gogogogogogogogoitsallogogog

our blue heaven - the story of Ipswich Towns FA Cup Victory at the New Wolsey https://www.wolseytheatre.co.uk/whats-on/upcoming/ is a triumph - it's a complete sell out so you will have to wait for its revival in 60 years time!! will the whole squad turn up on Saturday? still deep into assessments - by the end of the whole thing I will of written over 7,000 words and checked numerous boxes - every word from my team is carefully considered, I hope the students manage to read the comments.

The CSM final year show felt like you were at the epicentre of people engaging with what it is to be cool alongside slightly confused parents - it was full of the most excellently beautiful looking individuals - the work was also interesting - full of collaborative groups working together - the future is bright. You still have till Saturday to go see it - make sure you check out the basement and The Sculpture Garden http://sidandjim.blogspot.co.uk/.  Turn the Page - the fantastic Book Art Fair is on in Norwich on Friday and Saturday - it's a must see https://www.turnthepage.org.uk/ Looking forward to PhotoEast https://www.photoeast.co.uk/ at the weekend. Meanwhile its back to assessments and then building a presentation for PALs for Wednesday. Undergraduate courses have a system of peer support known as Peer Assisted Learning or PAL. This means that Year One students have ready access to trained Year Two students from their course, from before they arrive through to the end of the first year. The advice and support given by the PALs is directly relevant to first year students and is delivered by Year Two or Three students who have had similar experiences themselves. This extra layer of support for first year students has been found to be very effective in helping to smooth the transition to higher education. Looking forward to the symposium on Tuesday at Camberwell. Its a point where the students journey is really captured as one is able to reflect on their first symposium in year 1.

theenergywaselectric

spent a couple of hours draping the lazer cut bonded fabric over and on a mannequin - pinning it onto a 'body' really gives the idea of what it could be - it has started to look good and the cape is defiantly all go with a hood, just need to start cutting the pattern.

There's a very considered body of work that connects two libraries either side of the Thames - the work by Rick Myers links Somerset House and The Poetry library via the old Waterloo bridge, an experiment that Faraday was involved in is also thrown into the mix - worth a look/listen.

The yellowbluepink mist by Ann Veronica  Janssens at The Welcome Trust is quite disorienting - but  it also feels like a sort of comforting/fluffy white-out on top of a mountain in the Lake District.  After working at BAM I spent the evening at Central St Martin's 3D and XD open studios. I so love Art College, as both an idea and in reality. it was full of superb challenging work and the energy in the building was electric - so friendly conversations - so supportive of the work and the performances - it was excellent to be in a room with a beer in my hand with so many truly wonderfully bad haircuts and people looking gloriously fabulous. my people.

youngpeoplearemarvellousandthefutureisingoodhands

Borbala Szanto

A big day out in London yesterday to see student shows – first up Chelsea – as ever the textiles was excellent – their knit was spectacular this year. The more conceptual work of Honami Nishii http://honami-nishii.blogspot.co.uk/ and Lucy Monica Poulden http://blog.tedresearch.net/explored the physical presence of textiles and was very thoughtful. In sculpture Borbala Szanto http://borbalaszanto.com/ is making work that seems to be about the presence of sculpture and also the lack of sculpture itself – but maybe before the sculpture happens - quite wonderful. The Royal College is always exceptional in every way, although the painting and print had an air of darkness and despair running through and over the work. In sculpture the seemingly slight work of Adriano Amaral http://whitecube.com/exhibitions/open_cube_masons_yard_2013/ was sublime the work’s presence made one aware of the materiality that surrounds us all. Emma Shercliff’s PhD http://vimeo.com/95431428  is looking at repetition and stitch in textile activity – the results should be interesting. The fantastic material investigation within the textile department was deep and meaningful as was textiles futures at CSM. Textiles strength was the weaving in general although the standout work was the work of Skye Gwillim http://skyegwillim.com/project3.html who had created 3D folded paper structures – clever and beautiful – what more do you want? Fashion is closer to costume at CSM although there was a fairly ‘wearable’ jacket whose construction made it seem as if it was out of focus – truly an object of desire. Seeing all the work of so many young people really does give hope to the future it’s always a great day where one feels energised and uplifted.