Howard Read - Exhibition

Elephant - A series of drawings witnessing the regeneration of the Elephant and Castle 2012-2016

Senior lecturer Howard Read is also a PhD candidate at Manchester Metropolitan University; his research focuses on The role of drawing in the regeneration of urban spaces

His latest exhibition witnesses and records the contested regeneration process taking place at the Elephant and Castle, specifically the site of the former Heygate social housing estate. The official representations of urban transformation are visually packaged to show perfect visions of the future 

"my drawing is used as a method of critical analysis and to challenge these representations. Working in sketchbooks on site and in the studio the drawings create a timeline of the destruction and rupture taking place in the urban landscape. Critically engaging with the regeneration process and what it means" says Howard

This exhibition is at the Hotel Elephant Gallery, 23 Harper Road London SE1 6AW 

10-11 December 2016 11am–5pm

howardreadsketchbooks.wordpress.com 

National award for outstanding support for students

The University of Wolverhampton has won the Outstanding Support for Students award at the Times Higher Education Awards 2016, held in association with Santander Universities. The awards, now in their twelfth year, are widely recognised as the Oscars of the higher education sector, shining a spotlight on the outstanding achievements of institutions, teams and individuals working in UK higher education.

More information is available here

Contextual Cinema - Ghost In The Shell

Orion Publishing - Visiting Lecture

Loulou Clark, Deputy Art Director and Abi Hartshone, Senior Designer from Orion Publishing will be giving a lecture on their careers to date as well as introducing this years Orion book prize.

Their talk takes place on December 1st at 11.30am in The Venue at the Students Union.

Just Have To Share - Artists Rooms: Roy Lichtenstein

Roy Lichtenstein Reflections on Girl 1990. ARTIST ROOMS Tate and National Galleries of Scotland. Lent by The Roy Lichtenstein Foundation Collection 2015. © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein / DACS 2016.

Visit Wolverhampton Art Gallery to see ARTIST ROOMS: Roy Lichtenstein, an exhibition of works by one of the most radical and influential artists of the twentieth century and a leading figure in the Pop Art movement.

Wolverhampton Art Gallery is the first regional venue to host this newly assembled group of works by Roy Lichtenstein, shown as part of ARTIST ROOMS: a collection of over 1,600 works of contemporary art, established in 2008 by Anthony d’Offay.

The major exhibition brings together Reflections: Art (1988) and sixteen large-scale screen-prints, and has been made possible through the generosity of the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.

Purist Painting with Bottles (1975) – from Wolverhampton’s own acclaimed Pop Art Collection – will also feature in the exhibition, alongside the celebrated early painting In the Car (1963) and the painted steel relief Wall Explosion II (1965), on loan from the National Galleries of Scotland and Tate respectively.

The show is on until 26 February 2017. More details can be found here

Halesowen College Visit to The School of Art

The Visual Communication department at the University of Wolverhampton were delighted to welcome students from Halesowen College, who came to the School of Art for an Experience Day. Activities included workshops in Visual Communication, tours of the extensive art and design collections within the Harrison Learning Centre and an introduction to Wolverhampton Art Gallery followed by a visit to the Artists Rooms Roy Lichtenstein Exhibition. An enjoyable day was had by all.

Type Talks - Jonathan Barnbrook, A Barnbrook Super Delux, Ultra Karaoke Megamix

Jonathan Barnbrook is most well-known as David Bowie’s favourite graphic designer having worked on the designs of his last 4 albums. However he has had a long and distinguished career in type design being one of the original members of the ‘typographic new wave’ – a 1990s international movement that rebelled against the Modernist conventions of the 20th century in favour of the new freedom that the rise of technology and a re-found interest in the vernacular gave them. 

His typefaces Mason, Exocet quickly became part of the world visual language. Barnbrook continues to release fonts through his own company Virusfonts. He also runs the design studio Barnbrook, which works with a mixture of cultural institutions, activist groups' and charities. He is well known for his collaborations with Adbusters, Occupy London, Damien Hirst and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The talk will, as the title suggests be a summary of his career up until this point.

This talk is free and will take place on 12 December 6.00 - 7.30pm at BCU Parkside. Book your ticket here

Amandeep Sahota, Graduate Success - Honouring Indian VC Soldiers in WW1

Visual Communication graduate Amandeep Sahota has an interest in South Asian Soldiers of the British Indian Army who won the Victoria Cross during World War One. Amandeep has turned this specialist interest into an exhibition that is currently on at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Gas Hall. Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the exhibition features images and artefacts on loan from the National Army Museum and the Imperial War Museum.

The Victoria Cross is Britains's highest award for military gallantry and in total eleven South Asian soldiers, including two Gurkhas have been awarded this medal. Amandeep's exhibition tells their stories.

For more information about this show look here

The exhibition is on until 28 January 2017

Paulina Wesolowska - design for Scouting magazine

We have just received notification of the 'winning' design by third year student Paulina Wesolowska for live project undertaken by students from Graphics and Visual Communication. Jessica Glaser initiated the live editorial design brief with Immediate Media and the Scouting Association Magazine, to create a new design approach for one of their feature sections. Jeff Leak and Marc Austin launched the project at the start of semester 1 and tutored students through the design process.

The editorial team and the author of the article refined the shortlist submissions as mentioned here and selected the winning design. All shortlisted pieces will be printed on the rev ease of the Scouting magazine Mailing list and the  winning design by Paulina will appear in the December issue of the magazine. Scout Najah, the writer this article helped to select Paulina's design.

Congratulations Paulina and a big thank you to Najah, Immediate Media and Scouting Magazine

Bournville College Visit to Wolverhampton School of Art

The School of Art were delighted to welcome students from Bournville College, who visited the University for an Experience Day. Activities included workshops in Visual Communication, Fashion and Textiles and Fine Art. Visitors had lunch in the new University refectory, before visiting the Harrison Learning Centre to be introduced to staff and facilities before looking at the extensive art and design library. An enjoyable day was had by all.

Clive Moore at The 5th International Summit of the Book

The International Summit of the Book recently took place in Limerick, Republic of Ireland. The conference, supported by the United States Library of Congress, was well attended with delegates from around the world, including speakers from the World Digital Library, the United Nations, the Library of Alexandria, and the African and European Libraries. The event was also attended by University of Wolverhampton’s PhD researcher and visiting lecturer, Clive Moore. 

Clive’s presentation titled “Haptics, immersion and the fetishisation of print” dealt with issues concerning the transition from print to digital book design and distribution. The key messages that Clive brought back from this conference include the potential opportunities and ongoing anxieties associated with the incursion of technology into education and how contemporary screen-based reading habits impact upon learning.

The International Summit of the Book started in Washington DC in 2012 and has subsequently been held in Singapore, Paris and Alexandria, Egypt. The theme of the Limerick conference was “The book, history, knowledge and technology” and discussions centred on the degree that humans now delegate the curation of information to machines and what the implications of artitifical intelligence are for the future of human cognition."

Scouting Magazine project for Third Year Visual Communication Students

Third year Visual Communication Student are excited to be working with Immediate Media and Scouting Magazine. Students designs for a double page spread to be featured in the Scouting magazine have been shortlisted and are featured here. One selected design will go to print in the forthcoming winter issue. 

"The opportunity for students to engage with a live, editorial design brief with limited constraints, and possibilities to interpret the copy and critically generate creative type and image responses perfectly aligns to our course ethos. Coupled with the experience of resolving a ‘real-world’ design problem, the prize of published design work is generating a buzz in our design studios. This has also enabled in-class discussions about the Scouts as an organisation and designing for different audiences, in addition to conceptual development and advanced production techniques" said Marc Austin Course Leader or Graphic Design

Jake Hughes

Katarzyna Jedrzejek

Libby Yarnall

Paulina Wesolowska

Sasha Wood

"The Graphic Design course at Wolverhampton School of Art has a long history of working with worthwhile causes and building relationships that enable the transfer of knowledge and professional experience between students and clients. Scouting Magazine offers the potential for such a relationship; the reputation and longevity of the Scout Association, exciting and inspirational projects and charitable work preformed by the Scouts, and the appeal of designing for such a diverse and broad-reaching publication provides students with a live project that they can immerse themselves in. In addition, the flexibility and openness of staff from both Scouting Magazine and Immediate Media has meant that we have been able to approach this project from a professional and educational context." continued Marc Austin.

Congratulations to all those who have taken part in this live brief.

Contextual Cinema - Inception

New Designers, One Year On 2016

We’re delighted to announce applications for New Designers, One Year On 2016 are now open.

One Year On is a high profile, exclusively curated feature within New Designers, showcasing designers with an entrepreneurial flair in their first year of business. Those who are chosen to exhibit are selected by a panel of industry specialists on the strength and ambition demonstrated through their work.

One Year On is a fantastic chance to get your work in front of press, buyers and industry trend setters. We welcome applications from all design fields - from jewellery and fashion, to furniture and film. In each part, our sponsors and partners demonstrate their support for emerging UK design talent and creativity by presenting a New Designers One Year On Award at the prestigious VIP Awards Evening to the year's most talented designer. These awards are industry recognised, and present a huge recognition to your work.

As a new business, One Year On gives you the awareness, confidence and direction to succeed. Benefits of the show are like no other, and being part of the event gives you the guidance and support you need. Benefits include:

· Preparation day to show you the space, and give hints and tips to exhibiting before the event

· Webinars giving you vital skills when entering the commercial world

· Access to our PR team and the opportunity to gain priceless exposure

Previous One Year On exhibitors include Paul Cummins, the ceramics designers behind ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’, the ceramic Poppy memorial at the Tower of London, David Irwin, the contemporary Product and Furniture Designer who now designs for Habitat and Deadgood and jeweller, Imogen Belfield.

Application Deadline is January 30th 2017. Please note – One Year On is an exclusive opportunity, so spaces are limited.

Please apply online here.

Dates:

New Designers Part 1: 28 June – 01 July 2017

Zones: Textiles, Fashion & Costume Design | Jewellery & Contemporary Design Crafts

New Designers Part 2: 05 July – 08 July 2017

Zones: Furniture / Product / Industrial & Spatial Design | Visual Communication

Jessica Glaser's Research request in Print Week

Copyright: Cadbury Research Library: Special Collections, University of Birmingham

Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication, Jessica Glaser has a call for support with research in Print Week Magazine. She is searching for post-war printing industry apprentices of the 1950s and 1960s who have personal memories of Monotype’s publicity manager, Beatrice Warde.

Glaser described American-born Warde, who died in 1969, as “a commentator whose work in the twentieth century created debate, framed and expanded discussion and has come to possess contemporary resonance.”

Warde was a prolific writer and editor. Her famous works include her homage to printers: ‘This is a printing office’ and the presentation and essay ‘The Crystal Goblet'.

She edited the Monotype Recorder and contributed to influential publications of the day including The Penrose Annual.

Glaser said she was keen to gain an impression of Warde and her ideas from people who had met her and heard her speak. Warde made frequent visits to printing schools and art colleges around the UK and overseas during her career.

“I hope readers of PrintWeek will be able to help me with my research into memories of printing and printing education,” she explained.

“I am researching responses to, and memories of talks given by Beatrice Warde to apprentices and students of printing. Many contemporary designers see her writings and legacy as iconic, however I am keen to find out first hand, what youngsters learning about print in the 1950s and early 60s thought about her presentations and ideas.”

 Print Week

Contextual Cinema - Blade Runner

Get Your Dream Job Workshop

The Careers Centre is running a 3 hour workshop for Faculty of Arts students called ‘Get Your Dream Job’ on the 1st Dec, 10 – 11

What’s your dream job? How can you make it happen?

It can be tricky deciding on what’s next after university. You may know that you want a job that you’ll enjoy, something you’ll be passionate about, something that you’ll want to get out of bed in the morning for…but what is that job, and importantly, can you get paid to do it?

This workshop is for you if: 

· You aren’t sure what you want to do after graduation

· You have some career ideas but want to firm them up 

· You don’t know how to turn your ideas into a reality 

We will talk you through several exercises to help you clarify your career ideas, evaluate their viability and figure out how to make them real. 

When?

1st Dec, 10 – 1, City Campus (room TBC)

Interested? 

Email lisa.law@wlv.ac.uk stating your name, student number, course and level of study plus a short description of the career ideas you have (if you don’t have any that’s fine, but it would be useful for us to know in advance to help with our planning). 

We hope to see you at our workshop

Lisa Law and Sarah Dar (Career Consultants for the Faculty of Arts)