
p36
news
p41
alumni news
p42
obituaries
p43
There is no denying that this has proved to be a difficult year in Higher Education as the Vice-Chancellor outlines in his article. Next year may prove to be equally challenging, but with diligent planning UCA is well situated and prepared for the future. Since the last issue of Creative Update our alumni have been nominated for both Oscars and Baftas, appeared in major television series, designed jewellery for Her Majesty the Queen and opened their own galleries. Creative Update has caught up with these alumni, and others, to hear their stories and to ask them to give you some words of wisdom as to how they achieved their success. In recent months the University has has secured significant funds for research projects. The most high profile of these has been the successful project to catalogue the work of our Chancellor, Zandra Rhodes, and to make her collection available online as a free educational resource. UCA has also announced a redevelopment scheme across its campuses, starting with an exciting plan to refurbish the Library on the Farnham campus this summer. The scheme and the plans for the other campuses, reflect the changes in the way that students learn today and will provide quality teaching and learning spaces for our current and future students. In the Development and Alumni Relations Office we have launched a new online service for all UCA Alumni. This offers each alum the facility to find lost friends and classmates, and to develop an online profile for others to see. This service will be developed to provide other facilities over the coming months. In the autumn we launched our first telephone fundraising campaign in aid of the UCA Creative Fund. Money raised will be distributed across the University later in the year to support a range of projects benefitting students on all campuses. UCA would like to thank all those who supported this new initiative. There are a number of changes planned for the coming year and we hope that, as an alum, you will want to get involved. The Alumni Relations Team alumni@ucreative.ac.uk www.ucreative.ac.uk/alumni
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University for the Creative Arts | Contents | Creative Update
News
No bounce
back:
Simon Ofield-Kerr, UCA’s Vice-Chancellor talks about Higher Education and the creative economy. It is now clear that the hoped-for ‘bounce back’ in university applications has not happened with enrolments in 2013 likely to be lower than they were in 2012 especially in creative arts courses. The decline in applications and the likely further decline in enrolments is nothing short of a tragedy because the changes to student finance and the introduction of full-fee loans discourages potential students from realising their talents by following a creative arts degree. The reduction is more than a personal loss; it will be a loss to the UK’s creative industries and arts sector. More, it is a loss to other sectors which employ arts graduates because they are creative, enterprising, critical and independent.
news
Just a few years ago, many of us thought the longstanding links between UK creative arts education and creative industries, and the strengths of this country’s creative sector had finally been recognised. However, either by accident or design, it feels from my perspective as the Vice-Chancellor of the University for the Creative Arts (UCA), that memories are short and it is once again essential to make our case to government and indeed to prospective students.
creative economy. We need to make it clear that the success of this sector is intimately related to the 175-year history of art and design education in this country. It needs to be recognised that there is no incidental relationship between what happens in creative arts institutions each and every day and the international strength and recognition the UK has across art, design and media – movingly and repeatedly recognised in the cultural aspects of our incredible Olympic Games last summer. Each and every day we teach students how to be creative and enterprising, by asking them to produce work for which there is no prescription, by requiring them to work individually and collectively in an environment of studios, workshops, galleries and libraries, supported by project briefs, lectures, seminars, crits and exhibitions. Most importantly, students engage with staff - who are themselves working within the arts sector and the creative industries - and the student is formed by a rich diet of industry-led collaborations, projects and competitions. Whilst the content and outcomes have changed hugely, the core challenging experience of the environment and its real engagement with industry and the world beyond the campus has been remarkably stable for more than 100 years - and it works.
In itself, the changes to student finance would be challenge enough, but when combined with that of international recruitment caused by real and perceived visa issues, and the potential introduction of the EBacc that promotes the importance of STEM subjects at the expense of the creative arts, universities like mine are potentially feeling the breeze from an impending perfect storm.
So, it is frustrating to be required to make the case repeatedly that what government wants in terms of real engagement between universities and industry is happening within creative arts institutions and has been for more than a century – there is a model of great practice that should be recognised rather than left to suffer from uncoordinated policy initiatives from different government departments.
It is vital that we reaffirm the links between our form of education and the strengths of the UK’s
Dr Simon Ofield-Kerr Vice-Chancellor
Creative Economy | Simon Ofield-Kerr | Creative Update
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Feature
‘Silver trunks of treasure’ Zandra Rhodes Digital Study Collection project Legendary fashion designer and UCA Chancellor, Zandra Rhodes, has been working with UCA researchers and students on an exciting new collaborative initiative launched online at the end of March 2013.
feature
The doyenne of the fashion world, with a career spanning over five decades, has designed haute couture dresses and outfits worn by icons such as Diana, Princess of Wales, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor, Diana Ross, and Debbie Harry of rock group ‘Blondie’, to name just a few.
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Now these remarkable garments are coming out of the closet. A selection of 500 exquisite vintage pieces from the private archive of Zandra Rhodes have been pressed, preened, photographed, researched, and catalogued to be made available openly online for use in learning, teaching, and research worldwide. This joint venture between UCA and the Zandra Rhodes Studio has been made possible with external funding from JISC,
Creative Update | Zandra Rhodes | Digital Study Collection
after a successful application by the University’s Director of Research and the Project Director, Professor Kerstin Mey. Dubbed by the project team as her ‘silver trunks of treasure’, the garments have been hidden away in mammoth trunks stacked throughout the Zandra Rhodes Studio in London, located above the Fashion and Textiles Museum founded in 2003 by Zandra herself. The trunks contain a sample of every Zandra Rhodes creation, totalling many thousands of incredible luxury and handmade pieces, which she has had the foresight to retain since the beginning of her career in the mid-1960s. Having trained at one of UCA’s founder colleges, the Medway College of Design, in the 1950s, Zandra Rhodes has returned to her roots with this project and has been working with the next generation of fashion and textile design students from the University’s BA courses. Through paid internships, a lucky group of students assisted the project researchers with the preparation and documentation of these garments on site at the Zandra Rhodes fashion house, and gained a privileged behind-the-scenes insight into the industry. The project has utilised expertise >
Feature
“
I used to get up at 5am and spend time working on my prints before going to teach
� Digital Study Collection | Zandra Rhodes | Creative Update
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Feature
O
f course it’s great to be nominated for these awards but it’s also nice to know that the years of hard work making a film have all been worthwhile. It’s important to know that you’ve made something that’s got substance and means something when it is seen in the cinema.
Nominated for both an Oscar and a BAFTA, Mark Waring writes for Creative update
It was fantastic working with Tim Burton. He’s very enthusiastic and he loves stop-frame films – that’s where he started out. His love of this genre filtered through to the rest of us on the shoot. It was great when he came round and spoke to us about the film. His enthusiasm radiated out to all the people working on the project and he was happy to talk to all or any of us. He got so interested in the details and he gets really engaged with the smallest things, like tweaking the set design, certain props or the weave of a costume. It’s the first film I’ve made in 3D which was an interesting challenge. The film was converted into 3D in post-production but there were a few shots that we created specifically for 3D.
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Creative Update | UCA Screen Stars | Film Special
Image: ©2012 Disney Enterprises.
Feature
All Rights Reserved.
We had three massive stages with up to 50 units running with 30 animators at one point. There’s a lot of co-ordination involved in shooting something so big. We had multiple puppets as well. There were about 15 Victors and 30 different types of Sparky, in various different forms – dead, alive, sitting, jumping, barking - all of which had to be animated at the same time by all of those units. The stop-motion techniques we use in the big Hollywood productions are far more complex than what I used at UCA back in 1989. When I was there, we had basic wire armature puppets and if we were lucky we’d have a ball and socket joint. Even then they were very expensive things so when you’re a student and learning you work with what you can afford and what you can get away with. Some of the concept puppets on Frankenweenie cost around £40,000 to make. They have winding mechanisms inside the head which allow a character to open the mouth and change their face and make them talk or smile. We couldn’t do this at university, or even on children’s TV programmes,
because you don’t have either the money or the development time. That doesn’t make a less interesting or successful film however, as the story and skill of the animators is what really matters. When I was at UCA, the emphasis was more on what you had to say and your story than how you did it. That was a good grounding because, even on a feature film, you’re trying to find the best way of telling the story. UCA really gave me a really good sense of that, which is something I’ve used throughout my career. You can create amazing sets, puppets or design but if it doesn’t tell your story, you’ve failed. That’s something that was instilled in me early and what we took into our graduate films. Being asked to direct the Captain Sparky short was a great end to two years of hard work on Frankenweenie because I was given another little step up. Being given my own project was a fantastic opportunity for me. It was a great idea to take something from the film – the home movie – and make more. As a kid I loved making my own home movies on my Super 8. In fact it was these that got me my place on the course at UCA. Personally it was a nice little thing that came full circle for me on this project. All of the elements fitted together really resonating for me. It would be great to do more features when they come up. Unfortunately, they never seamlessly finish and start up again seamlessly so I’ll go back to directing commercials and pop promos until the next feature film pops up again. I’m sure Tim Burton will want to make another animated film soon, so fingers crossed I’ll get to work with him again. I think the course attracts people with talent which is a great thing. When I was there, I was aware it was a prestigious course and I’m sure it’s the same now. When I was at UCA a whole bunch of students got poached to work on Who Framed Roger Rabbit because the producers realised they had all the skills necessary to go straight into the job. The prestige of the course goes ahead of it because of the Oscar winners and I think potential students will see people who’ve gone on to do some amazing things and want to follow in their footsteps.
Mark Waring BA (Hons) Animation Farnham 1995
Frankenweenie is now available on Disney blu-ray and DVD. All images in this article ©2012 Disney Enterprises. All Rights Reserved.
Film Special | UCA Screen Stars | Creative Update
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Feature
Chris Butler, who graduated from UCA Farnham’s BA (Hons) Animation degree in 1995, was shortlisted for Best Animated Feature at the 85th Academy Awards for his film ParaNorman which he wrote and directed.
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Stop-motion zombie comedy ParaNorman, was also nominated for a BAFTA, and is Chris’ debut feature as a writer and director.
“The course was a chance to pursue an idea of a vocation and it was great to finally move on from just drawing in notebooks in my bedroom.”
Chris said: “I was absolutely thrilled to be nominated for an Oscar. I watched the announcement whilst I was in bed in a hotel room in LA, I was giddy with excitement, it’s such an honour.
He has worked on some of the biggest animated projects of the last decade, including Coraline and Tim Burton’s The Corpse Bride, and recently designed, storyboarded and animated the short film Timer Switch for UCA Academy Award-winner Daniel Greaves.
BA (Hons) Animation course leader, Lesley Adams, said: “Everyone on the Animation Course was very proud of Chris’ Oscar nomination. The degree at UCA Farnham has produced three Oscar-winners so far and we would love him to join that special list.”
“I’m really proud of the film and was so happy just to get the chance to write and direct it, so having a nod from the Academy really is the icing on the cake. It’s just incredible.”
Chris said: “Studying at Farnham was a special time for me: it was my first time away from home, my first time meeting like-minded creatives, and my first time being a grown up.
Creative Update | UCA Screen Stars | Film Special
Chris Butler BA (Hons) Animation Farnham 1995
Advice
TUNdE AdEBUTU
Tunde Adebutu BA (Hons) Architecture Canterbury 2003
A rewarding career, Architecture can lead you anywhere...
Tunde is 32 was born in London, lived in Lagos, Nigeria till he was 16 and then returned to London where he has lived since.
a year off and decided I wanted to try something else. I got a great opportunity in planning which also involved working with development, so I took it.
Creative Update asked Tunde what advice he would give to students or alumni who had not considered a career in planning.
He says: “When I left college, UCA Canterbury (then the Kent Institute of Art and Design) was one of the universities I visited. I loved the city and the course head made me feel welcome so I decided to go there. I remember I felt so grown up to be leaving home, but London was only an hour away on the train so I could pop home if I got really homesick!
After I finished my course, I worked in Westminster libraries, then I got a unique opportunity as a planning assistant in Essex; a year later I went to work in Surrey as a planning officer. I also had the opportunity to study for a master’s degree in planning.
He said, “Planning is interesting work and there are many aspects to policy, development management and enforcement. Being involved in creating great and ever evolving places is always interesting.
Studying architecture was always my dream as I have always loved the built environment and living in London really inspired me due to its wonderful buildings. It’s amazing to be involved in creating great places to live and work.
I am now working as part of a team helping to deliver a new local plan for the borough which includes a huge former military site for 1500 homes, commercial, retail and leisure uses also. It’s taking years so that’s a big project!
It’s interesting, sometimes you start out on a path but things end up working out differently. Architecture is a long course and seven years is a long time. After the first three years (Part 1) I took
I find my job very rewarding. I have been in my current role for nearly seven years and I still really enjoy it. Local Government work is very fulfilling so I may stay I while longer.”
My 3 key bits of advice for anyone starting a BA course: Do the course because you enjoy it: All the most successful creatives I know do well because they genuinely love it. Balance your work and play: University is usually your first major taste of freedom and independence and some people tend to go nuts. Enjoy yourself, but remember why you’re there - to gain skills for you to have the most successful and fulfilling career you can have. You make the majority of your friends for life at university and you may even meet your future partner (I did!) so be pleasant and sociable!
Opportunities with Architecture | Tunde Adebutu | Creative Update
advice
Initially I planned to make a career as an architect but a number of opportunities arose which made me change my plans. I am now a Planning Policy officer in a Local Authority in Surrey. As a Policy Officer, I help plan, monitor and manage development throughout the borough.
At UCA, I got to develop many skills during the course including gaining a better knowledge of the built environment, technical skills, design skills, group working and project planning. The course gave me the skills I needed to develop my career in ways that I had not previously thought about. I can say that my degree and my experience really opened doors.
Working in a local authority is particularly fulfilling. When you go to work, your concern is not to make profit, but to improve the lives of people in the borough, both now and for future generations. That always gives me extra motivation”.
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Academic Matters
lucy o’Brien uCA lecturer in Music Journalism
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academic matters
dele, Madonna and Lady Gaga are just three of the major female artists highlighted by a lecturer from UCA in her book about women in popular music. Eighteen years after it was first published Lucy O’Brien has undertaken to revise and expand her book, She Bop: The Definitive History of Women in Popular Music, to reflect the changes in music today.
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“Younger artists are all unique women with their own take on it, with their own language and story to tell. Women before me like Joni Mitchell or Kate Bush have taken their machete into the jungle, parts that are not so traversed. You honour the women before you and after you. There isn’t a copyright on this story,” singer/songwriter Tori Amos told me. She Bop (the definitive history of women in popular music) is their collective story. Since She Bop was first published, some key changes have occurred for women in rock. Previously under-researched, there is now a range of writing on the subject – so much so that in 2000, US girl band Le Tigre chanted from the stage: “Not another book about women in rock!”
Creative Update | Lucy O’Brien | She Bop
Despite fresh perspectives, there is still a need to document women’s musical history because it is periodically buried. In the same way that Janis Joplin diligently uncovered the story of Bessie Smith and bought her a headstone, today’s music fans have to search for 70s female punk bands or forgotten 80s soul singers in alternative media. Female performers are still being written out of ‘official’ pop history. As long as women are sidelined in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame or Classic Rock anthologies in favour of the male canon, there will be a need for more material on their achievements. My third edition of She Bop is a major update on the 1995 original. What struck me while writing this is how polarised the scene has become, between the digital underground and the global pop industry. Although an increasingly competitive market has meant hypersexualisation and branding on an epic scale with stars like Gaga, Katy Perry, and Nicki Minaj, once-marginalised women artists have been using new technology and social media to forge ahead. Performers like Imogen Heap and Iggy Azalea are no longer reliant on traditional record-company structures to get their music heard. As LA Times critic Ann Powers told me: “On the positive side, I do think
things are falling apart, coupled with the passing of the elder generation of nearly 100 per cent male music industry executives, has opened a space in which talented women can emerge.” What also struck me when updating this book was how many of the women I first interviewed have since passed away. Women from Nina Simone, Miriam Makeba, and Dusty Springfield to punk upstarts Ari Up and Poly Styrene. They enriched popular music in many different ways. In that sense She Bop has become an archive of women’s experience, from the early 20th century music industry onwards. Talking to women like Simone and Eartha Kitt made me realise how much they had struggled through racism and sexual discrimination to be heard. The global divas of today owe so much to those pioneers. So why did I write the original? When girl guitar bands and singer-songwriters were in the ascendant in the early 90s, there was a noticeable lack of analytical material about women in popular music. From 1984, when I co-wrote a cover story for the feminist magazine Spare Rib on women in the music industry and was shocked to discover just how few of them had record deals or were in the >
Academic Matters
Development
Creative FUNd For three weeks in October and November the University launched its first telephone fundraising campaign on behalf of the UCA Creative Fund For those three weeks, students from the Farnham Campus worked in shifts every evening and at weekends, calling our alumni and the parents of current students. Throughout the campaign the students spoke to over 1100 of our alumni and parents seeking their support for a number of Creative Fund projects. This year the campaign concentrated on three special projects. These were:
development
The general fund, to be spent on special projects.
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The Creative Fund Scholarship The Graduation Show Fund
Creative Update | Development | Creative Fund
These projects, aimed at providing the greatest benefit to the greatest number of students, were approved by the UCA Leadership Team to launch the first year of the telephone campaign.
Robyn Taylor, a first year BA Product Design student and one of the callers said: “I loved talking to the alumni. That was the best bit. It was great finding out about what they had done since graduating.”
Alumni and parents to whom the students spoke were positive about the fund and were, in the main, pleased to be called. Many understood the need for the Fund and said that they would have liked to have had the chance to call upon these funds when they were a student. Many talked about the problems in finding money to pay for the extra materials that they needed for their course. This seemed to be a common theme for many, regardless of the course.
Over three weeks alumni and parents pledged or gave gifts of over £30,000 which will be allocated to special projects later in the year. Matthew Horton, Head of Development and Alumni Relations said, “The University and the students really appreciate the support that alumni and parents have given to the campaign. In these difficult times it is extremely generous of people to give back to their University. On behalf of UCA I would like to thank all those who have made a gift.”
Development
What is the Creative Fund?
Creative Fund Projects 2012
The Creative Fund provides funds for a wide variety of projects that transform the student experience, enhance research and teaching, and support students in financial need. Each year staff and students bid for grants from the Creative Fund for projects that would not be possible without these funds. They may be for specialist equipment, research or collaborative projects with external stakeholders that give students the opportunity to work and to present their work in the real world giving them valuable experience that will enhance their employment prospects.
Almost ÂŁ20 000 has been allocated for number of exciting projects from the Creative Fund 2012. They include:
Every gift made to the UCA Creative Fund, regardless of its amount, enables the Creative Fund to make a difference. Gifts provide funding to projects that have a real and lasting effect on the School, its students and the wider UCA community. The joy of the fund is that a great number of alumni and friends can join together to make a real difference to the students and to feel a part of the work of the University. We greatly appreciate contributions of all sizes and would like to take this opportunity to thank all our donors for their generous support. More details of the creative fund and to see the projects funded by the 2012 campaign visit: www.ucreative.ac.uk/supporting-uca
The Zandra Rhodes Masterclass The Zandra Rhodes Masterclass is a collaborative venture between UCA and Zandra Rhodes Studio to develop a series of online videos for use by UCA fashion and textiles students, in which key techniques unique to Zandra Rhodes’s design and production will be demonstrated. Enhancing the CG Arts corridor area and computer rooms The aim is to enliven and enhance the environment for all students who work in and around these areas, as well as for all those who pass through and use the areas. Canterbury Open Lecture Series The lectures will be an ambitious series connecting individuals, local, regional and international communities and will focus upon emerging issues that underpin contemporary art & design: Knowledge, Invention and Creative Currency Waste in Action In any urban or rural area good waste management is essential. Students will be asked to consider the waste, rubbish etc around them and aspects of disposal and recycling, using art & design - processes of deconstruction and reconstruction of discarded materials - to raise others’ awareness of the global environmental problems that councils, at micro level, are faced with.
Creative Fund | Development | Creative Update
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k o o b e c Fa nture e v Ad 122 000 followers‌ and still counting
Chia-Wen Liu BA Fashion Epsom 2010
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Creative Update | Chia-Wen Liu | Facebook Fashion
Profile
Chia-Wen is a Taiwanese graduate who completed her degree, BA Fashion in 2010 where she studied at the Epsom Campus. She and a friend set up a Facebook page to share their experiences in the UK. This soon became an internet phenomenon and has now been turned into a book, The UK Observing Diary. Their Facebook page has over 122 000 followers and gets ten million hits a month. Creative Update asked Chia-Wen what it was like to have a book published. She said: “It’s like having a baby! Only it takes more time than pregnancy. It takes about a year and a half, from the first word I wrote to see it on the shelf in a book store. My first book means so much to me, as I first came to England to study when I was 17, this book is like a summary of my days. My Family back in Taiwan now understand why I have spent all those years far away from home, and what I actually did in UK. I get my inspiration from absolutely everything. It could be some new graffiti on a wall in Shoreditch or a barista handing out a new flavour of drink. I have lived in London for six years but sometimes I still feel like a tourist when I see something new on the street. The people in London are what made me write the book. I did interviews with loads of creative people such as designers, models and actresses for my book. They are all creative, liberal and down to earth at the same time. I started running UK Observing Diary a fashion and lifestyle social media page in 2009, with my best friend Shang Ting who finished university in Barcelona and came to Leeds to work. In 2010 our page had the first press exposure which featured in the Leeds Guardian, then Taiwanese press just went crazy after that. Our story was on the national news, television and newspapers. We even made the headline on Yahoo! Taiwan search engine. We had about 6,000 subscribers before the press presence, it then doubled and tripled in the next few days.
(At the moment we have more than 122,000 followers.) It was then that we were approached by publishers in the Far East. I began in 2010 working as a design assistant for Victim Fashion Street, an ethical womenswear designer label and then as a contract writer for reading shopping, and styling fashion websites. I have been invited to be an official blogger for Vogue Taiwan and to be a columnist for “Bon Voyage”, bimonthly travel and lifestyle magazine. In 2011 I co-founded zeczec.com, the first Taiwanese creative crowd-funding website. In 2012 I published UK Observing Diary, a creative guidebook featuring British fashion, designer interviews and culture. This year I directed the fashion show for designer APU JAN during London Fashion Week. UCA prepared me for so much of this. With so many fashion-related courses going on in UCA Epsom, I learned the skills and knowledge I needed from my fashion course, and also learned how to cooperate with people from all professions. During my time in UCA, I helped to put on a fashion show with students from the fashion and promotion course, model in photo shoots with graphic students, and assist MA fashion students for their graduation projects. All these great experiences became a stepping stone to my future collaboration. I am now working as project manager for zeczec.com. I do social media management and crowd-funding project consulting. For UK Observing Diary, we are talking about having a website to give more content. We welcome any new, exciting collaboration, we are a great link for those who want to establish in the Far East market! I am also preparing my second book.
www.facebook.com/ukobservingdiary
Facebook Fashion | Chia-Wen Liu | Creative Update
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Advice
� Andrew Candy
[mine] a gallery for the community
Why did you choose to come to UCA and what have you done since graduation? I was aware that college was becoming more progressive and expanding, the strength of design courses on offer was attractive plus there was the convenience of location.
early 2009 that we had been mis-sold an Interest Rate Swap Agreement by our bank when we took out the mortgage on the commercial property in Carshalton. The effects of this product have had a hugely negative effect on the business and prevented us from moving the business forward.
After graduation I worked in London for an integrated design and marketing agency, Skidmoore Turnbull, then moved on to Roger Felton. Then I moved to Sphere Communications and finally, Flagship Consulting which incorporated a Public Affairs team.
We have spent the last 4-5 years battling with the bank, the Financial Ombudsman and the Financial Services Authority to get our case heard. More info available on www.bully-banks.co.uk
Alongside these latter jobs I set up my own company and started working for a range of private clients and eventually I left Flagship to work from offices at Waterloo. I became a partner and joint owner of Tentacle Limited working from offices by the Thames in Greenwich. We moved the business from Greenwich to Carshalton in 2008 with a view to setting up my own gallery business at some point in the future. This has now been achieved with our gallery - [mine]. How did you feel when your gallery opened? Mixed emotions really. My partners and I moved from Greenwich at the end of 2008 but discovered in
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Creative Update | Andrew Candy | Gallery
This has been an unexpected and huge task to take on given that all I wanted to do was design and create for a living... it probably demonstrates that you need to be adaptable and to enjoy a challenge and develop a full range of skills if you want to run your own business. Tell us about your plans for the gallery It is the intention to make [mine] one of the largest and most diverse galleries in Surrey and South London supporting the arts and artists as well as helping to economically regenerate the local area. The gallery has been set up to provide sustainable and cost-effective rental spaces for exhibiting and selling creative work including fine and applied art, craft and design.
Advice
Display shelves are available to hire and we have been running solo and group shows since March 2010. 2013 is the first year that we will be hosting three Open exhibitions, including a Festival En Plein Air.
Andrew Candy BA (Hons) Visual Communications Graduated 1997
Can you give a brief history of your career and major projects from graduation to date? Other than the jobs that I have already listed I have been fortunate to have worked on a number of major projects which include: Rosetta Communications We produced a brand identity and marketing communications project for Rosetta Communications, a significant defence satellite contract bid by a consortium of British Telecom, Lockheed Martin and British Aerospace. The styling for this campaign was subsequently used quite heavily for the consumer facing O2 brand when it was first launched. Pemberton Greenish I carried out a complete rebranding and associated communications plan for a 225 year-old property specialist law firm when it changed from Lee Pembertons to Pemberton Greenish. The firm includes the Earl of Cadogan among its clients. Bankside Means Business We worked with Southwark Council’s economic regeneration team to create a range of branding and marketing materials that set out the council’s vision for sustainable neighbourhoods in central London. Their aim was to provide a unique, creative and dynamic environment to live and work in. The campaign was instrumental in raising the profile of Bankside in its infancy and attracted a significant level of inward investment. Alec Stewart OBE Testimonial Year We produced identity and marketing materials for all the events held during the course of 2003 for Alec.
Creative Maidstone We worked with Maidstone Council and the Arts Council to produce the branding, brochures and billboards for this campaign to create economic regeneration through the establishment of an Artists Quarter in the town centre. How did UCA prepare you for this project? Being taught by working professionals enabled me to get a good idea of what was expected of me in the real world. Having said that, two to four weeks for a single project would be a luxury these days. What’s next for you? Resolving the bank situation and building the gallery business is the priority. Alongside this I am developing an art book publishing service which we have kicked off by helping design, print and sell the paintings of John Stillman, which is the artist’s first book. I am also continuing to work on a consultancy basis on design and branding projects for private clients. What advice would you give to a student or other alumni who would like to get their work exhibited? Well if they are really good then they can give me a call and send me some examples of their work... If you don’t ask you don’t get anywhere these days. Ultimately be confident in your work and your abilities and work hard and network as much as possible. What advice would you give to a student or alumni who is thinking about working in galleries as a career? Hard to say really as the gallery concept I am running here is not akin to a regular gallery or a gallery with a budget and a curatorial strategy. Work smart and work hard were some words of advice given to me when I first started out and you can’t go far wrong following them.
Gallery | Andrew Candy | Creative Update
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Advice
Queen Fit for a
UCA graduates design is worn by Her Majesty the Queen
advice
Ivonna Poplanska BA (Hons) Silversmithing, Goldsmithing & Jewellery Rochester 2009
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Creative Update | Ivonna Poplanska | The Queen’s Brooch
Advice
Ivonna Poplanska writes for Creative Update. Ivonna Poplanska is from Riga in Latvia though now considers herself an acclimatised Londoner. She has recently designed a brooch that was worn by Her Majesty the Queen. I chose UCA as I particularly admire Stephen Webster’s eponymous couture jewellery, and he was a UCA graduate. Also, knowing the fact that UCA has won the College Trophy at the prestigious Goldsmiths’ Craftsmanship and Design Awards 20 times in the past 22 years was encouraging. Since graduation I have mainly concentrated on commercial work, which I often can’t speak about. One I can tell you about is a range I am designing for Samara James. It’s an expansive luxury range and part of a great relationship I have forged with the company after meeting its owner at a diamond trade fair in Antwerp. Most of my career opportunities have come in this way. In business you really have to market yourself to get noticed. In my niche the Queen is the ultimate client. When the BJA announced the nationwide competition to design a Diamond Jubilee brooch for her, I thought it would be wonderful to get involved in such a project. I spent three weeks designing and working on the concept and tried my hand. It has been an incredible journey.
the project I liked the idea of the dove taking off from Charles II’s Sceptre after 381 years and landing on the Queen’s lapel. The silhouette of the dove is adorned with the four national flowers of the United Kingdom to represent the unity. Doves are also symbols of spirituality and peace, which I see as being an important element of monarchy.
I am currently working on new collections for prominent jewellery houses who have hired me to design their luxury jewellery collections. I hope to continue doing just that as well as creating bespoke pieces for my own clients. Perhaps one day I will create a luxury jewellery collection under my own banner. Watch this space!
When I saw the Queen was wearing my design it was very flattering. For me as a designer it is a huge deal. It means that Her Majesty really likes it. Like it’s progenitor, my design symbolizes the spirituality of the monarchy. As such, it was really fitting that Her Majesty chose to wear it to church.
It’s a luxury doing what you love and feel passionate about. Being a creative is a lifestyle choice and becoming successful in your area requires a lot of dedication and hard work. There’s a lot of competition, so you must continuously evolve and refine your style.
I had a great time studying at Rochester. I was an overseas student who didn’t speak much English when I first arrived. Everything was new to me. I had fantastic tutors who really cared about my progression. The biggest inspiration was my course leader Brian Hill. He would stay late with us every day and make sure he saw everybody’s designs. He really cared. That is rare and I hope all students can have truly inspiring tutors too.
The brooch is inspired by an existing crown jewel ‘Sceptre with dove’. When I visited the Tower of London to research
The Queen’s Brooch | Ivonna Poplanska | Creative Update
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Update
alex lampe
Alex Lampe BA (Hons) Graphic Design Epsom 2000
Design Council competition winner is UCA graduate Alex Lampe, who studied BA (Hons) Graphic Design at UCA Epsom, was lead designer on one of the five winning projects set the task of bettering the lives of dementia sufferers and their families in a competition by the Design Council and Department of Health.
“Aside from the financial advantages that our project gives carers, one of the most powerful things that hit me was the sense of isolation that they experience, so being able to participate in employment for a few hours a week connects them back to society and an enormous sense of self-worth. “One of the carers we spoke to said that working on a Deli counter for a couple of hours was the highlight of their week - these are the opportunities we want to create.” Last year the ‘Living Well With Dementia’ competition was created by The Department of Health. The Design helped to bring about new ideas and practical solutions for those living with the condition. Each selected idea won funding and support through early development, and is now showcased on a dedicated website, with promotional films created by influential design agency Why Not Associates. UCA Epsom Graphic Design lecturer Mike Nicholson – an experienced illustrator/storyboard artist and one of Alex’s previous tutors – was brought in to help bring these films to life.
Alex, founded brand consultancy A+B Studio, and his team’s winning idea is a web-based service called ‘Trading Times’ which helps family carers find flexible, paid work with local businesses. These opportunities help them to earn money and stay connected with society. Alex said: “The competition was a great experience. We worked with the team to help give them more of a design-lead ahead of their pitch to the judges - a week later it was announced that our project had been selected, so we were delighted.
Mike, said: “Many people believe that design is only about commercial ideas and making money but initiatives like this show the public that design can help facilitate important social change and help make our lives better in other ways. “The Graphic Design course at UCA Epsom always promotes the social potential of design, so it’s fitting to see this on a large scale, and especially with a former student playing such a key role in one of the winning projects.” For the videos, and more about Trading Times and the other winning projects, visit: www.livingwellwithdementia.com
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Creative Update | Alex Lampe | Graduate Update
Update
ALEx MATTSSON Fashion graduate displays collection in Selfridges window
Alex Mattsson BA (Hons) Fashion Design Rochester 2007
One million people a week are seeing the work of a fashion graduate from the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) at Rochester having been given his own window display at a world famous department store. Alex Mattsson, who graduated in BA (Hons) Fashion Design in 2007, is one of 15 emerging designers recently named one of Selfridges Bright Young Things for 2012. As well as showcasing his collection in the famous Oxford Street windows until the end of February, Alex has also been given the opportunity to sell his work in store and via Selfridges’ website.
Alex, who is from Gothenburg, Sweden, said: “I feel very privileged to win this amazing talent project. “The purpose of the Bright Young Things project is to give young designers like me a big break and to help raise our profile - I now have my collection being seen by millions in the windows of one of the world’s best-known department stores as well as on sale in the shop and online. “The publicity has already given me a huge boost – just days after I was announced a winner, I had a doublepage spread in The Metro, which really shows the scale of this project and the potential benefits involved.
Alex plans to continue developing his own fashion label from his East London studio with this new exposure but remembers where he learned his craft. “During my degree at UCA, I went from knowing nothing about garment construction or design, to making a graduate collection which I’m still proud of. The guest tutors we had were really inspiring and part of the reason I have got to where I am now”, he said. You can see more of Alex’s collection on his website www.alexmattsson.com
Graduate Update | Alex Mattsson | Creative Update
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Alumni News
sEArCH THE AlUMNI dIrECTory For: • classmates • friends
MANAgE yoUr PErsoNAl ProFIlE: • view the information that we have for you • publish a brief description about yourself and what you are doing now • upload and publish images of your own artwork • publish your professional details and career history
The Exclusive online Portal For UCA Alumni The Development and Alumni Relations Office has launched a new web-based service exclusively for UCA alumni – “alumni-online” How to access the site To get your login details you will need to be registered with the Alumni Association. Visit the alumni-online pages to request your account login details. www.ucreative.ac.uk/alumni-online All you need do is provide us with: • • • •
Your full name Postcode Date of birth Email address
If you are not registered with the Alumni Association you can do so at the website.
alumni news
Future Plans In the future we are planning to launch an online Professional Mentoring programme later this year.
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You will be able to search an online directory of alumni who are prepared to offer advice and mentoring in the creative industries.
UPdATE yoUr: • • • • •
personal details contact details education details professional details password
Creative Update | UCA Online Portal | Alumni-Online
You will also be able to book events online and make secure payments. The Development and Alumni Relations Office Team would also welcome your comments on the Online Community site. Email us at: alumni@ucreative.ac.uk
Bob godfrey MBE Known as the Godfather of British Animation, Bob Godfrey was Britain’s first Oscar winning animator (Great, 1976).
skills to future generations of animators. We are proud that his legacy will continue through UCA’s animation degree.” Bob produced scores of critically acclaimed animated films but was best-known for the children’s classics Roobarb and Henry’s Cat in the 1970s. Despite his success, he found the time to teach and established the BA (Hons) Animation course at UCA Farnham, then West Surrey College of Art & Design, in 1972. His interest was not for the purely industrial process of animation but in encouraging the curious to break down barriers.
Dr Simon Ofield-Kerr said: “We are all saddened to hear of Bob Godfrey’s passing. “He was not only a talented, ground-breaking animator but a passionate educator who wanted to pass on his knowledge and
He also presented The Do-ityourself Film Animation Show for Children’s BBC with guests including Terry Gilliam and Richard Williams. The series has been acknowledged by a generation of animators, including Nick Park, as a significant influence on them making animated films.
1921 - 2013
Obituary
Following the closure of his studio, Bob loaned his collection of artwork, cells, storyboards and films to UCA Farnham. It includes 419 boxes of original artwork and artefacts that illuminate the creative processes of pre-digital animation processes. The physical materials in the Bob Godfrey Studio Collection reveal the artistic spirit and essence of a witty, rebellious and ground-breaking animator. Bob was awarded the first Lifetime Achievement Award at the Bradford Animation Festival in 2007 in recognition of his distinguished career. He was co-chairman of the Education Commission and a director of the executive board of the International Animated Film Association. He won a total of three BAFTAs and was appointed MBE in 1986. Bob Godfrey MBE, born 27 May 1921, died 21 February 2013.
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David Wentworth an alumnus of the part-time Fine Arts course died in October 2012 after a short illness. David was a successful artist, selling and exhibiting his work at many exhibitions - solo shows and the Affordable Art Fair in Battersea, for example. He shared studios in Chertsey. His work was mostly painting, and he showed drawings and 3-D work as well. After UCA, he went to Wimbledon for an MA, and then trained as a teacher while working at Send Women’s Prison, where he worked with the therapeutic groups.
1942 - 2013
Sandra Monks, David’s sister said, “David’s funeral was held at Woking Crematorium on Friday 2 November 2012 and afterwards at No Naked Walls (formerly Windsor Street Gallery) in Windsor. David loved his work at Send prison who opened the chapel so that people could light candles. At one point the queue stretched right around the building. The governors closed the education department so that staff could attend the funeral. The prisoners held a service at the same time as a tribute to a very special person”
Obituary | Bob Godfrey & David Wentworth | Creative Update
obituary
david Wentworth
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Merchandise
alumni-online
The alumni association merchandise range. You can buy a selection of mementos from your time studying at UCA. The range is sold through a university clothing specialist and some of the items can be customised.
The exclusive portal for UCA Alumni. Logon now! www.ucreative.ac.uk/alumni-online
The range includes t-shirts, mugs, jumpers and graduation teddy-bears. To view the full range visit: www.ucreative.ac.uk/alumni/merchandise
Read it and Tweet We have a dedicated alumni Facebook and Twitter account posting University and alumni news. Why not join us and tell us your thoughts on the latest edition of the magazine?
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Share your news Do you have any stories or news to share? Please email alumni@ucreative.ac.uk or call 01252 892736 and you could feature in the next magazine.
Moving home? Visit: www.ucreative.ac.uk/alumni/join-us to update your details or sign up to the association.
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