MEAD Scholarships & Fellowships 2017

The MEAD Scholarships & Fellowships support UAL students and recent graduates

in the pursuit of excellence through the development of their creative practice.

In 2017, the process began in March, with 221 applications received at Stage 1,

which were shortlisted to 41 invited to apply with greater detail at Stage 2. In June

the MEAD judging panel were delighted to see strong and intriguing proposals, from

11 finalists from all six colleges.

The panel were impressed with the calibre of this year’s finalists, and a total of £35,000 was awarded to seven UAL current students and alumni who had demonstrated outstanding ideas in their practice, across a wide range of creative disciplines.

Profiles of the current and past MEAD awardees can be viewed below and through

the MEAD page of the UAL Careers and Employability website

http://www.arts.ac.uk/student-jobs-and-careers/funding-and-mentoring/mead-

scholarships-and-fellowships.

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Mead Fellows 2017

Andrea Quek - Algorithmic Design Automation

(BA (Hons) Fashion: Womenswear, Central Saint Martins, graduated 2017)

This project seeks to bring together technology and fashion design in an innovative way. By taking the notion of mass-production to the extreme, an oversupply of design generations at once satirizes the fashion industry and questions its valuation of creative labour.

“The Mead Fellowship has made it possible to carry out the research and development in a much larger scope and time frame. I am thrilled to receive this award and can’t wait to bring this project to fruition. A big thank you to the Mead panel for this amazing opportunity, and for believing in a project that might not have had a chance in traditional creative spaces.”

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James Hopkirk - South London Stories

(MA Journalism & Documentary Photography, London College of Communication,

graduated 2017)

James is a journalist and photographer who recently graduated from the MA

Photojournalism and Documentary Photography at the London College of

Communication.

James’ work, which began as part of his master’s in 2015, documents the effects of

austerity in one London borough – Lambeth, where he’s lived for 20 years. He uses

local stories to highlight national issues.

Working in collaboration with seven NGOs in the area, left picking up the pieces

where Government-funded services have been cut or lost, including a foodbank,

refugee charity, legal advice bureau and a day centre for homeless people, his

project tells the story of both these frontline organisations and some of the

vulnerable people they help.

“The Mead Fellowship will not only enable me to continue telling this story, but

it will also allow me to launch a new website, stage an exhibition and bring in

others to help,” says James. “These are things I simply could not do

otherwise. It’s an incredible opportunity – and a real morale boost. I’m

extremely grateful.”

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Photos: Rachel Ferriman

Nick Woodford - The Peckham Coal Line Park: Re-imagine Bidwell Street

(M ARCH: Architecture, Central Saint Martins, graduated 2017) Nick trained as an architect completing both part 1 and diploma at Central Saint Martins. The Peckham Coal Line was a BA second year proposal for an elevated park that would connect communities by repurposing a disused railway between two sides of a neighbourhood. The idea captured the collective imagination and through harnessing the time and diverse skills of local residents it is fostering local collaborations through shared ambition. Nick is continually experimenting with ways in which to stretch the role of the architect by identifying and sharing local opportunity with the aim of democratising the planning process. The Coal Line connects a series of potential public spaces. The first of these to be developed is Bidwell Street, which will act as a springboard for the wider project. Through the act of cross community communing, how can places like Bidwell Street foster Civil Society outside its traditional structures? The Mead Fellowship provides us the support and resource to help us break through a 3.5 meter concrete wall into Bidwell Street, physically connecting neighbours separated for over 50 years. It will be a powerful symbol of collective action and the first step towards the establishment of a park field office.

"The Mead fellowship is allowing our community project to continue to innovate neighbourhood planning providing the support, credibility and independence necessary to be able to collaborate with traditional decision makers."

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Mark Andrew Jones - The Library in a Jungle

(BA (Hons) Film Practice, London College of Communication, graduated 2017)

Mark will edit footage he has already filmed into a feature-length documentary exploring the controversial refugee camp ‘The Jungle’ in Calais. The film will explore the refugee camp through the eyes of a community Library built by volunteers and refugees, and will give a wider view on the immigration crisis, seen from the perspective of the volunteers, refugees and immigrants who lived there.

The Library in the Jungle includes interviews from some of the key leaders in the refugee crisis, such as the U.N. Special Representative for Migration, Director of Doctors of the World, MPs and Scientific Reports. Mark hopes the film will make the case for a freer Europe, at a time when migration, Brexit and peoples freedom is at the forefront of the public eye.

“I am very grateful and incredibly happy to have won the award. Am now very

much looking forward to getting the documentary made.”

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Samiya Younis - I have a voice

(MA Fine Art, Wimbledon College of Arts, graduated 2017) This project seeks to undertake art workshops in a women's refuge in Oxford, to support, release, and empower using art as a form of visual expression.

Through her own experiences of domestic abuse and honour-based violence, Samiya feels she will share a unique connection with the women in her workshops. She hopes to provide a tangible example of what can be achieved, the potential tools for better communication of concerns and fears, feeling they have a purpose, and ultimately taking back control of their lives. "It feels amazing to have been awarded this money to help realise my project working with a women's refuge in Oxford. As a survivor of domestic honour-based violence myself I have had direct experience of the impact that this kind of abuse can have on women. Art has empowered me in my life since leaving the abusive relationship I was in and I am desperate to share the possibilities that art offered me with other women in similar situations. Art has such transformative qualities and the opportunity to enable people to find their own voice through my project feels like a logical next step for me creatively."

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Mead Scholars 2017

Céline Marie Wenninger - Are you ready to print your bras at home yet?

(BA (Hons) Fashion Contour, London College of Fashion, graduating 2018)

Céline Marie Wenninger’s great passion is to launch her own lingerie brand to contribute to the current lingerie market in an innovative and unique way. After interning for many notable designers including Iris van Herpen and Agent Provocateur, her approach to designing shifted to a more experimental and cross-disciplinary perspective.

The project “Are You Ready to Print Your Bras at Home Yet?” aims to view lingerie design in a scientific light and innovate the fitting, manufacturing and sourcing process by using 3d technology. Inspired by a close friend who underwent breast cancer surgery, the brand focuses deeply on catering to women with uneven breast sizes by invisibly balancing out the volume difference. The idea evolves around the creation of elaborate custom made pieces to empower and re-embrace their uniqueness whilst providing a personalised product that caters to their individual needs. The project itself focuses on three different concepts which all represent an interdisciplinary approach of additive manufacturing, body scanning and silicone casting together with traditional hand-sewing techniques in bra making. With the help of 3D printing, this project aims to simplify the fitting, production and sourcing of bespoke handmade lingerie and make it more accessible.

“The MEAD Scholarship opens up an entire new world of technology that always had appeared to be an unreachable field of practice to me due to its complexity and technical requirements. I am very grateful and thrilled about the opportunity to realise my project and build upon my creativity by incorporating 3d technology on such a scientific level.”

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Simon Handy – Mrs Gren

(BA (Hons) Painting, Camberwell College of Arts, graduating 2018)

Simon makes absurd mechanical sculptures and robots which explore the relationship between art and technology.

For his Mead Scholarship project ‘Mrs Gren’ Simon will be exploring the role that art could play in relation to automation and the rapid advance of disruptive technologies.

Through creating a large robot that mimics M.R.S.G.R.E.N (the scientific requirements for life: movement, respiration, sensitivity, growth, reproduction, excretion and nutrition) he intends to replace humanity by performing their function for a fraction of the cost of a live human.

“I am very happy about being awarded this scholarship, it will allow me to build a large robot which is very exciting.”