Liverpool Art & Design Academy (ADA)

Archive for the ‘University’ 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.

We are really excited to launch our summer school for 11 years+ in the ADA, ‘Be a Designer’.  The workshops are a great way to it’s really like to make a living from doodling, making or designing professionally and have some fun in the process! We have some great designers delivering workshops such as accessory designers Nook & Willow, Illustration and Graphic Design collective, Mercy and celebrity hat designer Hayley Marsden. This is a great chance to really pick the brains of some of the most successful design businesses and get some top tips about the industry before choosing a career.

There are two week-long groups of workshops to choose from; ‘Be a Graphic Designer’ and ‘Be a Fashion Designer’.You can sign up for a week and experience a broad range of activities, or pick and choose from the daily sessions, from animation and photography to styling and accessory design. Each daily workshop is delivered by a different designer who will work with you on real projects, teaching you new skills and an awareness of what it is really like to work within their industry.

There will be a fantastic opportunity to showcase work in an exhibition, ‘Best of Be a Designer’, in September too!

For booking info click here, or for more information, check out our facebook group and web pages

Two of the Royal College of Art’s most important collections have been made available to the general public through a new digitisation project which is accessible through the Visual Arts Data Service (VADS).

View the collections online at:

Royal College of Art Record of Student Work

Royal College of Art Collection

The Record of Student Work is a rare collection, containing over 30,000 slides of student work, which dates back to the 1960s and includes early work by notable College alumni including David Hockney, Tracey Emin, Ridley Scott and Thomas Heatherwick. A comprehensive and unique resource, it provides insight into the early creative processes of some of Britain’s best-known artists and designers, usually captured as they complete their postgraduate studies with installation shots from students’ degree shows.

The nature of the collection – comprised mainly of 35mm slides and usually locked in filing cabinets in the RCA library – has meant that many of these images have never been published. Now however, a three-year scanning project has resulted in over 5,000 of the most notable images from the collection being made publicly available for the first time.

The earliest slides (1960-1978) represent ad hoc attempts by individual departments to record their students’ work. Fashion and Textiles are especially well represented with images of the work of Ossie Clark and Zandra Rhodes among many others. However, from 1979, at the instigation of Christopher Frayling, then Professor of General Studies, Jan Murton, slide curator, and photographer Barry Marsden, the Royal College of Art degree show was comprehensively photographed and catalogued across all departments for the first time. The approach continues to this day, although slides were replaced with digital photography in 2003.

Notable alumni whose work is represented in this selection include: David Hockney, Zandra Rhodes, Chris Ofili, Tracey Emin, Julien Macdonald, Philip Treacy, Orla Kiely, Harold Offeh and Thomas Heatherwick. These images are a representative sample of the entire collection 1960-2002 and all have been scanned from the original 35mm slides. Senior tutors from each department worked with the Special Collections Manager to identify key students’ work. Once a student was selected, every available slide of their work was digitised to provide a comprehensive picture of their work.

In addition to the Record of Student Work, over a thousand works from the Royal College of Art Collection of Paintings have been digitised and are also being made available through VADS. The Royal College of Art Collection is an invaluable resource of works that represent significant developments in British painting from the middle years of the 20th century to the present. The collection is made up of works donated by Painting graduates and staff. Examples include works by: Edward Bawden, Eric Ravilious, Paul Nash, John Piper, Frank Auerbach, John Minton, Peter Blake, David Hockney, Chris Ofili, Tracey Emin, Dinos Chapman and Sophie von Hellermann.

Dr Paul Thompson, Rector of the Royal College of Art said:

“These are indeed remarkable resources. Those selected from the Record of Student Work have been chosen not only for their subsequent eminence and reputation, but also for embodying particular trends, or producing especially idiosyncratic or revealing work. In both collections, the works have considerable research value and represent over half a century of work here at the RCA”

Neil Parkinson, Special Collections Manager added:

“The College believes in making the images available as widely as possible on a non-commercial basis for the purposes of learning, teaching and research. The Visual Arts Data Service (VADS), which collates images from the HE sector for educational use, shares this aim, which makes them a natural partner for delivery of our image collections to the widest possible audience.”

Liverpool City Council is meeting on Thursday, 3rd March to approve proposals to make dramatic budget cuts including to its arts budget. This will result in a number of council supported arts activities ceasing to take place (though some are protected for a year at least). Following 28% cuts to local government funding in the spending review, all local authorities are reviewing their budgets. If you care about arts provision in your area and believe that artistic activity and opportunities should continue to be supported.

There are three important things you can do to show decision makers how much you value the arts in Liverpool and why they should too.It is important that as many people as possible turn up to support the arts in Liverpool. Good attendance from people who value the arts will show Councillors that the arts in Liverpool are vital, valued and should not be cut.

The full council will meet at 5.00pm on Wednesday 2 March in the Council Chamber, Town Hall, High Street, Liverpool. Members of the Public may attend and there is an opportunity for the public to ask questions and make statements (these will need to be submitted in advance, contact the council for more information). Check the I Value the Arts website for details about how you can get involved

For the Agenda and other relevant papers, click here

Invitation: Freelancing and Self Employment in the Creative Industries

Johnson Foundation Auditorium, ADA Wednesday 12th January 10am – 3pm

If you are a final year or level 2 student who is considering freelancing or starting your own business in the creative industries then this special event is for you!

At this event you will:

* Find out about the Creative Sector on Merseyside from Kevin McManus, Director of Merseyside Acme
* Learn the 10 things you need to know about freelancing before you graduate from Neil Lewis of Media Modo
* Gain valuable insight from professionals from your industry
* Find out about the LJMU Enterprise Fellowship Programme, worth up to £3000 in cash for new graduate businesses and freelancers
* Be able to book in for a business planning advice session with a SFEDI accredited advisor.
* Find out more about protecting your ideas and designs, writing a business plan and networking at our Q & A session.
* Have the opportunity to speak to former students who have been there and done it and are now self employed freelancers and business entrepreneurs.

No advanced registration required, just join us for coffee at 10 am on Wednesday 12th January in the Public Exhibition Space. A tasty lunch will be provided by Tate café.

This event is supported by the European Regional Development Fund NWEC Phase 2 project.

For more information about the Student Enterprise Team and the services we offer, please visit
http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/startup/
contact us on 0151 231 8060
or call in to see us 2nd Floor, Kingsway House, Hatton Garden, Liverpool, L3 2AJ

Steve Hardstaff, long serving lecturer to the Art school and inspiration to generations of students retired today after 41 years at Liverpool’s School of Art and Design. He will be greatly missed by staff and students and the impact of his influence on pretty much every discipline will hopefully remain with us for a long time.

Thanks Steve and the best of luck!

LJMU’s recently launched Shang-Pool Arcadia, in collaboration with the University of Shanghai and involving academics, students and the public has been nominated for a Learning Without Frontiers Award for innovations in Further and Higher Education alongside Oxford University and Emantras, USA.
It is now up to the public to decide the overall award winner, leaving an opportunity to vote for this LJMU project.

The voting page here and the deadline is 4th January 2011.

Peter Appleton, LJMU Reader in Creative Technology Artist and Director of the project explained:

“As the impact of academic research on the public is high on the education agenda at present, this brings out an unexpected collaboration between arts and science academics, students and the public which is effectively using ‘Second Life’ live to share academic knowledge with the community and to impact on regeneration and rebuilding of destroyed cultures.”

Read More at LJMU

As reported by the Liverpool Echo

LIVERPOOL’S John Moores University has become the custodian of a John Lennon Time Capsule.

The capsule is one of three that were created by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the cooperation of Yoko Ono to mark what would have been the former Beatle’s 70th birthday in October.

It contains his entire output of post-Beatles recordings, newly restored art prints of his LP artwork artworks, rare memorabilia, a newly commissioned essay on Lennon’s career, plus additional key items to help preserve his legacy and spirit for future generations.

LJMU was chosen to house one of the capsules because its School of Art and Design contains the art college Lennon attended as a teenager.

Each Time Capsule will be re-opened in a world-wide ceremony on October 9 2040, the 100th anniversary of John Lennon’s birth.

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.

Come down and visit the ADA tonight for a virtual canoe tour! The live event uses the lake in Stanley Park setting for a virtual meeting place, enabling people from Liverpool and Shanghai to mingle, talk and play together amid the imagined landscapes of Second Life. The event follows a highly successful debut in the Bluecoat as part of the Shang-pool project, a unique collaboration between Shanghai and Liverpool conceived and co-ordinated by ADA Fine Art Lecturer, Peter Appleton. Collaborators Jiang Fei and Wang Zheng, from Shanghai University have been developing Wii like control pad in the form of canoe oars that are used to virtually paddle a life sized canoe. As well as controlling a virtual canoe in Second Life, the paddles will also drive a real, model canoe on the lake in Stanley Park. The co-operation of those paddling is essential as each paddle stroke on either side affects the motion and direction of the boat. These paddles also control the experimental Arcadian drone canoe. This model canoe will sail on the actual lake in Stanley Park relaying live video images of its location back to the Academy allowing us to add another layer of reality to the voyage.

You can come to the Academy from 4pm to 7 pm tonight or alternatively, visit the park from any internet linked computer if you download and log in to Second-Life.

Jelly is a FREE monthly work-together and you’re invited !

If you work from home, want a change of scene, need to seek out some inspiration and perhaps to meet with other creative people in a welcoming environment, then JellyLiverpool is what you need.

We hold JellyLiverpool on the first Thursday in each month, so the next one will be on 2nd December.
Casual co-working is awesome and is proving so popular that we are taking JellyLiverpool to a new home; the Leaf Tea Shop & Bar on Bold Street (the new one!).

There isn’t a specific criteria to participate in JellyLiverpool, you can visit for the day or just drop in for an hour or 2 – it’s completely up to you.
Bring your laptop and some work, and Jelly provides wifi, a table and chairs, and smart people to bounce ideas off and collaborate with. (Don’t worry, Jelly isn’t about finding new clients, pitching your business or selling).

Open Labs@LJMU want to encourage a variety of delegates to attend. So, please pass on the word to your friends and colleagues in Liverpool. We wish to attract artists, graphic designers, or anyone else who works remotely or independently – the greater the range of attendees, the more interesting JellyLiverpool becomes.

Signing up before isn’t compulsory but if you want to see who else is attending check out JellyLiverpool on Facebook.

JellyLiverpool is sponsored by Open Labs@LJMU. For further information please contact Open Labs’ Director, Lindsay Sharples: l.h.sharples@ljmu.ac.uk or 0151 231 4747.

Scraperwiki, the online information group who – “Make bad data good, collaborate & discover new datasets.” – in partnership with Open Labs, is running a “Student Edition” of the Hacks and Hackers Hack Day for students from both LJMU’s School of Journalism and the School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences.

It will take place in Liverpool on Wednesday December 8, 2010 from 9.30am to 5pm at Liverpool John Moores University’s Art and Design Academy.

So what’s this hack day all about? This event is a practical day demonstrating programming & design techniques, creating online news stories and features based on datasets, culminating in a final prize giving session for the most interesting and well presented projects. This practical day will demonstrate how student coders, programmers, web developers and designers will pair up with student journalists to produce projects and stories based around publicly available data.

Find out more and how to apply on their Blog…

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.

The ADA plays host to this years Design Symposium North, a showcase day of some of the best of today’s design industry.

Aspiring creatives and students will be treated to a full day of top tips on how to break into the industry at a series of education-related sessions run by the D&AD and the DBA which will include lectures, portfolio surgeries and workshops.

The speakers are James Bull, Adrian Shaughnessy, Jonathan Kirk, Ann Rimmer, David Palmer and Chris Conlan. Visit the site to find out more about each speaker and to register yourself for the workshops, surgeries and talks – here.

Are you interested in working abroad? 

Over the coming weeks, several organisations will be visiting LJMU to give you further details on the employment and summer work programmes they offer:

11th October, 1-2: JET (Teaching English in Japan)
22nd October, 11-12: Disney
(tbc) Smaller Earth

To register for any of these talks, please go to http://gdc.ljmu.ac.uk/events/

Did you know that LJMU has its own vacancy system to enable employers to advertise their vacancies to students? Register NOW at http://gdc.ljmu.ac.uk/jobs/ to access the latest opportunities for current students and graduates including: graduate vacancies, part-time work, volunteering opportunities, WBL projects and sandwich placements.

New opportunities are added every day.

Current Vacancies include:

• John Lewis Graduate schemes
• Production Engineer
• Web Developer
• Assistant Administrator
• Knowledge Transfer Partnership Associates (various roles)

Many students who are taking their creative careers seriously have already registered for the World of Work (WoW) process. which has been developed by the university to support your professional development.  

It is a structured approach to help you develop a personal statement which are required for most applications. This includes applications for jobs, post-graduate courses, art commissions, funding and project proposals. Aspects of your personal statement can also be included in cover letters or biographies to highlight your best qualities.

To register for WoW click here.

After a few days the WoW process module will appear in Blackboard.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hello and Welcome to the Liverpool Art & Design Academy Blog.

This is your port of call for a casual look at what’s happening for staff, students and the wider design community of Liverpool’s Art & Design Academy.
We’ll post news, events, exhibitions, links, videos and references relating to anything of interest in the art and design world.

Feel free to contribute and comment!

Email contributions to: Admin