Trip to London

Katie, Ophélie, Amelia, Jess, Evie (myself), Franzi, Elise and Char (and Katie who is not in the photo) enjoyed the trip!

On 30th November, some of my course mates and myself, went to London to see “The World Goes Pop” exhibition at the Tate Modern and the Ai Weiwei exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts.

On arriving in London, we quickly grabbed some lunch and then made our way to the Tate Modern to “The World Goes Pop” exhibition (17th September 2015 – 24th January 2016).

“From Latin America to Asia, and from Europe to the Middle East, this explosive exhibition connects the dots between art produced around the world during the 1960s and 1970s, showing how different cultures and countries responded to the movement.”

“This exhibition will reveal how pop was never just a celebration of western consumer culture, but was often a subversive international language of protest – a language that is more relevant today than ever.”

– Tate Modern on “The World Goes Pop” exhibition.

I could not wait to go and visit this exhibition, as it was bursting with eye-popping colours and excitement. In a way, walking around the exhibition reminded me of being in a confectioners as the walls were painted these bright, sickly colours and there were all these fascinating and obscure art works.

I did not take any photographs at the exhibition but this is taken from one of the rooms. 

 

We then went to the Ai Weiwei exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, which I found very fascinating and powerful.

I throughly enjoyed the exhibition but I never fully got round to properly seeing some of his spectacular works in full, as the exhibition was so busy.

From the exhibition, one of my favourite works was “Straight, 2008 – 12” which is a two hundred tonne installation consisting of steel rebars. This significant piece represents the lives of the students who tragically perished in the Sichuan earthquake on 12th May 2008. This horrific earthquake measured 8.0 on the richter scale and resulted in over ninety thousand people dead or missing, with another eleven million made homeless.

I found this piece extremely harrowing.

Craftsmen were employed by Ai Weiwei to heat and then straighten each piece of steel that was badly twisted in the tragedy, by restoring them manually to their original condition prior to the unfortunate event.

 

 

The Vaccines

The Vaccines are an indie band who formed in West London, by Justin Young (lead singer and guitarist), Freddie Cowan (lead guitarist and vocals) (whose brother, Tom Cowan, plays synths in my favourite band, The Horrors), Árni  Árnason (bassist and vocals) and Pete Robertson (drums and vocals).

Their first album, “What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?” came out in 2011, when I was fifteen. That year they came to Leeds though, unfortunately, they had sold out by the time I had hear all about it. In 2012, they released “Come of Age” and then in May this year, the third album “English Graffiti” was released.

As part of the annual, “Live at Leeds” festival, The Vaccines played Millennium Square in 2013 but unfortunately, I missed the chance to see them again as I was away for the weekend.

After that, I was wondering if I would ever get to the opportunity to see them; but I was extremely happy when it was announced that they would be playing the O2 Academy on the 29th November 2015.

I had a fantastic evening and they lived up to my expectations by playing songs from all three albums! Furthermore, I hope that I will get the opportunity to see them again in the near future because I loved every minute of that night and I left beaming with happiness over the fact, that I had finally got to see a band that I have loved since my early teens!

Love Arts Festival

I have recently volunteered for the Love Arts festival (7th – 21st October), which has taken place in Leeds every October for the past five years.

“A celebration of creativity & mental well-being in Leeds”

The aim of the festival is to use arts in order to get people thinking and talk about mental health. By doing so, it also hopes to reduce the stigma that is attached to mental health. Most importantly, the festival states that it is also, “…an important medium for participation and inclusion for people affected by mental health difficulties.”

This year, the festival introduced the Love Arts Trail, which was a visual arts trail that took place around the city centre in many bars, cafés and galleries in the city, including The Light (see above), Nation of  Shopkeepers, St. John’s Church, Belgrave Music Hall & Canteen, Roots and Fruits Vegetarian Café and The Tetley to name a few!  The work was created by members of the Arts & Minds network as well as individuals from many communities across Leeds.

This festival was full of talented people who all had some link to mental health, whether that being through their work or through personal experience.

Over the two weeks, there were many events, exhibitions and performances with some of them being interactive which was really exciting. As well as that, there were also many external events that were to fit with the Love Arts festival’s aim.

Excitingly, some of the third years on this course created fantastic window installations that were displayed at Fabrication, Nation of Shopkeepers and Arch Café.

I was told about this light bulb installation (see above) whilst I was volunteering. This was designed by people who were on a psychiatric ward who were asked to draw what basically makes them “light up”.

I really like the significance behind it especially as it is displayed at The Light, itself. Moreover, it hung over the exhibition and after having it explained to me, I saw it as really empowering and positive as it was adding light to such a dark and stigmatised issue.

My volunteering

I was a bit unsure about volunteering at first as I am still trying to gain confidence after my jaw surgery. However, it focuses on an issue that is really close to heart, as I have family members who have had mental health problems so I know all too well what it is like. I realised that this would be a good and easy way to help me develop my confidence and get to meet new people.

With the volunteering, I was able to choose which days I was free and which venues I could make it to. I did my volunteering at The Light where I invigilated the “Highlights” group exhibition at the bottom of the escalators by Browns and Café Rouge. This was showcase of work by members of Arts & Minds, which included people who use mental health services, carers, mental health workers and artists who have interests in issues surrounding mental health.  The exhibition is all mixed media and there are a variety of different styles of work that are all distinctive and unique.

I really enjoyed volunteering for the Love Arts festival, as I was able to meet new people all of whom were suffering from mental health issues. With that in mind, I really benefitted from talking to people and empathising with how they came to terms with their issues. As well as that, it was really overwhelming to receive so much positivity about the exhibition and there was a sale every time I volunteered!

Most importantly, the festival has enlightened me more about the importance of mental health because I do believe that we have come a long way and there is more awareness being put out there, though I still think that we have a far way to go.

On Wednesday 21st October, I attended the closing party and Love Arts awards at Lambert’s Yard. The event acknowledged the hard work from many organisations and individuals across Leeds who thus were awarded.

Workshop

Time management workshop

We underwent a time management workshop, to assess how we all manage our time when it comes to receiving briefs and how we come about reaching the final outcome.

In this workshop, we were asked to create a visual representation of how we manage our time.

We swapped our drawings with someone and then analysed how they manage their time. Afterwards, the person was to draw up a plan for you on how you can manage your time a lot easier.

Seeing this visual representation was really helpful and eye opening for me. It brought issues to light and made me learn what I can easily do to reduce stress and keep myself organised.

I have noticed that when it comes to managing time, I become really overwhelmed and flustered. I usually start off by thinking about the brief that I have been given and then I start doing some research, which will help me think in much more detail. Afterwards, I will then write a ‘to-do list’ to then structure out the days that I will be working on the brief. I shall then begin to draw out some ideas but I then become overwhelmed by the process as I then worry about the final outcome. Furthermore, I mainly focus ahead instead of focusing on what needs to be done at that point.

I found it really helpful to have some overlook how I organise myself and suggest ways as to how I can manage my time. Katie suggested that when I need to start recording what I think. As I commute, I use a lot of that time thinking as I have my earphones in and I am looking outside the window. So, I am going to start making notes on my journeys, as I will be able to develop these later on. In order for me to manage my time more effectively, she said that I need to turn off all of my distractions. Furthermore, I also write ‘to-do lists’ to try and organise myself and prioritise each project, so I need to be more strict with myself when sticking to these.

I do get myself worked up so she also suggested that I need to make sure that I regularly have breaks. For me, I really enjoy reading, going on a walk or going for a run as a way of clearing my head and getting anything that is bothering me into perspective.

I am definitely going to work on my time management so I will be able to work on my projects more effectively. I have also bought an academic diary so I can keep track of deadlines and try and set out what I need to be working on each day.