Halesowen College – Pop Art Inspired visit

Pop Art was the theme of the visit by Halesowen College students. 

Looking for inspiration and contextual knowledge for their music poster project visitors from Halesowen College consulted Tom Hicks, specialist Librarian for Art and Design and sampled rare and limited-edition books from the School of Art Special Collections. The Clive Barker: Pop Art Sculpture exhibition at Wolverhampton Art Gallery was the next stop to review Barkers works from 1961-1982. The show provided an insight into his three dimensional interpretation of many familiar Pop Art themes usually seen in two dimensions within the work of his contemporaries, including Peter Blake, Richard Hamilton and Roy Lichtenstein.

During their visit students also took part in portfolio advice sessions in preparation for interviews.

More information about The Clive Barker: Pop Art Sculpture can be found here.

Poster promoting organ donation with appeal to young people

Josh Hinkins, Prof. Magi Sque, Georgia Cox, Marc Austin, Billy-Dean Lawrence, Chris Cooper    

Interfaith Wolverhampton, working in partnership with the University of Wolverhampton’s Institute of Health, and supported by funding from Near Neighbours and private donations, held a conference on the 18th November 2017, about ‘Organ Donation’, at the Gujarati Centre in Wolverhampton. 

The conference was opened by the Deputy Mayor Phil Page. The day consisted of a keynote address, ‘Organ donation: A distinctive gift’, by Dr. Dale Gardiner, Deputy National Clinical Lead for Organ Donation, followed by presentations from different faith leaders i.e. Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh. Two organ recipients and a donor mother spoke of their experiences of organ transplantation and donation. Prof. Magi Sque also shared some of her research in this field. Sixty-three delegates attended, including Graphic Design students from Wolverhampton School of Art with their Course Leader Marc Austin. The students are working on a competitive design project to produce a poster promoting organ donation with special appeal to young people.

Employability at Wolverhampton School of Art - Heath Park School Sixth Form

Heath Park Sixth form have visited Wolverhampton School of Art, attending an introduction to employability with Lisa Law from The University careers department. 

Hearing about student placements, alumni achievements as well as preparation for interviews and support for business start up, visitors learnt how the University of Wolverhampton has embedded employability within its curriculum, leading to 96% employment sixth months from graduation.

A range of creative workshops also took place in the School of Art.

A Taste of Wolverhampton School of Art for Bournville College Students

Bournville College students have enjoyed sampling a range of creative workshops within Wolverhampton School of Art. 

Welcomed by staff and students, the day began in the Students Union with talks on the importance of the creative industries and employability. Workshops allowed visitors to sample photography, printmaking in visual communication, drawing in fine art and ideas generation within fashion and textiles.

Discussing Sheaffer Graduate Awards

Sitting round the table in the University refectory, Sheaffer graduate award winners Rhiannon Powell, Jerome Wooton and Georgia Perrin have been discussing their approach to design and the inspiration behind their ideas. In a conversation with Rachel and Ben of Smallman Media, PR company for Sheaffer, Rhiannon, Jerome and Georgia with Graphics subject leader Mark Austin enjoyed sharing enthusiasms for their winning design projects. 

Rhiannon, now studying for an MA in Visual Communication, discussed her ambition to work as a professional designer and copywriter. Ignited by her love of films, Rhiannon's acclaimed project was her final dissertation, ‘An Investigation of Representations of Physical and Mental Entrapment in Classic and Contemporary Disney Film.'

“I love film” said Rhiannon “and knew I wanted to analyse the Disney films I’m passionate about, so after reviewing different Disney genre, I settling on the films Sleeping Beauty, Tangled and Frozen as subject matter for my work."

A live project for Erasmus Plus was the winning solution for Georgia Perrin, whose Sheaffer Award was presented for work on live of projects. Georgia’s design develops an app for Erasmus, “I designed over a thousand pages illustrating content for the app in different languages” she said. After making this sizeable design project so visually interesting, Georgia was also nominated for student employee of the year awards, winning the University’s Commercial Impact Prize. Georgia is now a Graduate Teaching Assistant within the Visual Communications department and is studying for a Post Graduate Certificate in Education.

The Sheaffer Award for Use of Language in Graphics Projects was won by  MA student Jerome Wootton for his distinctive final year  undergraduate project interpreting the Gallifreyan language. A long-term fan of Doctor Who, Jerome, owner of his own Tardis and collection of Doctor Who ephemera, was inspired by the BBC shows broadcast from 2005. His project investigates a series of interactive print techniques in combination with coloured light to achieve legibility and comprehension within his work. 

All award winners discussed the conceptual inspiration they take from contextual studies, synthesising research and analysis to inform their developing conceptual alternatives. 

Visual Communication staff and students would like to thank Sheaffer and Smallman Media for their long-term support and interest.