News

All that Glitters!

Alumni and Silversmithing short course tutor, Nicola Lillie is currently taking part in BBC Two talent search series All That Glitters. The show is hosted by comedian Katherine Ryan and judged by incredible industry experts Shaun Leane and Solange Azagury-Partridge. Each week the jewellers are set a challenge and commission to respond to. Catch up on the first two episodes on BBC iPlayer and tune in next Tuesday at 8pm for ep 3! Good luck Nicola!

Graduating this year?

Make sure you sign up to our weekly newsletter before you leave! We share a range of external opportunities, as well as invitations to recent graduates from our BA or MA courses to attend online college events. Please sign up on our website to stay in touch!

Graduate Outcomes Survey

 If you graduated from a CAA MA course in 2018-19 please keep your eyes open for an email or message from the Graduate Outcomes team in your inbox. This survey offers HCA valuable information that we use to develop our programmes and it helps us enormously if you complete it. Thank you in advance for your completion, and if you have any queries please visit the Graduate Outcomes survey website or contact s.crowson@hca.ac.uk

Graduate Associate Membership and Residencies

All Graduate Associate Memberships are currently frozen, due to the current pandemic. Our pilot Graduate-in-Residence scheme is also frozen. Details of Enterprise sessions and other online opportunities to connect with HCA will be communicated through regular Launchgrad newsletters and on our blog. We will review the situation again in June and will let you know of any changes through our newsletter and blog. If you are interested in signing up to become a Graduate Associate Member, email l.morris@hca.ac.uk

Events & Exhibitions

Landscapes, Flowers and Paths: an exhibition by Gemma Moore

An exhibition by Gemma Moore, current student at HCA due to launch on Saturday 24th April at Bishop’s Castle Town Hall. Please contact info@bishopscastletownhall.co.uk for further information.

Competitions & Opportunities

ARTSTHREAD Launching Global Design Graduate Show 2021

Global Design Graduate Show 2021 is open to all art and design students (undergraduate and postgraduate) graduating this year 2021 (Southern hemisphere graduating after October 2020) in any related discipline, located anywhere in the world.

Global Design Graduate Show 2021 is your chance to share your creative work alongside your peers from around the world and get it judged by industry leaders.

Find out more here

Volunteers wanted at Middleton Hall

Middleton Hall & Gardens in North Warwickshire currently recruiting for four new additions to our Youth Panel to take on the followings roles: Video & Photo Editing Rep, Digital Marketing Rep, Children & Youth Education Rep and Horticulture Rep. All roles are voluntary and unpaid but will provide a wealth of experience to increase employability. We ask for a 12-month commitment to the roles, no more than five hours of work each week and offer specialised training for all reps each month. With the exception of the horticulture rep, all Youth Panel representatives will be required to spend very minimal time working onsite and most work can be completed remotely. Although we are a heritage site, we aren’t necessarily looking for just history students. We need digital skills, innovation and creativity especially!

Applicants must be aged between 16 and 24. All details on applying can be found here: https://www.middleton-hall.co.uk/get-involved/volunteering/youth-panel/

 Salvage Hunters: Restorers is looking for BAME textile restoration experts to appear in the next series

Here’s a bit about our show:

Salvage Hunters: The Restorers looks inside the fascinating workshops of some of the country’s most celebrated crafts people. Bringing back artefacts from the brink of the bonfire is no easy task and these expert artisans rescue everything from sofas, chairs and tables to high-value fairground memorabilia. Sharing trade secrets, they reveal exactly what it takes to transform decrepit heirlooms into desirable household objects.

https://www.discoveryplus.co.uk/show/salvage-hunters

The producers are super keen on finding charismatic and diverse restorers with areas of specialisms and skills in textiles and ceramics etc.

Email Lina Hashweh Casting Producer to discuss this in detail linahashweh@curvemedia.com

Bitesize Short Film Festival

We take a different approach to showcasing short films. Due to the current live screening climate, many traditional festivals have postponed or canceled events. Bitesize is an online festival where short films and documentaries can be screened online and voted for by members.

Submit your short narrative, documentary, music video or experimental film for voting. Submission fee is $8.00. Your film will automatically be selected for the contest.. All films will be viewed and voted for by our registered site members, concluding with monthly winners.

Find out more here https://bitesizefilmfestival.com/

Wells Art Contemporary 2021

Established in 2012 by artists for artists, Wells Art Contemporary (WAC) is an open competition for visual art. Based in the beautiful cathedral city of Wells, Somerset, this yearly exhibition aims to support creatives, stimulate debate, and push the boundaries of the visual arts scene both nationally and internationally. WAC gives contemporary artists the opportunity to show their work within Wells Cathedral, which welcomes 300,000 visitors a year. All artists, all styles, all techniques and all nationalities are encouraged to take part in the open exhibition.

Find out more here https://wac.artopps.co.uk/

Elements Festival 2021

Applications are now open for Elements 2021. Elements: A Festival of Jewellery, Silver and Gold is a collaboration between The Scottish Goldsmiths Trust and Lyon & Turnbull Auctioneers and an annual celebration of the UK’s most significant designer jewellers & silversmiths. This years’ event will operate in a ‘blended’ style of online and in-person events, including a new Elements e-commerce platform to run from September-November, pop-up selling events, an exhibition and talks. Applications for the seventh Elements: A Festival of Jewellery, Silver and Gold close midnight on 12 May 2021.

Find out more here https://elementsfestival.co.uk/

Jobs, Funding & Career Advice

Practical career guides from ArtsThread

In addition to essential career posts such as CV/resume tips and guides with a focus on starting your own brand such as How to Sell your Creative Work online, we have developed a series to address the key topics of 2020 such as How to regain Momentum on projects and goals with renewed motivation and strength, How to ace Virtual Meetings and Online Tools for Productivity and Collaboration. Find out more here

Marches Growth Hub

Offering face-to-face support services for businesses from its base at Skylon Park, the Marches Growth Hub – Herefordshire is a place where businesses can find out more about business funding and finance and business support available to local Herefordshire businesses regardless of size or sector, from pre-start to established businesses. You are also able to take advantage of business networking opportunities and attend various topical events which are held throughout the year.

View their website here: https://www.marchesgrowthhub.co.uk/

Meadow Arts Digital Producer, Herefordshire

https://www.meadowarts.org/about-meadow-arts/opportunities

Disability Covid Funding

Disability Arts Online is announcing a funding pot of £10,000 for the second iteration of its Covid Commissions programme, offering a series of micro-grants for up to 35 disabled artists based in the UK. This time, the programme will be centred around the theme of Connectivity.

Find out more here https://disabilityarts.online/magazine/news/disability-arts-online-announces-our-second-set-of-covid-commissions-for-disabled-artists/

You are welcome to get in touch with one of us (Sarah-Jane Crowson and Lily Morris) using our email address – hcalaunchgrad@hca.ac.uk And if you don’t already, follow us on Instagram for posts about grad life and more opportunities for creatives!

If you are involved with a project, or would like to mention something for next fortnight’s Launchgrad newsletter, please get in touch!