Final year BA (Hons) Visual Arts student Ian Rayer-Smith has teamed up with his long-time friend and former tutor Lorna Fellas to deliver their first major joint show entitled 6.3 x 5 (at odds). The exhibition celebrates the pair’s individual artistic journeys as well as their contrasting approaches to their practices.
Commenting on their featured work, Lorna explained: “Our work is very different, both physically and conceptually. Ian’s large-scale, Neoexpressionistic paintings are steeped in unfamiliar narrative whereas my work deals with the emotional and physical context of ‘place’ and is expressed in smaller, more intimate formats.”
Ian first met Lorna four years ago after having given up a long career in business to pursue his passion for the arts, and has since continued to draw inspiration from Lorna’s teachings over the years. Keeping in line with the show’s underlying concept, the title 6.3 x 5 (at odds) was born from the contrast of Ian’s prominent 6’3 stature and Lorna’s petite 5’0 frame. Their exhibition, which is on show now at Piccadilly Place, is open to the public until Wednesday 29th May. To see more of Ian’s work, head over to MediaCityUK in a few weeks and join us at the eagerly anticipated Create at Salford Festival, where the final year work from our creative students will be on display.
Our Fashion courses have proven once again to be a cut above the rest as the British Fashion Council awarded our final year BA (Hons) Fashion Design and BA (Hons) Fashion Image Making and Styling students with the highly esteemed Fashion Monitor Colleges Portfolio Award. Year on year, the BFC’s Graduate Preview Day showcases the best work of graduating students from the UK’s leading fashion institutes but only one college earns the honour of the all-important Best Portfolio title. And for the third time in just four years, that prize was given to us!
Illustrating the sheer magnitude of our students’ unprecedented success, Fashion Programme Leader Bashir Aswat said: “It’s a very special thing to be there in a room amongst the very best fashion programmes in the nation while the judging panel flip through the pages of our portfolio and comment on how brilliant our students are. This year’s win is not only a testament to our students’ undeniable talent, but it is also an outstanding reflection of the exceptional quality of our fashion courses and the numerous lecturers and demonstrators of which the programme so strongly depends on.”
If the numerous awards don’t speak for themselves, join us at this years’ Graduate Fashion Week in June and see what all the fuss is about when our very best students debut their final collections at Earls Court in the glittery fashion capital, London. Click here to buy your tickets for their catwalk show on Tuesday 4th June at 6.30pm.
Three of our BA (Hons) Photography students got a snap shot look into the world of professional photography during a two day live brief earlier this week. Amelia Johnson, Laura Parkinson and Michael Colebourne were hand-picked by Technical Demonstrator, John Boothe, to carry out an on-site photo shoot for the 2013 graduating class of Cheadle Hulme School. The live brief was initiated by Cheadle Hulme School’s Development Manager, Philippa Dunford, who was keen to provide a few of our star photography students with an opportunity to gain industry experience. Impressed with our students’ professionalism, Philippa said: “All three students were great ambassadors for the University of Salford. They were very friendly and easy to work with and I’m really looking forward to seeing the final edited images of the shoot.”
The images, which ranged from formal studio portraits to casual group photos, are due to be distributed to the senior class and their families at graduation later this summer. Laura Parkinson, a first year student and aspiring fashion photographer, said: “The shoot went really well. It was great industry experience for all of us and it’s something I would love to do again if given the chance.” While this is the first time Cheadle Hulme School has ever commissioned a live brief for our students, Philippa mentioned that the independent school is already in talks about various ways to collaborate again in future.
Second year BA (Hons) Fashion: Image Making and Styling student Christopher Ratcliffe is approaching the final week of what has been a truly career inspiring work placement with Fashion Editor of Fantastic Man Magazine, Julian Ganio. For the past six weeks, running off to photo shoots for iconic brands like Topman and Farah has become part of Christopher’s daily routine. Speaking on his involvement with several high profile projects, Christopher said: “Working with Julian has been one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. The last few weeks have been very fast paced and it’s exhilarating to get to meet so many people in the industry.”
While Christopher’s placement is enough to make any fashion enthusiast green with envy, working alongside one of London’s leading names in fashion is just the latest in Christopher’s budding career. Earlier this year, Christopher’s work was featured in the shop window of Magma, Manchester’s Northern Quarter boutique bookstore for all things quirky and creative. For the third year running, the Magma team were invited to challenge our second year fashion students with a brief of creating a mini magazine or ‘zine’. Tim Bell, Magma’s Assistant Manager and Buyer, said: “Year upon year the standard seems to improve and the passion that Salford students show towards the zine brief is very encouraging. Many of the photo shoots contained within these zines wouldn’t look out of place in many of the established glossy periodicals we regularly stock.”
The team at Magma took a particular liking to the gentlemanly feel of Christopher’s monochrome images which included shots of his father and his granddad. Commenting on the zine brief, Christopher explained: “It was great to have total freedom and it’s been a really good learning curve for me, producing my first ever self-published work.” He further added: “It’s definitely worthwhile that the University endorses experiences and live briefs like this as part of our studies. It’s an essential addition for my CV and has really set me in good stead for the future”. Check out more of Christopher’s work and click here to take a look at his blog.
The School of Arts & Media certainly had a lot to cheer about at our annual Students’ Union Teaching Awards last week. Receiving the highest number of staff nominations, the School was the proud winner of the all-important Best Overall School award. Commenting on the award, Head of School Professor Allan Walker said: “I am delighted that our School, which has only been in business since September, has been able to win this award and I would like to thank everyone for their commitment to enhancing the quality of our students’ experience through a period of considerable change.”
While this was in itself an outstanding testament to the excellence of our entire staff, Photography Technical Demonstrator, John Boothe deserves special recognition for scooping the Best Academic Support Staff award. John was described by his students as helpful, friendly and always willing to go above and beyond his role to provide that extra bit of support. Praising John for his superb efforts, Allan Walker said: “Support staff are a key and often undersung element of our practice based disciplines and it is especially pleasing for John to have been acknowledged in this way.” Well done everyone!
After being dubbed the best in their category by a panel of industry professionals, two of our second year BA (Hons) Graphic Design students received the gold award for Best Overall Student Work at the prestigious Roses Creative Awards last week. Despite stiff competition from over 400 UK-wide designers, Salford students Peter Quirke and Andrew Goodison clinched the top prize securing a special feature in The Drum, a work placement with Modern-English Digital agency, plus a whole host of bragging rights!
This year, competition hopefuls were asked to answer one of 10 briefs, which ranged from re-branding Harry Ramsden’s chippy to promoting the benefits of dental appointments. Peter and Andrew chose to apply their creative touch to a record label brief which called for a digital campaign to spread the word about four newly signed acts.
Reflecting back on what has turned out to be an incredible past few weeks, Andrew said: “We’re really grateful to the University for the opportunity to enter the competition and to our tutors for giving us feedback and helping us to improve while we were working on our project”. Peter went on to explain: “Participating in competitions is such a great way to get noticed in this industry. A couple of months ago we didn’t have a clue what the industry was like and now we’re just starting to scratch the surface”. Both Peter and Andrew are keeping a winning mentality and are already making plans to defend their title next year. “It’s great to win it once but we want to be here next year and the year after!” declared Peter.
Last week, our BA (Hons) Performance: Comedy Practice students were dished a healthy dose of inspiration from A-list comedian and Salford alumni, Jason Manford. Having graduated from our BA (Hons) Media and Performance course in 2004, the North West’s King of Comedy was keen to share his knowledge and experience with our aspiring comedians. During his workshop, Jason coached the students in the art of stand-up by giving them advice on how to tighten up their routines, encouraging them to travel to gigs around the country and illustrating the benefits of treating their craft like a full-time job.
Lisa Moore, course leader, commented: “Jason’s input on the comedy practices course has been invaluable for the student experience. They have received immediate, constructive feedback from Jason after performing their material – he was both inspirational and encouraging and you really can’t put a price on that”.
Also sitting in on the workshop was 14-year-old comedian and rising star, Jack Carroll, who recently appeared on Saturday night hit-show Britain’s Got Talent. Simon Cowell and David Williams weren’t the only ones impressed with Jack’s routine. Speaking on what drew him to Jack, Jason explained: “Jack is really funny – he’s an old bloke in a young boy’s body, moaning about the world”.
Jason is due to start a UK tour with his new stand-up show First World Problems on Wednesday 15th May. To see all the photos from Jason’s workshop visit the University of Salford Facebook page and for more details on Jason’s click here to visit his website.
As part of their final year project, twenty four BA (Hons) Design Futures students have devised Six Seconds of Illumination – a unique and interactive exhibition on show at Salford Creative Hub. The innovative event to be held on Friday 3rd May has built on the group’s concept of connection, combining the notion of six degrees of separation with the function of six second bursts of creative video. After 12 long weeks and countless hours of work, our 2013 cohort of design thinkers are eager to showcase their breadth of skills and limitless potential to North West creative industry leaders.
Shauna Carysforth, Studio Manager of Six Seconds of Illumination, explains that what differentiates the Salford Design Futures course from other design degrees is the emphasis placed on the ‘process.’ In addition to her role as Studio Manager, Shauna also played a key part in the pitching team who hit the streets to seek sponsorship from local companies and creative agencies. Speaking of what she will take away from the Six Seconds of Illumination experience, Shauna commented: “Going out and making connections has been an incredible opportunity. It’s inspiring to meet people who are out there doing exactly what you want to do after graduation”. Social media whizz and pitch team member Robin Goodswen made such a sterling impression whilst pitching that he was instantly offered an internship with award-winning design agency e3 Creative. He agreed with Shauna and says: “Pitching to companies is integral to the project but it’s also hugely advantageous to get to know people in the industry”.
Business leaders, alumni and select members of the public have been invited to the private viewing on Thursday 2nd May. However, if you weren’t able to score a ticket for that, not to worry! The Six Seconds team are welcoming the public to enjoy the open exhibition on Friday 3rd May between 12-7pm at the Salford Creative Hub, Unit 1a Kingston Mill, 2 Cobden Street, Salford, M6 6WG. And don’t forget to tweet your thoughts on the show to the team at @6_Seconds.
Our first year BA (Hons) Visual Arts students have a lot to be excited about with less than 24 hours before the launch of their pop-up end of year show, One Night Stand, at Islington Mill on Thursday 2nd May. One Night Stand promises to deliver a surge of aesthetic stimulation, showcasing a variety of experimental work created by no less than 60 students. While first year shows have traditionally been held in a studio space on University campus, this year’s cohort have had the privilege of exhibiting their pieces at a high profile external cultural venue.
Speaking of her involvement, student Amy Stevenson said: “I feel like we’re really raising the bar here. We’re getting a taste of what it would be like to be a professional artist and I think this experience is going to make us all better second year students”. Amy commented that there is a real enthusiastic energy radiating as they prepare the space to open to the public, and went on to say: “We’ve had to resolve several issues as a group that we wouldn’t have even encountered had we used a venue on campus. Islington Mill has such a diverse variety of spaces so we’ve had to compromise and cooperate with each other when it came to deciding where each person’s work would be featured”.
The exhibition is only on for one night so don’t miss your chance to see our up and coming artistic talent over a swift drink at the bar - it is almost Bank Holiday weekend after all! Open from 6pm onwards at Islington Mill, James St, Salford, M3 5HP. And make sure your let the One Night Stand team know what you think of their show on Twitter at @ONS_Exhibition.
This Wednesday night sees MA Contemporary Fine Art student, Holly Rowan Hesson, unveil the results of her first ever solo show, Only Forward?, in Manchester city centre. Only Forward? is the culmination of Holly’s studies here at Salford and this special exhibition will address her playful process based practice, launching her future career as a full-time active artist (whilst also being the last chance for a few drinks to celebrate the completion of her MA!).
After a week-long residency at a disused retail unit in Piccadilly Place, the final selection of works featured in Only Forward? will focus on Holly’s keen interest in photography whilst also creatively presenting her personal collection of notebooks, reams of research, photocopies and sketchbooks. Far from pigeonholing herself as a professional photographer, Holly told us “I take photos with blurred close ups on a regular digital camera and then use those to create lots of 3D layering. I never use post-production although I’m continually curious in my practice, whether that be photographing an existing photo or repeating a print over and over again until it is so abstract that you can’t quite make it out anymore”. One of the pieces pictured above uses this method, which Holly has then printed onto acetate and tracing paper to project onto the bare breeze block walls. Holly commented “It’s opaque and you think you can see through it but you can’t. I like the idea that I’m exposing the process behind photography but actually I’m not because I’m obstructing it further and making it even more difficult to decipher. That’s essentially what my artwork is about”.
Holly’s new found artistic vocation came after a long career as a freelance social media consultant and moment of inspiration after signing up for an ‘Art for the Terrified’ course advertised in her local Hebden Bridge newspaper. Plunging herself into such a large scale exhibition and doing everything for the show completely independently, Holly admits that she has intentionally thrown herself “in at the deep end” but the whole process has inspired her “to resist the post-study lull and I’m really excited to get on with my ambitious plans for after graduation”.
Join Holly for Only Forward? on Wednesday 1st May between 6-8pm at Piccadilly Place, Manchester, M1 3BN. And for those who can’t make it, head over to new gallery space PS Mirabel between Thu 4 – Sat 15 June for the Distort:Warp group exhibition featuring Holly’s work.
