You are currently browsing the monthly archive for November 2008.
Postcards from this year's RCA secret (source: RCA)
Art loving Londoners headed to the Royal College of Art at the weekend to make the most of a rare opportunity to buy art created by some of the world’s best artists and designers for less than £40 ($60).
The annual RCA Secret exhibition is a fundraising sale of almost 3,000 postcards created by famous artists and RCA students. Featuring alongside student work were postcards designed by Yoko Ono, Tracey Emin, Grayson Perry, photographer David Bailey as well as shoe designer Manolo Blahnik.
But what’s the secret? Well, the identity of the artist is only revealed once the artwork has been bought, giving everyone an equal chance of owning a piece of famous artwork.
This popular event raises money for the RCA’s Fine Art Student Award Fund. Since the exhibition’s launch in 1994, more than £1m has been raised for the fund, helping hundreds of emerging artists.
Simon – www.studylondon.ac.uk
Cyclist in Canary Wharf
Londoners will soon be able to help themselves to one of 6,000 bikes at 400 locations across the capital.
A new cycle-hire scheme will be launched throughout London’s central zone and within the Royal Parks. The scheme is inspired by the successful ‘vélib’ programme in Paris, which led to a massive increase in cycling.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, also wants to create 12 major cycle routes into central London by 2010. In the long-term, the Mayor will aim to increase cycle journeys in London by 400 percent by 2025.
The Mayor is a champion of cycling and believes that “a cyclised city is a civilised city”. The new cycle hire scheme will herald a transport revolution with more people enjoying the benefits of the most sustainable, healthy and environmentally-friendly transport system in the capital.
Kevin – www.studylondon.ac.uk
Clothes designed by students from the London College of Fashion* are now being sold in Tesco, one of the most popular retail outlets in the UK. Three students have designed the Little Black Dress collection, creating their own unique take on the iconic design classic.
The winning dresses
The students entered a competition and were asked to consider the different aspects of clothes design including silhouette, cut, finish and fabric, whilst maintaining commercial awareness by understanding the Tesco customer.
To provide inspiration, each student researched the topic extensively and they also received mentoring to help create their winning dresses.
All three designs are classic black dresses with a contemporary twist and are now available in shops across the UK.
Simon – www.studylondon.ac.uk
*A college of the University of the Arts
US president-elect Barack Obama has appointed former dean of London Business School, Laura D’Andrea Tyson, to his Transition Economic Advisory Board (TEAB).
Laura Tyson (source: www.PBase.com)
The 17 hand-picked members of the TEAB will help the president-elect grapple with the current economic crisis and includes economists, business leaders and politicians. Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, and currently the word’s richest man, and Eric Schmidt, chairman and CEO of Google, will sit alongside Laura on the Board.
Laura was dean of London Business School from 2002 for five years, returning to the US last year as election preparations got underway. This isn’t Laura’s first time in government. She had previously been the chairman of President Bill Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisors in 1993-1995 so will be returning to a Washington that she knows well.
Kevin – www.studylondon.ac.uk
Goldsmiths, University of London has announced a landmark cultural collaboration with the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The partnership will develop a new master’s degree in Cultural and Creative Industries which will be taught in Abu Dhabi from September 2009.
The course will cover arts administration with subjects including the management of exhibitions, galleries and events; marketing and media; educational and historical perspectives and project management.
Major new cultural institutions are currently being constructed in Abu Dhabi, including the new Guggenheim museum and Louvre museum as well as a new Performing Arts Centre (pictured) designed by London-based architect Zaha Hadid. The new degree has been developed to meet the needs of such employers as Abu Dhabi builds its new world-class cultural quarter.
In addition to the collaborative degree, Goldsmiths academics will deliver a series of high-profile lectures aimed at a wider public in Abu Dhabi and beyond.
Zaha Hadid's Performing Arts Centre
Kevin – www.studylondon.ac.uk
Royal Holloway, University of London recently celebrated the opening of its new state-of-the-art training centre in Siberia. Russian students on its master’s degree in Petroleum Geoscience will be based at the centre using impressive new laboratories equipped with advanced computing software.
Opening the Siberian Science Centre
The joint master’s degree is a collaboration between Royal Holloway and the Siberian based Tyumen State Oil and Gas University and has been funded by TNK-BP one of the largest oil companies operating in Russia. Students will be based in Siberia and the degree will make full use of e-learning technology to share course materials and video conferences for tutorial and seminar work.
The degree builds on the success of the internationally-respected MSc in Petroleum Geoscience, which has been running for 22 years at Royal Holloway.
Kevin – www.studylondon.ac.uk
Pictured (left to right): Rector of TSOGU Nikolai Karnaukhov, Professor Philip Beesley, Dean of Science at Royal Holloway and Richard Herbert, Executive Vice President, Technology Stream, TNK-BP Management
A cycling revolution is underway in the capital. As the world gets greener, Londoners are getting fitter by enjoying the sounds and sights of London on their bikes. Cycling in the city increased 83% in the last year.
Cyclehoop
(source: www.cyclehoop.com)
Architect student and cycle fanatic Tony Lau is at the heart of the revolution. The University College London and University of Westminster graduate has invented a bike stand called Cyclehoop which has been installed across the city to deter bike thieves and help cyclists keep their bikes safe.
Cyclehoop comprises two steel hoops that can be clamped to existing street furniture, such as signposts, in a matter of minutes. Using signposts as bike stands saves installation time and money as well as space on London’s busy streets.
Tony’s eye catching design has won awards too, including a WestFocus Bright Ideas award and a finalist position in HSBC’s Unipreneur awards, providing him with the capital and business support vital to ensure Cyclehoop is a success.
Tony is now working on a project to design indoor bike storage solutions for the New York office of Google. Google liked his design and, after coming joint first in their competition, he is now preparing to talk to Google and New York City Council about his solution to cycle parking inside buildings.
From the Tube to the London taxi, the capital is a city of travel icons and thanks to design graduates like Tony, travelling in London will continue to be an aesthetic pleasure.
Simon – www.studylondon.ac.uk
Frieze Art Fair
London’s art school students dominated the shortlist of artists for this year’s 4 New Sensations prize that took place to coincide with the Frieze Art Fair in London’s Regent’s Park.
4 New Sensations was launched by Channel 4 and the Saatchi Gallery to find the most exciting and imaginative talents from the art world.
The competition was open to all art students graduating from BA and MA courses at UK colleges and universities.
Over 500 people entered and all four finalists came from London’s art schools:
• Mark Davey – Slade School of Fine Art (University College London)
• Robert Sherwood – Chelsea College of Art and Design (University of the Arts London (UAL))
• Amy Moffat – Wimbledon College of Art (UAL)
• Camilla Wills – Wimbledon College of Art (UAL)
All four finalists created a new piece of work with a £1,000 bursary. Their work was documented by a 3 Minute Wonder Channel 4 film and was aired on national TV.
The two ultimate winners were Mark Davey, who was chosen by a panel of judges and received a further £3,000, and Robert Sherwood, who won the public vote and received £1,000.
Click here to see the four finalists’ work.
Kevin – www.studylondon.ac.uk
“London is a city where different cultures and thoughts meet. Living in this city, I never feel bored.
