Liverpool Art & Design Academy (ADA)

Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Following last year’s successful artist residency as part of the John Moores Painting Prize China, four of the five finalists from this year’s competition have flown into Liverpool to exhibit their work and produce new works inspired by the city.

The painting prize is an extension of the long-running Liverpool-based competition which is due to open at the Walker Gallery as part of Liverpool Biennial 2012 on 15 September.

The artists have come over to Liverpool for a month and will be spending their time at Liverpool John Moores University’s Art and Design Academy, home to the Liverpool School of Art and Design and METAL at Edge Hill Station.

The finalists were whittled down from nearly 3,000 entrants by the panel of esteemed judges; Michael Craig-Martin, Tony Bevan, Yu Hong, Ding Yi and Liverpool Biennial’s former Chief Executive, Lewis Biggs.

The finalists are:

• Winner of the prize, Nie Zhengjie was selected for his oil on canvas work, ‘Being’, a study of migrant workers in China
• Hu Wenlong was shortlisted for his stunning oil on canvas, ‘Aphasia’ which took 18 months to paint using fine detail to create a photograph-like finish
• Zheng Jiang’s oil on canvas, ‘Waiting’, uses varnishing techniques to stunning effect
• Pu Yingwei’s oil on canvas, ‘Desire’ explores the different states of body in contemporary Chinese society
• Zhang Aicun’s piece, ‘Makeup NO.2′ is a bright acrylic on canvas, exploring through makeup packaging how women of different classes distinguish themselves depending on the makeup they buy and wear.

from left to right: Ling Min, Nie Zhengjie, Pu Yingwei, Zheng Jiang, Hu Wenlong and Juan Cruz

Ling Min, Head of International Development at the Fine Arts Academy of Shanghai University said:

“We are very pleased to be in Liverpool again with the finest talent from China’s fine arts community.

“This year’s John Moores Painting Prize China has been a phenomenal success and we received many more entries than the previous year, from all over China. We hope people from around Liverpool are able to come and see our exhibition, to meet the artists and see how exciting contemporary Chinese art can be.”

The collaboration extends further in September when, alongside the John Moores Painting Prize at the Walker Art Gallery, the first John Moores Critics Award is launched, inviting the public to submit critical writing around the exhibition.

Some of the artists’ work inspired by local surroundings while in Liverpool

The Critics Award will run in parallel to the painting prizes in Liverpool and Shanghai and will offer two winners, one from China and one from the UK, the opportunity to travel to the UK and China respectively for residencies hosted by Shanghai University and LJMU as part of the cultural exchange programme. There will also be cash prizes for runners-up.

Professor Juan Cruz, Director of the Liverpool School of Art and Design said:”This collaboration marks an exciting time for LJMU and the city of Liverpool. Our new artists in residence have an exceptional talent and have done very well to get here. We are pleased to welcome them and we hope that their stay in Liverpool is as culturally enriching as it is inspiring for their art.”

The John Moores Painting Prize China show is on in the public gallery on the ground floor of the Art and Design Academy, Duckinfield Street, L3 5RD (beside the Metropolitan Cathedral).The exhibition is open until 7 September from 12noon to 5pm.

This activity was supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

The East Side Gallery is one of Berlin’s most popular tourist attractions, a 1.3km-long brightly painted stretch of the wall which divided east and west for almost 30 years.

But now the outdoor exhibition space is embroiled in an expensive copyright controversy after Berlin council destroyed some artworks painted on the wall and reproduced others without the permission of the original artists.

The city of Berlin, which owns the wall and the land around it, is being sued by 21 artists over the way the council handled recent renovation of the gallery.

Full story from the Guardian.

Last week, the level 2 product design students were lucky enough to visit leading design house Black + Blum in London’s prestigious OXO tower. Founded by Dan Black and Martin Blum in 1998, this witty and sleek product design company has grown to become one of the most recognisable names in design today. The company, who create a range of products including the clever ‘salad plant’ and the iconic ‘James the Doorman’ bookend are “Driven by the opportunity to give each design its own unique character and soul. Our brief is to create functional products that will charm and entertain”

The swiss half of the team, Martin Blum was kind enough to give us his time, emparting some valuable words of wisdom. He traced the roots of his very first products, explaining  the process of how to design around what is readily available and affordable to produce. Martin traced the development of one of the company’s early products, a pendant light called ‘libellule’. The light feature  is simply constructed from  coiled steel wire, laser cut polypropylene and an off-the-shelf light fitting, which were all realistic ways to produce when the company was just starting out.

Martin showed us their latest product, ‘hot pot bbq’,a product that has already been awarded ‘Excellence in Product Design’ at the New York International Gift Fair this year.  Looking like a  terracotta ‘pot’ , the product houses lush plants in the winter and transforms into a stylish barbeque in warmer weather. It was fascinating to hear how the product was devised and how they overcame the issues they have had in it’s development as well as how they market and sell their products.

All in all, it was a fascinating insight into a fresh and exciting design company. If only we could have taken all their products home! The visit has given us lots of ideas and we hope to hear more from the team in future!

The ADA Newsletter has undergone a face lift for 2011 and is available around the building. Designed by ex-graduates Zoe and Sadie Evans on a short term placement in the Design Pod, the new design is to be integrated across the signage system and this very same blog.

As always, any contributions to the Newsletter (or Blog) can be directed to the Pod staff – Caroline, Dom and Andrew.

In December, the Art and Design Pod collaborated with Open Labs to host preFAB; an informal evening of creative collaboration with a group of creative enthusiasts, designers, makers from the Merseyside area, who were interested in gaining exposure to the ADA fabrication equipment with potential opportunities arising throughout the evening to use laser cutters and 3D printers.

During the course of the evening, three teams had access to both the fabrication equipment at the ADA and assistance from the Design Pod staff to help them flesh out their ideas. The event was also a great opportunity for participants to meet, work and mingle with like-minded creative people.

The evening’s activity was centered around a brief provided by the Design Pod team to reinvent the Christmas Cracker for the 21st century.

A range of imaginative and insightful ideas were developed over the course of the evening, ranging from a gingerbread tree structure created from laser cut ginger snap biscuits to a Russian Roulette table centerpiece.

The winning project, Crack.r foresaw a virtual based cracker which allowed users to share personal information and items from smartphones with each other by slotting them into a cracker device

IIsa Parry of Rethinkthings commented,

“preFAB offered me the opportunity to meet new contacts, as well as participate in an unusual creative evening. It was also great to understand what ADA@LJMU offer in terms of facilities and services. I’m now really looking forward to FAB Camp in January.”

Jason Taylor (Operations Manager at Open Labs) said,

“preFAB is one of a series of activities focused on making local companies aware of emerging technology and market opportunities. Events such as this are an ideal platform to raise awareness and encourage collaborations between the University and the Creative Industries. A further more in depth event, FAB Camp Liverpool, is planned for January of next year.”

A weekend long Fab Camp Liverpool event is planned for the ADA on the 29th-30th January. Watch this space for more details!

Well done to everyone who took part in the “Design your Futures” Exhibition in Manchester this week, which showcased all the ADA courses to potential applicants from all over the country. Despite the snow and ice, we welcomed a large number of visitors to our recognisable stand over the two days of the show showcasing images and information from all of our courses running in 2011 and 2012. Course leaders from all the Art and Design courses were on hand to answer any questions from the budding art and design students of the future. Visitors to the ADA stand also had a chance to pick up the new look ‘Edge’ magazine in a newspaper style format which features a whole new ADA branding that will be launched in January.

NME reports that Radiohead have put out a call for fans to join them in making a giant human sculpture on Brighton Beach this coming Saturday. The work is a collaboration between the band, their long time record sleeve designer- Stanley Donwood and climate campaign organisation 350 Earth who have already created many of these large scale artworks. The sculpture is to be of King Canute and aims to be visable form space. Register here if you want to take part – first 2000 only.

History of Art & Museum Studies student, Katrina Shock, is completing her level two Internship on this production and is acquiring multiple
experiences and transferable skills by working with artist, Mark Storor, and producer, Anna Ledgard on the Unity Theatre’s current production, ‘For The Best’.

Katrina states,

“The show is going really well, we are now into our fifth day and it is completely sold out for the whole run. The complex working of performance and art installations in the show has opened my eyes to a new concept and it is really very fascinating to be working in. It has given me an insight into arts and health partnerships, an added bonus as it is something I didn’t expect to gain from this internship.”

Please see the following links for reviews:
Telegraph Review. – Awarded 5 Stars!
Guardian review -‘A devastating theatrical journey.’

The Art & Design Academy’s POD team have been successful in their application to work on the 2011 Liverpool Community Arts Project ‘Four Corners’. They will be working with the neighbourhoods of East Liverpool in producing an iconic piece of public art that will enlist, engage and educate the often neglected NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) groups. The project will run from now until the end of April – the blog will keep you posted on their progress.

The POD worked with East Liverpool last year on a Health and Wellbeing inspired community project, creating a series of short videos that formed a health calendar. These are now on-line and can be viewed below.

Back in February we held an event called ‘VS’, allowing both practicing creatives, graduates and students to face up in a fierce battle. Despite teams of equal numbers the grads crept ahead, excelling particularly in the artistic challenges (willy drawing being a forté).

It’s now about time to find out not only whether the pros can regain some honour but also which creative hub is more passionate and game for a laugh, Liverpool or London.

Amidst a haze of beer, chat and music, once again we will be encouraging participants to compete in micro-challenges, notching up valuable points for their teams, as well as some new additions of staged professional and student grudge matches and team challenges, with the usual prizes and giveaways throughout. Regardless there will be countless opportunities for those on both sides to meet and discuss the finer aspects of football, politics and the relative merits of various weights of Akzidenz Grotesk.

LIVERPOOL:
25th November 2010, 7.30pm
@ The Shipping Forecast
In association with Mercy, D&AD and Design Symposium North

LJMU Fashion Graduate and designer Michelle Pevie has been named North West Young Designer of the Year 2010. Michelle’s collection wowed the judges at an event in Manchester with all seven unanimously hailing her as the winner. The inspiration for Pevie’s collection was ancient Egypt and outfits were well structured yet elegant in various sandy shades reflecting the region.

Speaking about her win, Michelle said:

“I am absolutely thrilled. The standard of competition was so tough. When my name was called, I was completely stunned.

“It’s every young fashion designer’s dream to have their collections recognised by industry experts. I’m so grateful to have been given this opportunity and that I’m able to launch myself into the fashion arena with this under my belt.

“My course at LJMU helped me a lot, particularly in the final year when we had to design and manufacture a six outfit collection, which certainly prepared me for the time and effort needed to succeed as a fashion designer.

“We were also given opportunities to network with other designers, including attending London Graduate Fashion week, which we had to fundraise for which really helped with things like communication skills. This also led to Liverpool One choosing some of my collection to go on display.”

The competition showcased collections from ten of the North West’s best young designers, whose submissions were whittled down from hundreds of entries, and modelled in a professional catwalk show.

Marketing Manager at Triangle, Michelle Atack, said:

“We are delighted with the success of this year’s Young Designer Of The Year show. This was our fourth year and the quality and creativity of the designs just seems to get better and better each year.”

Current LJMU Fashion student, Alice England was also highly-commended.

To find out more about the winner, Michelle Pevie, please visit www.michellepevie.co.uk

This month sees the launch of “Designers in Residence”, series which aims to promote and foster young design talent within Liverpool. A number of designers will be establishing a studio within the environment of the ADA, interacting with students whilst building their businesses. In November, we are delighted to welcome Matthew Moore as our first designer, who will be exhibiting his work in the ground floor space in during the month. Matt is a graduate of the LJMU Product Design and Digital Modelling course who has established a business, ‘Junk inc’, marketing a range of traditionally inspired modern products varying from a sleek modern lamp to a contemporary wing back chair. Following its first product range at ‘Tent London’ in 2008, ‘Junk Inc’ has received considerable critical acclaim earned a place in the ‘Icon product yearbook 2009′ and attracting a host of international clients . Matt also markets a range of high end T-shirt designs under the ‘modern love’ brand which are currently stocked in prestigious retailer, ‘Liberty of London’.
Matt’s exhibition will show a range of “Origami” lamps The lamp reflects the style of the brand, combining traditional craftsmanship with new technologies to create an iconic piece that is both reflective and forward thinking.

Dutch court rules that children’s character Cathy the rabbit infringes the copyright of Dick Bruna’s Miffy, and bans the Hello Kitty sidekick from the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg

What do you think? The Guardian reports here.

Please note that the ADA Mac Suite (ICT1) will not be open on Friday Nov 5th to allow technicians time to upgrade the mac suite to Adobe CS5.

Staff please note: The Dell Mobile Class Suite will not be available Wednesday afternoon – (3rd Nov) and all day Friday (5th Nov) for Adobe CS5 upgrades as well.