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VISUAL BELFAST The Creative Journal Volume 3 - June 2012

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Visual Belfast is the new online journal for the Belfast Campus of the University of Ulster. It will have all you need to know about students work, tutors, artists in residence, graduate work, and other student issues!

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Page 1: Visual Belfast: Creative Journal Volume 3

VISUAL BELFASTThe Creative Journal

Volume 3 - June 2012

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Page 3: Visual Belfast: Creative Journal Volume 3

Whilst sitting in my office thinking of my views to right this issue, I can’t help but be distracted by the noise outside. For anyone that isn’t familiar with this time of year, this distraction can only mean one things – the ‘Degree Show’ is upon us.

The past few weeks are the best time of year in the Art College. You can feel the stress and passion coming from the student’s, as they get ready for one of the most important days in their student life, and a night that marks the end of Art College for them, but (as corny as it sounds) the beginning of a whole new adventure.

I have had the pleasure and privilege of knowing and working with a lot of the graduating year in Fine and Applied Arts, and they have been an amazing year. I wish them the best of luck in all their endeavours and hope that this would be the last we hear from them at Visual Belfast.

In this issue we have a number of exciting articles. We have an in depth interview with Marc Williamson, a graduating ceramist, our infamous agony uncle section, an interview with one of the Architecture Lecturers Mike McQueen and lots more.

If you are interested in joining the team here at Visual Belfast next year, please do not hesitate to get in touch by contacting [email protected]. We are looking for all sorts of people, but in short, people who want to contribute in highlighting the amazing talent and culture we have here in Belfast.

I want to leave you with a quote that I found. I hope you enjoy it: “Design creates culture. Culture shapes values. Values determine the future.” — Robert L. Peters

Stuart CannellVice-President Student and Academic AffairsUniversity of Ulster Students’ UnionBelfast Campus

VP VIEWSC

onte

nt Student Interview : Marc Williamson 2 / Other Enteries: Lisa Lasko 6 / Caroline McCusker 8 /Lecturer Interview : Michael McQueen 10 /Graduate Interview : Craig Donald 12 / Anthony Stafford 16 /Practicing Artist : Kyle Barnes 20 /Placement Interview: Catherine McConalogue & Natalie Turkington 24 /Group Review: Louise Younger, ‘LOFT’ 28 / Stuart Cannell, ‘Secret Garden’ 32 /Campus Council 34 / Agony Uncle 36 / UUB Formal photographs 38 / Just A Thought 40 /

designed by Enyo Belfast

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STUDENT

IN

TERVIEW

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Marc WilliamsonFinal Year Ceramics student

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The winner of this Issue’s Front Cover competition is Final Year Ceramics student, Marc Williamson. We met up with him to ask him a few questions about his winning entry, his work for the end of year shows, and his plans for the future.

Marc WilliamsonFinal Year Ceramics student

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Can you firstly please tell us a bit about your winning entry?

The piece I entered into the competition is the work I am making for the end of year show. There is going to be a series of 12 birds, each carrying a series of different objects which each have a meaning themselves. The work is basically about the transcendence from adolescence to adulthood. Technically they are metaphors for birds. The bird is seenas a symbol in mythology and dreams as a carrier for the human soul, so the birds are actually more ‘bird-like’ than real birds.

Going back in time a bit, what is it that made you want to come to Art College in the first place?

Originally I was offered a place on a teaching course in Stranmillis, but I then decided that maybe I should come this way and learn a skill first. I still want to go into

teaching after I graduate from here and I am on the waiting list for a PGCE in Coleraine and I have an interview for Newcastle, Northumbria. I think I would rather stay in Northern Ireland because the curriculum is very strong so I would stay here if I can.

What is it you like most about the Art College and the general atmosphere here?

Over in ceramics we are all quite social; there are a lot of like-minded people who like to enjoy themselves. We are all very close and get on quite well. A lot of us have been friends since Foundation year.

Why did you choose ceramics as the discipline you wanted to study for three years?

Originally I wouldn’t have guessed that I would want to study ceramics, I think I wanted to study

something more fine art like painting. But towards the end of Foundation year was when I started to get more into ceramics. I used porcelain paper clay (which is what the birds are constructed from) and I was introduced to that as a new material in Foundation which I really enjoyed working with.

Have you always enjoyed using metaphors in your work, or is that something that has evolved over your degree?

I have sort of work with narrative quite a lot actually, I like to look at ceramic narrative artists as well. I like to suggest a meaning or make people reflect or ask a question. I would say that this is a theme that has run throughout my work in second year and this year.

STUDENT

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TERVIEW

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What have been your best and worst experiences throughout your time at Art College?

I don’t know! I am looking forward to the formal I’ll say that. So I guess that could be the worst or the best experience! (Laughs)

So after your degree show do you see yourself continuing to make your work?

Maybe not initially no, I think I would like a break. I think I will try the teach-ing thing first but it is something I will always have to do if I wanted! If I was to continue with my work I think I would start looking into the print aspect of things as I am quite interested in that and I have already used quite a lot of print in my work.

If you hadn’t done a creative degree what do you think you might have done?

If it weren’t a creative degree or the teaching, I would say I would need a job working with people. I couldn’t work in an office I’d need to be out there doing something.

If you were to describe your work in one word, what word would you use?

Probably ‘self-analytical’

What is it that inspires your work?

I would say its quite personal. Looking at myself and things that I’ve learnt or have had to learn. Life’sjourney as such, where you have come from and where you are going to be.

By Lucy Liddell and Stuart Cannell

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OTHER

ENTRI ES

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Lisa LaskoFinal Year Textile Art student

Lisa’s work is situated in a conceptual framework with core themes such as communication, expression, and revealing/concealing flowing throughout. Her influences range from the field of linguistics, to areas of nature such as light, to personal experience’s surrounding travel, family, relationships, and childhood.

Her work has many layers of meaning and metaphors normally seen through the use of multiples and exists in a wide variety of media. Although her foundation is based in textiles she has explored media such as video, photography, sound and continues to investigate new technology to bring several dimensions to her work.

Some of the basic queries that fuel her work are around how we hold onto sentimental text that drift in and out of our life, the contrast of concepts or duality, and the influence of light on emotional states. {Taken from lisalasko.com}

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OTHER

ENTRI ES

Caroline McCuskerFinal Year STVP student

At Anchor

Sit and wait. Do not do anything until people arrive.Your back greets them.Gently swing your feet.Back, forth.To and fro.

Let yourself go. Impulsively, jolting backwards, screech the floor violently.Wait for silence before repeating.Do not wait for silence again, it is too rehearsed.Do as you wish.

Crawl underneath the table,unto your back.Let the table gather your legs and hands,At anchor,Getting tangled with the object.Caroline McCusker

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In-house

Slide the chest over your head, like a vest.Mould your body into the object.Embrace its darkened corners.Let the drawer trap your hair which flows outward.

Do not move.You can’t move.Your neck hurts.

Pull your hair inward and shut the drawer.Retract your feet, up inside.It is quite comfortable here. You will be staying here for a while.

Let your feet feel the ground.Standing up slowly, rest the chest on your arched back, balancing it as you walk.

Not too far.

Lower yourself as you drop the chest to the ground, in-house.Caroline McCusker

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LECTURER

IN

TERVIEW

Michael McQueenTutor BA Hons Architecture

Tell us about your current role within the University, and how you came about becoming involved with Architecture at the University of Ulster?

For the last four years I have taken the final year Design modules in the BA Hons Architecture course and currently enjoy the role of School Teaching and Learning Coordinator.

Presviouly I have written and delivered Professional modules in the BA and Masters courses and established a short course to support our BA graduates. I was lucky enough to be part of the team that generated and achieved validation for the original architecture courses in UU .

Space and time are inspiring and complex media to work with as a designer and as an architect in practice I always found more questions than answers in architecture. When I heard about the course being created at UU, I thought I should at least explore the chance to pursue these questions in a creative environment. I feel very lucky to have been given the opportunity to share what I have learnt while exploring what I would like to know.

Comparing to when you studied Architecture, how has the ethos around the course changed, and is it for the

better?

Western architecture is a lot less sure of itself than when I studied. One of our current icons, Rem Kool-haas, has mischievously suggested that architects of my generation now experience practice as a‘poisonous mix of megalomania and impotence’. There is more truth in this than many architects would like to admit.

The recognition that architects and their educators have a creative responsibility to develop more socially inclusive and empowering ways to design space has a curren-cy now that was neglected by the profession when I studied.

Personally I believe that architecture can only become more interesting if we can widen access to the profes-sion and spatial authorship. How the graduates that we are training today deal with these issues will determine whether the changes I have seen are for the better or worse.

What is it about Architecture that made you want to follow that path?

I have always enjoyed chasing ideas more than learning facts and architecture seemed to offer opportunities to do that in a number of ways. I was lucky enough to have a free education so I was able to consider a number of paths without worrying what the

immediate financial return would be. I feel for students today facing increasing fee scales and I worry about the implications for our society.

At school I was also drawn to a career in teaching, but at 18 I really couldn’t imagine being in a position to teach anything of substance in the near future. My current combination of architecture and teaching is ideal but I still struggle with the notion that the product in Higher Education, the graduate, skips away waving (…I think they were waving?) – unlike buildings that hang around so that you get to know them and discover what you got right and what you got wrong.

Where do you think you would be if you hadn’t studied Architecture?

Travelling across town, when I studied architecture at QUB (at that time the only course in NI), I would watch students going in and out of the Art College and wonder what my life would be like if I’d taken up my offer of a place on the foundation course there instead. I don’t know if Clive and Michael in ceramics, Hazel in textiles or Tony in fine art have ‘uncomplicated relationships with their practice’, but I am fascinated by their skill sets and sneak jealous looks at their students’ work at the End of YearShow.

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By Lucy Liddell and Stuart Cannell

What is your experience in practicing Architecture? (Could you elaborate on a few projects)

Architects need to position themselves relative to power, politics and people and we learn to navigate these influences within our own value systems. I have been lucky enough to work in a number of different professional contexts in the UK and Australia in both design and commercial practice so I canappreciate the strengths and weaknesses of differing approach-es and the sacrifices required to succeed in them.

In London, as a young graduate architect, I worked for a small design-driven satellite of a large Australian practice, Daryl Jackson Pty. We were a small, very young practice, with exciting projects, trusting clients, great consultants and ‘dream’ budgets. I poured my heart and soul into the work. Our reputation was growing, we were being published and I felt totally supported in my work. I was, however, uncomfortable creating spaces that my friends, family and I would never be able to afford to enjoy.

Daryl enjoyed making opportunities for young staff and I moved to his Melbourne team where I worked on a sports resort on

Stradbroke Island, Queensland, being developed for the Sydney Olympics (yes that long ago) that eventually won an AIA Building of the Year award. When that project completed I was to work on the Crown Casino but I just couldn’t reconcile my own values with the agendas driving the Casino project and I travelled back to Belfast instead, after a while becoming an Associate Director in commercial practice Ostick & Williams. There I learnt about the power and pitfalls of the client-driven context of commercial practice in Northern Ireland, but we also managed to get recognition in awards with projects such as Newtownabbey Civic Centre.

By 2004, I felt I had enough depth and diversity of experience to be useful when the opportunity came up to join the small architecture team at UUB. At UU I have begun to see potential answers in some of the questions within architecture, developing research and out-reach projects, collaborating with others and exploring themes of participatory practice and spatial empowerment. I now value my time with students in studio as a shared, rich and rewarding context in which to develop and explore ideas.

Do you have any helpful tips for students who are going to be graduating?

Believe in yourself. Your grade, high or low, does not define you as a person and your future is something you must take pride in developing for the rest of your life.

Any other comments?

Although there are familiar day to day frustrations, UUB, ‘the Art College’, is an amazing place to work or study in, whatever your subject. The staff and students that really impress are the ones who realise that, take set-backs in their stride and who revel in opportunity.

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Craig DonaldFine and Applied Art Graduate

Craig Donald graduated from BA Fine and Applied Art – Painting in 2010. Since then, he has continued to make work locally, and is due to exhibit in ‘Cursed’ group show in Catalyst Arts Gallery in Belfast next month. Here he catches up with VB’s Louise Younger to talk about life after Art College, luck and a mutual love for life drawing.

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What made you want to be an artist? And why painting in particular?

I’ve drawn constantly since childhood and I was always encouraged. I had originally wanted to be a film-maker, but decided to do the foundation course and weigh up my options- and then inspiring classes with excellent tutors led me down the painting road. There is still a visually cinematic aspect to the way I work and I think I sometimes appraise films with quite a painterly eye, so perhaps I found the best of both worlds!

That correspondence is veryinteresting! And you do have an eye for composition! But let’s talk about student life for a moment, as I could talk to you about your work all day - What is your fondest

memory from studying at the Art College?

That is a tough one! I made so many amazing friends at art college and we had some great times. On a practice level though it would have to be experimental drawing workshops in the liferoom.

I loved those too! They were the height of fun. And now what are you doing with yourself?

At the moment I am working in a studio in Belfast. I share with one other artist who was in my year at college and will be moving soon to another studio with four other artists. I also work part time in a shop and run some courses or workshops throughout the year which further supplements my practice and is giving me more experience.

Excellent! How did you go about finding such opportunities after graduation? Or did they come to you?

What I find is that there are plenty of opportunities out there, but you should consider what is right for you. I sometimes wish I could be the type of person to just apply for anything and everything but I am naturally cautious and excuses come easily. Go with your instincts, but try not to pass up too many opportunities that are handed straight to you.

Networking is important, especially through friendships maintained in art college. If you keep together with like-minded people you are more likely to hear about opportunities. Also don’t be afraid to talk to your tutors about the future, they have a lot of

GRADUATE

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experience and knowledge, who better to give you some guidance? Visual Artists Ireland and Artists Newsletter also provide listings for jobs, competitions, exhibition submissions etc. One final thing to say is to make sure you have agreed payment for anything you do! Unless you know the person well or it is a private commission where you feel trust has been established, have a contract or sum of money agreed, especially if you are dealing with a business; it may be embarrassing but trust me, they will not be too embarrassed to tell you they can’t pay you after you have spent time doing work! In short, there is a mixture of filling out proposals, applications, some opportunities coming to you and of course a bit of luck involved.

Do you have any more advice

for our students about life after graduation, or whilst still in study? Any pointers for success?

My advice would be to really work out why you’re doing what you do and why you enjoy it. Educate yourself as much as possible about the world your working in and en-joy having the time to let your mind wander. Don’t be afraid to take time out for a drink with friends but never let it take over your work. Look beyond art college, try not to place yourself as ‘just a student’, imagine yourself in your chosen profession, think of the dedication and expertise that this requires and use that as your benchmark. And of course create, create, CREATE! Anything! You never know when inspiration will strike. Don’t get too carried away with ‘success,’ take things one at a time and just try to get by!

That is so true! But during your time at college if you could have done anything differently, would you have? And if so, what would it be?

Oh I don’t know, I don’t really like to go down that road as it is so hard to change one thing without a million others changing. I suppose I would have made more use of the facilities, especially the wood workshop, wooden stretchers for canvas cost a fortune!

Finally, could you describe your time at the art college in 3 words?

Friends, comfort and turpentine.

Interviewed By Louise YoungerFor more information on Craig Donald

email: [email protected]/craigdonaldartist

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GRADUATE

IN

TERVIEW

Anthony StaffordBA Hons Architecture Graduate

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For more information on Anthony Stafford follow him on twitter @staffordav

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What made you want to be an Architect?

A stereotypical answer for an architect I suppose, but as a child I was obsessed with Lego! I always was interested more in design and creative expression, so I knew that I would be happiest in a creative profession regardless. However the more that I read about architects and architecture, the more the profession appealed to me. Merging art with science and endless other considerations in order to create spaces/places that will have a dynamic impact on peoples lives, all in various scales - what a cool responsibility to have!

Indeed! Yet a big one at that! But tell us about Switzerland you lucky thing! How did that opportunity come about?

Switzerland came about thanks to an IAESTE traineeship. I had applied for an IAESTE traineeship during my final semester while trying to juggle my final project! My initial application was for Malta actually, and only for 6 weeks - I didn’t get it. However IAESTE kept looking for something and after an initial 6 month offer in one country, the Switzerland opportunity for a year came up - however I had to make a quick decision (it really wasn’t that hard). So then two days after graduating, I flew out of Belfast and began my traineeship at Rapp Arcoplan in Basel, Switzerland! During my final few months of the traineeship, my boss gave me a few contact details of people I could send my redesigned CV and portfolio to. I sent them off to 3 offices, one of which was Blaser Architekten also based in Basel.

This was an office I immediately fell in love with, as it just had a great creative atmosphere (and gorgeous corten steel staircase..!). They offered me a position during the interview which I then accepted, and where i’ve been working up until now.

Fantastic! And so what are you doing with yourself at the minute?

Since my contract is finished at the end of June, I’m currently beginning to pack up my past two years of living here in Basel. So i’m trying to take in as many of the museums and galleries while i’m here as they have some of the most impressive collections, and are usually housed in really fantastic spaces! Oh and making good use of the efficient Public transport..!

Oh I’m sure it’s heartbreaking to

Visual Belfast’s Louise Younger catches up with 2010 architecture graduate Anthony Stafford. For the past two years Stafford has been lucky enough to have been living working in Basel, Switzerland, yet is now back in Belfast (and how very lucky we are to have him home!) Here they talk about internships, Swiss life and studio delirium!

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see the back of it! But now let’s talk about your time at the Art College - What is your fondest memory from studying here?

As I’ve way too many fond memo-ries from studying in the art college. Architecture can be quite incestuous, however that camaraderie is really quite fantastic. When you’re up late in the studio working, there would always come a hyper period where you acted like you were drunk due to tiredness, however that energy made some pretty hilarious scenarios. Everyone I studied with were a great bunch of people and I doubt the experience would have been as good without that close knit bond. However I will say that nearing the end, during the frantic final preparations of the final project/degree show really does stick out as bittersweet memories. Since the

architecture studio is a glass box, in the run up to the end, there was a heat wave, causing the studio to feel like a greenhouse. My friends andI sitting by our desks, our feet plunged in buckets of cold water while sitting on our laptops finish-ing drawings constantly trying to make each other laugh by either saying the most ridiculous things, or else singing along to kitschy songs - namely Crys-tal Swing or The Cranberries!

That sounds utterly fabulous! Talking about bittersweet, you have mentioned the sweet, and now for the bitter -if you could change anything about your art college experience, would you? And if so what would it be?

No I don’t think I would change anything really regarding the experience.

I mean all those trials and errors that you encounter during university are useful lessons in life. I think the only thing that I’d probably change but it’s not specific to the art college would be the Student Fees!

I think many students would agree with you on that one! But do you have any advice for our students? Any pointers for success?

Common sense, but time management is probably the most useful thing to try and master. Doing the best you know you can do and knowing when to trust your own judgment.

Could you describe your time at the art college in 3 words?

Chaotically great craic!

Interviewed By Louise Younger

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Kyle BarnesBA Hons Fine and Applied Art

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Why did you choose to come to Art College?

I decided to go to Art College to learn more about painting and to get an insight to the art world and learn more about the way it works. For me it was a good opportunity to make contacts through the activities we did, like the second year placement (I took part in a group exhibition.)

Do you regret choosing to study a creative degree?

Not at all although I’ve found a creative degree is very much what you make it, its self directed mostly at university and whenever you finish its up to you as an individual to make opportunities happen.

If you had to choose one other discipline that you would have liked to pursue, what would it be and why?

Photography- Id love to learn a little more about it because it can be used so well to inform the process of painting, that’s not to take away from the importance of painting from life.

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If you had to give yourself advice when you were in 1st year, what would it be?

While at the university take time to go see art in the flesh, in Belfast alone there’s a lot to see and the late night gallery openings are the first Thursday in every month. It informs and inspires your own practice besides giving you the chance to make great contacts with other artists and gallery owners. It gets your face around.

What was your best time in Art College?

The buzz of creating the degree show at the end was my favourite part no doubt. It was a chance to bring everything together you’d learnt up to that point and go for it. There were plenty of late nights in the college then but everyone was in it together. For me you could call on every piece of creativity you had and produce your most ambitious works to date.

What was your worst time in Art College?

I can’t really pick out a bad time in Art College; the whole thing was literally a dream. I love art and everything creative so I couldn’t think of a better place to be. I was taking everything in. When I first came into the art college it felt very different to art at school and even anything that I had done in foundation, I thought I knew what art was and coming through these doors was the first taster of what art is. So it took a while to get used to that and if I was squeezed Id probably say the beginning where I was acclimatizing myself.

Please tell us about your most recent work.

My work questions our perception of beauty and causes us to look deeper than the notion of aesthetic quality. The idea of attractiveness stems from other factors besides aesthetic perspective and I show

this through the subjects I paint. I focus on familiarity, security, nostalgia and daily relationships which subconsciously build up a fondness in our minds for a particu-lar place or person. A new build-ing or place may be aesthetically pleasing but it is void of the emotional attachment that comes through spending time living, working and interacting. The visible history in the work ignites memories with landscapes and scenes that are easily related to.

The work has captured a cross section of Irish lifestyle which isoften looked at but overlooked and in many ways is biographical of me, an artist who has grown up in Northern Ireland. Most of these scenes I have known from childhood and have witnessed the weather-ing that has physically altered them to the people associated with these places and the lifestyle that has taken place around them.

Could you describe your work in 1 word?

Biographical.

What inspires you to do your work?

The things I see around me. Colour, form, relationships, memories. In each painting I try to put part of me in there somewhere, whether it is something I’ve grew up with, a relationship between colour that has inspired me or the way an object speaks to me.

Who is currently your favourite artist and why?

Alyssa Monks, she’s and artist from New York who paints the figurebehind filters such as glass, plastic and water. She is very painterly, her brushstrokes have an abstraction about them in the way she pulls the paint and colours around but from far away the works take on a photorealist quality, although

she doesn’t describe herself as a photorealist.

What does the future hold for you?

At the minute my work can be found in Gormley’s Belfast. In the not to distant future I aim to show my work further afield like London and take it from there. I’m always learning more about my practice all the time, if you ask me the same question in three years Ill still say the same thing so Ill continue on this journey and develop my work constantly.

If you had 3 tips for success what would they be?

O I don’t think I’m qualified to answer that just yet. Entering competitions is a great way to build up your CV, to show with other great artists and to get your work seen, that’s one. Art is a way of life rather than a job so Id say always be on the lookout for inspiration no mat-ter where you are. It could be while you’re out and about, from a book or magazine, a song. Don’t limit your yourself to finding inspiration when it’s convenient, I’ve seen me having to get out of bed to scribble some-thing down that would’ve left me if I’d left it to the morning.

Making good friends and building up relationships is important, so many opportunities come around that way, besides the fact that it’s good to have people who will inspire and inform your practice.

Finally, any other comments?

Work as much as you can and don’t let yourself be boxed in!

Contact details:

Kylebarnes.co.ukEmail, [email protected]

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Catherine McConalogue and Natalie Turkington, two Visual Communications students who are coming towards the end of their placement years and about to go into final year met up with us to chat about their placement years and give other students some helpful tips on how to get placements.

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Where did you both carry out your placement years and how did you get your jobs in these places?

Catherine: I am in AV Browne (an advertising and design company based in Belfast which specializes in TV and press advertising, Graphic Design, web graphics and recruitment ads) Basically, I got my placement solely of the back of doing the PANI competition (a competition open to all second years studying Visual Communications and Communications/Marketing). If it weren’t for that I wouldn’t have got my placement at all. I am so glad that I did PANI. I guess when I was in there working on the competition they could see that I worked hard and got on well with everyone. It just so happened then that a girl working there was leaving for a year and a place just opened up! It was very much the right place at the right time so I was very lucky. When I went in to show the boss my portfolio he still wasn’t sure if he was going to take a placement student on and he luckily decided to take a gamble on me!

Natalie: I am in Thought Collective, (a Brand Development, advertising and Web Development design studio based in East Belfast). I applied for everywhere I could think of when it came to placements. It was quite late on that I was offered my placement and I was really happy about it because I had applied for so many. They had always taken on a placement student so they knew they were going to but they left it quite late deciding I think. I think it was the start of June I had my interview and I started in September and that’s been it since then!

What have been your roles in your placements, have you been given lots of responsibility or not so much?

Catherine: I think they broke me in easily, the first couple of weeks I would just go in and get to know people and I was talked through a lot of the client work and it was very easy to begin with. Most of the time I will be working alongside somebody for example if they had a new brief I would sit and help with ideas or some art work. I was never thrown in at the deep end; it’s been a very gradual process. As time went on I have been given more responsibility and had the opportunity to work with the bigger clients etc. It was intimidating going into a place like AV Browne but now I look back and wonder why I was so scared. They’ve had placement students in before and they are used to that sort of thing so I totally built myself up to nearly have a panic attack for no reason, it was grand!

Natalie: I had no idea what to expect but I think that whenever I first started they kind of did throw me in at the deep end and I remember the first week I was working on something and I felt pressurized as though they were

Placement StudentInterview

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testing me to see what I could do. They needed to see what my capabilities were and even now there are times when I feel under pressure but that’s good, I like that feeling. Jobs are delegated and if a designer is working on something they will get me to do a part of it and I will go back and show them. I have been very lucky with the jobs they have given me. I have worked on so many different things and I’ve got a lot of responsibility. Even if it is something small like a leaflet or a ticket it’s good for me to be able to say I did most of that. At Thought Collective everyone is very good at working together on something, no one ever takes credit for one particular thing. That was something I maybe struggled with at the beginning but now I think differently about it. I am not as precious about something that I have done. It is a collective after all.

What is your favourite thing you have worked on over the past year?

Natalie: Well I worked on the annual report for the NI Design Alliance, which was just amazing, and I think that they spoilt me very early on because I got that in September. It went on for a long time (until March) but it was amazing for me to be able to follow that right through to print.

Catherine: Probably the NI 2012 campaign which is everywhere. That would have begun last summer and I have worked on that since about Christmas time. Its just such a big campaign and you will sometimes see something you have helped with or worked on and its cool to see your work up there.

What has been your best experience during your years work placement?

Catherine: The thing about AV Browne is that because it’s such a big company they would do a lot of TV shoots for advertisements etc. and recently I was at one that was being filmed for BT. That Ad is on TV now and its really cool getting to be behind the scenes and see what goes on because you don’t realize how much work goes into it. I would never have got to see that otherwise had it not been for being in AV Browne. So doing and seeing things that I wouldn’t have got to see had I not done placement has been a real highlight for me.

Natalie: I think that my best experience has been that in Thought Collective there are only 8 of us all together. I feel like we are all good friends! (I know that sounds really gay!) But there is something about all the guys and being around them all. To know that these guys are all such great designers and sometimes I will just sit and watch them! I just love the atmosphere of the studio and through good times and bad times and I am actually feeling quite sad about leaving! I will definitely keep in touch with them and go and visit.

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What would you say is the most useful thing you have learnt over the past year that you will take through to final year with you?

Catherine: I think doing a placement has really helped me with coming out of my comfort zone. It has forced me to use programs that I wasn’t comfortable using before and my confidence has greatly improved.

Natalie: I think I am the same. From what I have learnt program wise on Illustrator etc. is just so unreal. I thought I kind of knew these things when I went in but compared with what I know now there is a massive difference. I think I will be able to work quicker. Also, the whole 9-5 routine will definitely help me next year. It’s such a good routine to get into, you get so much done! I don’t think we will properly appreciate what we have learnt until we begin final year, and also once we graduate!

Obviously, as you know this interview is for Visual Belfast and there will be people reading who may be hoping to organise a work placement. What advice would you give them?

Catherine: Just stand out and be original. Just do something different and make sure you are really prepared. There is so much competition. They want someone who is a good communicator and can talk about their work.

Natalie: I think you need to have a cracking CV, something a bit different that will grab their attention. Also, I think you need to be approachable and be able to talk to them. They aren’t going to want someone who is really shy.

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The Loft Studios &CollectiveAn Introduction

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Once upon a time there was a group of graduate artists who were eager to continue with their practices and so began searching for a studio space – A tale as old as time.

‘We stumbled upon a beautifully eccentric attic space’ remarks artist Brian Kielt, one of the founding studio members of LOFT, and who describes himself as the pivot within the studio’s ever changing artist line-up.

Cosy, crumbling, captivating. Swathed in twinkle lights, the exposed brick walls, the plush red carpet, the rustic wooden tables, the small scatter cushions, the draped white sheet over a corner, (which amusingly has been bequeathed with the name Patrick Swayze), all bathing in the warm amber glow of the heaters, the haze of oil paint and coffee fumes engulfing the atmosphere- The interior of the 99 North street dwelling is laden with Romantic charm and character.

Discussions started between Kielt and friends about the potential future of LOFT as a communal environment for likeminded individuals with a passion for artistic endeavours, who can come together to cultivate creativity. And so a series of event nights within the space were launched, starting with Film Nights, and now the locally recognised Drink and Draw evenings, in which people come together for some life-drawing, boozy ingestion and witty conversation. These nights led to a few regular faces or as Kielt calls them ‘the usual suspects’. After much discussion, any of these usual suspects were invited to unite and form what is now known as LOFT Collective. Ranging from visual artists to web developers to illustrators – the collective is a relaxed, mutual space which brings together people from a range of professional backgrounds, all

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with some sort of artistic ardour, and without any form of haughty hierarchy. It’s a space and place for showcasing our unique styles and eclectic individuality, collectively, yet also for promoting our own personal artistic endeavours, together. It is a landing board from which we can show our own personal diversity and hence the diversity of the creative industries. Members of the moment include David-Lee Badger, Manus Carson, Jill Collins, Craig Donald, Conor Flanagan, Angela Hutt, Brian Kielt, Nadine Lai, Christopher Laughlin, Christina Maher, Eoin McGinn, Gemma O’Hare, Adam Ruddy and Louise Younger.

‘LOFT is still in its infancy, but our ideas are big!’ – Brian Kielt

Workshops, such as Shutter Speed - a newly instigated photography seminar, master classes, collaborative projects with other art institu-tions around the province, Culture Night and plans for a summer group exhibition – LOFT is expanding, yet still maintains that these events are open to everyone and anyone interested. LOFT is a colossal comprehensive collage of characters, creativity and common conviction. Watch this space.

Louise YoungerFinal Year STVP.

Drink and Draw evenings continue at LOFT, 99 North Street, Belfast at 7.30pm on Tuesday12 June, and every other Tuesday thereafter. Shutter Speed commences from Belfast City Hall, 6pm

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There is a secret in Bangor that will no longer be a secret by the end of the month. The Walled Garden (known to locals as the ‘Secret Garden’) hosts an outdoor sculpture exhibition, with work from 19 local and national artists. The curator’s of the exhibition are Sharon Regan and Lee Boyd.

I was able to catch up with Sharon to talk about the exhibition just before the opening.

A Secret Is About To Be Told

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“I live in Bangor and I have visited this garden a lot. Putting this exhibition on really came from two things, my love for this garden and after I visited ‘Sculpture and Context’ in Gormleys, my love for outdoor sculpture. I love seeing sculpture rising up from foliage. The first thing I did was approach the council to seek approval for this project, and was assisted by Lee Boyd. We arranged an open day at the end of January for the artists to come down and see the garden, so all the sculptures have been either made or placed here with the garden in mind. A lot of the artists are award winning and exhibit international, so it is a real bonus to have artists like this ex-hibit with us.”

“We had he council print out 500 free maps to give to visitors, and within 3 days we had ran out. In fact Monday was probably the bus-iest day this garden has seen in many years.”

Both Sharon and myself agreed that this is a very accessible exhibition, and for people that might be intimidated by the ominous art galleries, this is a chance for people to view the artwork in a very soothing environment. Sharon also talked about several other projects that she is involved in based around the creative peninsula, one being the art group ‘Firsty’.

“Some of the artists involved with this exhibition are members of an artists group named ‘Firsty’. This is a networking group for artists to support each other, we organise exhibitions and work with local councils in trying to promote the arts. Within the group there is a crossover of disciplines, we have artists that specialise in painting, printmaking, sculpture, photography, poetry, ceramics, music – the list could go on.”

The artists exhibiting are: Betty Brown, Mark Morgan, Eamonn Higgins, Andrew Hipson, Catherine Keenan, Ellen Cunningham, Jo Hatty, Patrick Colhoun, Elaine McGinn, Sharon Regan, Andrew Cooke, Helen Hanse, Lee Boyd, Zoe Phenix, Martin McClure, Joy Gray, Neal Johnston, Rhiannon Ewing-James and Michael Moore.

Throughout this exhibition there is one thing that is consistent – variety. There is a huge array of skills and practices on show in the garden ranging from ceramics to creative blacksmithing, found objects to hand carved stonework. The show opens on Saturday 9th June for three weeks, and is a brilliant showcase to see how exhibitions and creativity in Northern Ireland are moving up to a national level, permanently.

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University of Ulster FormalBelfast Campus, 28th May 2012

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