Arts Group

The agenda and joining instructions for the meeting in Lincoln are ready and can now be downloaded by clicking here

Please register if you have not already done so using this form

What’s it like being an arts student in 2010? How is your course shaping up, and are you set for graduation? Now is the chance to have your say and bring your concerns directly to the forefront of the national student forum.

The National Arts Student Summit (organised by The Arts Group) is aiming to take a stronger approach than the traditional ‘feedback survey’, by inviting representatives to bring burning issues and student opinions to the table. Whether you have pressing concerns or high praises about your specific institution or the arts student world in general, the summit is a way to help influence future policy for those who are positioned to feel it most.

The summit aims to create plans and targets that will affect student lives not only in the long run, but also in the short term- so the outcome of this summit could be very relevant to your own student days.

Representatives can include Students’ Union Officers and Course/Faculty reps. If you know who your course rep is, drop them a line with your concerns- their name and contact details should be found on your faculty website or the student union site- and take your voice to the summit. Or if you want to become a student rep yourself, then check to see whether your faculty/course already has a rep- if not, you could apply to become it- or else take a look at the application dates for the coming semesters.

The summit aims to be relevant to arts students and the unique student world they inhabit- one of studios and workshops, which might be skipped over by more general discussions. Overlapping disciplines are also welcome- whether they be architecture, performing arts, or creative writing- so be sure to spread the word to your friends.

The summit is taking place from the 7-8 April (midweek) in the iconic HUBS student union building of Sheffield Hallam University. For more details, click on the link below, and get in touch with Kit Friend if you want to offer any assistance for the event via k.c.friend@su.arts.ac.uk.

c/o jotta.com

Words by Barnaby Tidman

Rereading Milburn’s report “Unleashing Aspiration” it’s interesting to note some key points that remain outstanding, and particularly relevant as we head into a year of political change, whenever and whatever the results of the General Election.

The first graph that drew my particular attention concerns the % difference between different professions compared to the family income individuals came from. This seems to be a good indicator of social mobility as much as any can be. The report makes much of the distressingly rising numbers “top tier” of professionals from well off backgrounds but the figures around the Arts is of further interest. We sit as arguably the best of the professions on this graph in terms of a drop in those from well off backgrounds, but it would be interesting to query for how many the Arts actually represents social mobility, especially in a fiscal sense.

Not Arts-specific, but also shocking is the news in chapter 2 that ‘one in six children today grows up in a workless household’ – hard to believe in a supposedly developed country…

The report is well worth a read if you haven’t already, and the summary is excellent…

Download the pdfs here

Our friends at BECTU have fantastic guidelines up on their site, spelling out exactly what makes a good work experience placement, and what employers should do to avoid violating National Minimum Wage (NMW) legislation.

It’s really good to have this stuff spelled out. Recently dealing with a student who’d been denied expenses, it turned out she was probably liable to retrospectively claim NMW too. If you are aware of anyone in a similar situation make sure to give the HMRC helpline a call for advice on minimum wage claims on 0800 917 2368, and for advice on expenses contact contact ACAS (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) for advice on 0845 747 4747.

In the absence of any increased legislation on the horizon, it’s vital none of us are hesitant in making use of what’s already there. With enough people claiming back the money they’re owed it will make company’s think twice about exploiting unpaid workers under the guise of internships/work experience.

Take a look at BECTU’s guidelines here

Image by Ildar Sagdejev (Specious)

The Arts Group’s first meeting of 2010 will be held on 11th-12th February in Lincoln.

Please register your details below and we will contact you with joining instructions/accomodation info.

cforms contact form by delicious:days

Following the release of UCCA Vice-Chancellor Elaine Thomas’s excellent piece calling for design to be moved into the STEM subject cluster (though the online anagram scramblers inform me this doesn’t generate nearly as neat an anagram – see the incredibly laboured NINJA) it’s imperative that the economic value of design is recognized, and thoroughout our sectors we should seek to push for increased funding support for creative subjects.

In particular, the logic behind the STEM allocation (prioritizing money towards science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) seems increasingly quesitonable as the creative industries productivity and contribution to the country’s finances has been repeatedly cited over the past few years. In emerging from the recession and looking towards globalized enterprise activity, it is essential that our creative institutions are funded properly, and not just by shovelling in international students. The future of the UKs ability to compete in the global marketplace will depend upon a balanced portfolio of service offerings, and if a core strength of domestic creatives is not in our armoury we will undoubtebly lose out to countries including China, who are openly prioritizing this sector in their strategies.

The UK government must wake up to our art schools and other institutions requiring a degree of resource that reflects the requirements of our intensive education. Learning to design, make, perform, produce and the full range of disciplines encompassed in our practices requires larges amounts of space, contact time with our staff, and a constantly evolving array of facilities and tools. It cannot and must not be reduced to a shoestring budget area, an approach that seems to be worryingly proliferated and pandering to the obselete perception of creative subjects as “soft”.

jotta is an online and offline community of practising artists and designers borne from the University of the Arts London.

We are currently looking for talented journalism and/or arts graduates, or people with a strong interest in journalism and the creative industries, who are enthusiastic and would like to gain experience in online publishing.

We are also looking for journalism students with a strong interest in politics, and government policy within the creative industries. This writer would work with both jotta and Arts Group.

Placements within the jotta editorial team offer the opportunity to contribute to the online magazine with an audience of 10,000 unique hits/week.
This will allow you to:

- GAIN EDITORIAL EXPERIENCE, Researching, writing articles on a weekly basis, creating a calendar of events, liasing with jotta community to find suitable subjects, liasing with external arts community and pr agencies.

- CONTRIBUTE TO AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES using search engine optimisation
- DEVELOP AN UNDERSTANDING OF DESIGN AND CONTENT MANAGEMENT Image sourcing and editing, content management systems

If successful you will work closely with the jotta.com editor to devise a programme of practical work experience to facilitate your personal professional development. This will be monitored for a period of no more than 160 hours.

All jotta placements take place for no more than 12 hours a week, in our office on Newburgh St W1F7RP.

There is the option to work remotely if travel expenses are an issue.

If you are interested in gaining experience in the team detailed above please email millie@jotta.com with a statement of interest, and a recent C.V.

George Osborne’s Speech to the Tate Family Conference

Please visit our Registration page here to sign up to attend our October meeting in Liverpool on 19th/20th! now in London on the 19th/20th October!

As students across the country get ready to receive their A-level results and look forward to going to university, new research by the National Union of Students (NUS) in conjunction with HSBC today reveals the ‘hidden’ costs associated with certain degree subjects.

The figures, which are taken from a forthcoming student experience report, will come as a shock to many whose chosen subject appears in the top half of NUS’ league table of ‘most expensive degrees’. Someone taking a degree in mathematical or computer sciences, for instance, will be looking at a whopping £1,430 yearly spend on books, equipment and fieldwork on top of their tuition fees and living expenses, compared to £432 for someone taking an education degree*:

Additional annual spend by degree course:
• Mathematical Sciences and Computer Science: £1430.40 • Medicine and Dentistry: £902.16 • Business and Administrative Studies: £873.36 • Creative Arts and Design: £701.04 • Engineering and Technology: £651.60 • Law: £642.48 • Languages: £635.28 • Historical and Philosophical Studies: £568.56 • Social Studies: £539.76 • Biological Sciences: £539.52 • Physical Sciences: £499.20 • Subjects allied to medicine: £461.52 • Education: £432.48

NUS President Wes Streeting said:
“It is completely unacceptable that applicants are left in the dark about the true cost of degrees. Many students preparing to go to university this summer may be in for a real shock.

“Universities need to be much more open about the hidden costs associated with different courses. There should be better information, advice and guidance about student finance on university websites and in their prospectuses.”

The report also suggests that students’ financial situations deteriorate during their time at university, leaving them more reliant on sources of funding other than their grants or loans. 29% of first year students rely on paid employment or other loans or credit as a source of funding, compared to 50% of final year students.

Wes Streeting added: “Universities should also provide students with better financial advice and support whilst they are at university, so they do not have to get into commercial debt or jeopardise their studies by taking on more part time work just to get by.”

The Next Meeting of the Arts Group will currenly be on October 19th/20th in Liverpool, overlapping with the NUS’ Town Takeover, watch this space for more updates soon.

An important part of human development is about learning, often through accepting the point of view of others and taking something from the process. I think this is a lesson that a whole generation must have missed out on. Welcome to my generation, where conformity is the new cool and where politics certainly isn’t. As Britain heads down the ‘middle’ road of politics, led by New Labour with their not-so-new ideas on how to govern society, the disenfranchised, ‘don’t give a shit’ youth of today file out of universities, proud to be just another brick in the wall.

This time last year I was accepted for at place at university. I was full of hope, ambition and eager to find out what uni life would be like. I chose to study photojournalism, a personal interest of mine. I must clarify that uni came a little later for me than for most, as I had spent two years out in the big wide world away from the education system. I went to the University of the Arts London, which boasts 20,000 students across more than seven colleges.Words: Will Poole
Pics: Will Poole &
Will JobbinsMy college was the London College of Communication, the largest of all the sites. LCC is modern, trendy and arty, and its students were likewise. What the LCC lacked was any credible student community or social network. There was no real encouragement to congregate. Maybe it’s because one really unique and powerful aspect of student philosophy had been lost – that feeling that together, students could do anything. The radical political movements of the ‘60s and ‘70s were dead and with it the rallies, debate and new or experimental ways of thinking.

During freshers’ week, before I had my first class, the student union organised a workshop titled ‘Student’s Involvement in Changing the World’. Just eight people turned up, including myself, out of the entire first year of the university. Even the lecturer failed to attend, and so we had to have a representative from the Student Union take over. We opened up with a Q&A of sorts, so I asked what our union had accomplished in the outside world since the university opened.

The answer was not a lot, to put it politely. They hadn’t run one campaign or rally. This was a union that was fighting to communicate to its own students let alone anyone outside the college walls, a sadly ironic affair considering the college’s name. Yet somehow, before leaving the room, I found myself signing up to the Student Council. I think they may have resorted to putting something in the water.

The Student Council was an eye-opening experience. There were very few people involved and even fewer of those actually turned up regularly. Elections for positions were a farce, because out of tens of thousands of students only 400 people even bothered to vote. Don’t get me wrong here – those that are involved work very well with what they have and are bright, determined and dedicated. The problem here isn’t the people running the show, it’s the apathetic students themselves. Crushing words indeed, but it’s very hard to form any other sort of opinion given the evidence.

The big event for all student unions is the NUS conference, which I was able to attend. The NUS conference is pretty much a three-day bender in Blackpool, speckled with a few hours of pantomime and voting. The same group of reactionaries vote one way on everything, and everyone else votes whichever way the beloved President does. You have to love uni politics – even though I agreed with points on both sides, I was amazed at how mundane the subjects were. Can you believe that the motion to campaign for free education was voted down five to one? At the NUS, of all places? It was also evident that every topic of debate was related to student society, such as the binge drinking culture and the price of a pint. There wasn’t a whisper about the world outside the university walls. The idea of changing the world is now considered an optimistic fantasy by many, but maybe that’s the trait we are lacking. Maybe having a child-like vision of a better future would actually give us something to aspire to. Maybe we have all just grown up a little too fast.

In today’s world we are encouraged to grow up faster and faster. We have a life plan already in existence even before birth and, as soon as we’ve got that out of the way its off to nursery, then primary school, and then some of us – providing we have jumped through enough hoops – go to sixth form or college. Then its university for the lucky ones, then a job, a house, a husband/wife, two kids, retirement and death. There are so many hoops to hurdle and not all of us make it to the final stages, but we all manage to meet at the end. We are taught from birth that this is just the way it is and the way it will always be, with an emphasis on the philosophy that taking maximum enjoyment from life is easiest when jumping through as many of these hoops as possible. We care so much about getting to the end of our course of hoops that we don’t take the time to ask important questions, like why are they there? What was their desired purpose and effect? Could we make them easier to jump through? And should we even jump through them at all?

With these very questions in my head I left university. To me further education had lost its fundamental purpose; to encourage people to ask questions and find answers. However I do have hope for the future, as there is a sizeable minority who are still able to think for themselves and shun conformity. Any large-scale political demonstration is almost guaranteed to be attended by – and in some cases led by – passionate student unionists. Yet they remain a minority, and when surrounded by so many others who honestly aren’t interested in anything more than making grades and winning drinking competitions, I feel that my generation, at least, has lost the fight.

If YOU want to get off your arse and get involved, the NUS can be contacted at www.nus.org.uk

Words: Will Poole
Pics: Will Poole &
Will Jobbins

Republished with permission from Will Poole, original article available at Toxin Magazine where there is a forum for discussion and comments on it.