Glasgow Kelvin College

Glasgow Based Further Education College

Students Achieve Arts Awards

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Several of the young people performing a rehearsed piece (photo courtesy of Stillmotion.)
Several of the young people performing a rehearsed piece (photo courtesy of Stillmotion.)

Fourteen of Glasgow Kelvin College’s young learners were delighted last week to be awarded their Arts Award from See Think Make for creative work they’ve undertaken in the last year.  The ceremony took place in the splendid St Andrews in the Square in Glasgow city centre, where several of the students had the opportunity to showcase their creative work.

Through the organisation See Think Make, the Arts Award comprises a series of qualifications accredited by Trinity College London that allow young people to grow their leadership and learning skills.  It supports them as they compile a portfolio from their own creative projects and helps them reflect on and evaluate their work and performance, either individually or as part of a team.

A fun and flexible way to gain a qualification, this will be a real advantage for these students in the competitive jobs market, especially in the creative industries where a portfolio and experience will give them the edge.  It is anticipated that the awards will receive SQA accreditation in the next year.

Each of the students used their work, either studying or volunteering in community organisations, as the basis for their portfolio.  From music and performance to a splendid fashion show, the students displayed their creative talents.

See Think Make are a social enterprise organisation in Glasgow who work closely with partners to promote and deliver the Arts Awards.  The celebration event in the city saw more than fifty young people, from 8yrs to 25yrs, gaining a Bronze and Silver Arts Award through their work with other community groups.  A member of College staff, Sophie Rogers, is the first person in Scotland to receive the Gold Award!

The students who received awards were; Amy Beckett, Darren Jessamine, Declan O’Connor, Rachael Haldane, Andrew Middleton and George Whitton from the Transitions to Learning programme.  In addition, Jerome Katende Kasusula (now studying NC Fashion: Design and Manufacture at Glasgow Kelvin College) and Caitlin White from the Youth Access programme received awards.

Several more students were unable to attend the ceremony.

Glasgow Kelvin College is delighted to have supported the students in this and is keen to develop further its partnership with See Think Make to benefit learners.

Electric Honey Hits the Right Note for Everyone

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Woodenbox performing at Magners Festival 2015, courtesy of Alisdair Downer
Woodenbox performing at Magners Festival 2015, courtesy of Alisdair Downer

The recent Magner’s Festival Electric Honey Sessions were a roaring success for music-loving festival goers, the brilliant bands involved and the Glasgow Kelvin College staff and students who drove the event to its success!

Electric Honey, the student-run label responsible for the advent of bands such as Belle & Sebastian and Biffy Clyro, used the Magner’s Festival event at Kelvingrove Bandstand to showcase their fresh, new talent with sparkling performances from Mayor Stubbs, Finn Le Marinel, Young Aviators, Harry and the Hendersons and Woodenbox.

The exciting evening was rounded off by spectacular sets from both Fatherson and We Were Promised Jetpacks who brought proceedings to a close.

The eloquent Vic Galloway lent his inimitable talents to the day in the role of expert MC.

Parallel to all of this, the event also showcased the commitment and professionalism of Glasgow Kelvin’s student body, with backstage and front-of-house organisation, support and, of course, the opportunity to film and record the event.

Ably supported by College staff, the students experienced full immersion in the hands-on, dynamic world of music events management.  From set-up to strike, their teamwork and communication was impressive, providing an engaged audience with a seamless series of performances which ran almost exactly to time.

The skills that they put into practice on the night will prove invaluable when it comes to job-hunting in the competitive music industry, giving them that all-important ‘edge’ in their experience.

A great event…and a great job done by everyone involved.  Thanks to all, and …  Congratulations!!

College Fashion Team ‘Trend’ in India

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GKC Fashion Team Visit India
GKC Fashion Team Visit India

A small team (Anne Wood, Sandra Thomson and Elaine Carswell) from the Fashion & Design programmes at Glasgow Kelvin College have found fame on their recent visit to Andhra Pradesh in India, where the national press created real interest in their visit.

The Hindu, one of the leading newspapers in India, made a feature of the faculty staff who visited the Government Polytechnic for Women in Gujjangundla as part of an exciting exchange visit to explore design and textiles.  This is part of a partnership arrangement organised under the UK & Indian Education Research Initiative (UKIERI) to create collaborative working in the garment industry, with opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship at a Community College.

Anne Wood, Senior Curriculum Manager, kept a diary of the trip:,

“Both Glasgow Kelvin College and our Indian partners have learned much from each other. We are looking forward to demonstrating the skills we have learned to our own students and enhancing their  learning experience.

We had great sessions with the Indian students learning new techniques and talking to them about our own students’ work and the inspiration for their design work.  We visited an Aladdin’s cave full of beads, trimmings and specialist equipment and purchased lots of beautiful beads and trims for our students back home. These will be used to embellish their garments for the “Bombay Mix” design brief which both sets of students are working on.

The “Paisley Pattern” will be a major feature in the students’ designs. This is a common motif used in the brightly coloured Saris worn by our Indian hosts. The garments we all create will form part of a major design event we are having in Scotland and India in January 2016 at the end of the programme. These events will celebrate the relationships we have developed with our Indian partners and will showcase the skills we have learned as a result of the project.

Our hosts have been absolutely splendid and we can’t thank them enough for their kindness and professional support.  We are looking forward to returning their hospitality when they visit us back in Scotland in September.  Our trip to India has been tremendously worthwhile and we are bringing lots of ideas and skills home with us.”

Strong links in the textile design industry between India and the West of Scotland already exist through the use of the hugely popular and well-known Paisley Pattern and all partners involved are keen to capitalise on that reputation.

Plans are being formulated to develop a fertile exchange of skills and creativity in the communities of Andhra Pradesh and West of Scotland in the months and years to come and Glasgow Kelvin College is excited to play a key role in this.

Let’s hope that Glasgow can provide the same celebrity status to its visitors when they visit towards the end of the year!!

Scott’s Festival Tour De Force!

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Scott Lang ArtworkGlasgow Kelvin College Art & Design degree graduate, Scott Lang, has landed an enviable role at this year’s Edinburgh Festival!

Scott’s intriguing work is being shown alongside internationally renowned artists Kennard-Phillipps at the Stills Gallery in Edinburgh during this year’s Edinburgh Festival.  He took the bull by the horns and approached the artists himself and, after an extremely busy summer, is now significantly involved in their Festival programme.

Says Scott,

“I’m helping Kennard Phillipps deliver workshops at a studio space in St James’s shopping centre, Edinburgh and I’ll be leading the workshops next week as they have other commitments.

The work produced in the workshops will become part of the ongoing installation currently at Stills Gallery.

I am also working with local community groups including a couple of homeless and mental health organisations. I’m producing new work for the show myself too. I helped install the full show at Stills, and had some input to the ‘War on War’ Room in the workshop space. I also have my own show on at Projectability in Glasgow until 29th August.”

His tutors are delighted that their hard work and skills have supported Scott at this innovative point in his artistic career. They especially appreciate the effort on Scott’s part to ensure community involvement in his work and build capacity into other organisations, a key aim that lies at the heart of Glasgow Kelvin College’s ethos.

Congratulations go to Scott and to the staff who have supported him thus far, and the College wishes him the best of luck in the future. More information is available at http://www.kennardphillipps.com/

College Team Success on UKIERI India Visit!

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Well done to an intrepid team from the College’s Department of Fashion Design who are having real success on their trip to India to support community development and textile industry design! They’ve even achieved notoriety in the national newspaper, The Hindu – fame indeed. This is the start of greater things so watch this space…!!

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/uk-team-explores-garment-designs/article7523928.ece