- Pilot programme will partner 2020 and 2021 graduates with members of GSA Creative Network from a wide range of professional practice
- Initiative builds on existing support for students and graduates offered by GSA Enterprise Studio
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Leading creative practioners who will support recent GSA graduates in the Graduate Mentoring Programme: Donald Jyni Ong, Chris Strachan,Eleanor Stewart Molly Mae Whawell and Ruth |
The Glasgow School of Art has launched a tailored graduate mentoring programme today with a pilot scheme for the 2020 and 2021 cohorts of graduates. Led by the GSA’s Creative Network and Enterprise Studio, Working Space’s Graduate Mentoring programme aims to support recent graduates as they build their professional knowledge, networks and confidence, as well as to enable them to create a clear strategy and plan to develop their practice or business. The mentors, alumni and peers selected from the GSA’s Creative Network, come from a wide range of creative disciplines including architecture, communication, film, product and service design and fine art.
“Being part of a creative graduate mentoring programme is the ideal way to develop professional knowledge,” says Professor Penny Macbeth, Director of The Glasgow School of Art. “Partnering with our Creative Network we are offering this programme to provide additional support for our most recent graduates as they set out their careers as professional practitioners during what is undeniably still the most challenging of periods for graduates.
“GSA alumni are making major contributions to economic and artistic life across the world, bringing their creative thinking to address the major issues facing society today. By drawing on their considerable experience and expertise our most recent graduates will be able to be supported directly in how best to develop their own practice, avoid pitfalls and achieve their professional ambitions.”
Working Space builds on the ongoing work undertaken by the GSA’s Enterprise Studio, which offers employability, entrepreneurial and careers support and advice to GSA students and graduates at any stage of their creative careers and professional life. The pilot programme will run from September – December 2021. Following an initial event hosted by the Scottish Mentoring Network, which will help the mentees to understand how to get the most out of the programme, they will have four tailored one to one sessions with their expert mentor. Mentors and mentees will be matched based on their needs and skills.
Mentors include: Donald Barr (MDes Sound for the Moving image 2016) – a sound, video and fine artist based in Glasgow; Danny Campbell (Bachelor of Architecture 2012) – Founder and Director of HOKO Design; Martin Clark (Fine Art Photography 2003) – BAFTA-nominated Film Maker; Andrew Flynn (MEng Product Design Engineering 2014) – Co-Founder of POTR; David Freer (Communication Design 1997) – Co-Founder O Street Graphic Design Agency; Josephine Lohoar Self (Painting and Printmaking 2017) – a Scottish BAFTA-nominated Writer & Director working predominately in stop motion animation; Jyni Ong (Communication Design 2017) – Associate Editor, It’s Nice That; Eleanor Stewart (Communication Design 2009) – Director of Clubhouse, an Independent Animation Studio based in Glasgow, Scotland; Chris Strachan (Masters in Design Innovation and Citizenship 2015) – Design Researcher and Co- Founder of Glasgow Tool Library; Ruth Switalski (MLitt Fine Art Practice 2014) – a freelance artist, art psychotherapist and facilitator working in community arts and well-being; Molly Mae Whawell (Sculpture and Environmental Art, 2016) – a visual art practitioner working between sculpture, installation, film, choreography and performance, and Festival Coordinator for GI Festival.
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For further information contact
Lesley Booth
07799414474
@GSofAMedia
Notes for Editors
Working Space
The Working Space Programme, run by GSA’s Creative Network and Enterprise Studio, is a series of professional practice and creative sector networking events and tools. These early evening talks bring together students, graduates, industry experts and employers to explore a range of career and professional development themes. This special Working Space programme is most useful to recent graduates and final year students, but it is open to any students, currently studying, who are interested in learning key tactics, tips and strategies to help them make the best use of their time at The Glasgow School of Art and to support their transition out of education and beyond graduation. The Graduate Mentoring programme is a new pilot for Working Space and is open by application to 2020 or 2021 graduates.
Creative Network
The GSA’s Creative Network comprises over 22,000 GSA students, graduates, industry partners, collaborators and supporters. Spanning all disciplines, representing a multitude of industries and residing in over 95 countries around the world the Network aims to connect one of the largest, most diverse creative communities.
Enterprise Studio
Supporting creative careers and entrepreneurial innovation, The Enterprise Studio provides a range of employability, entrepreneurial and careers support, information, activity and advice to GSA students and graduates at any stage of their creative careers and professional life.
Mentor Biographies
Donald Barr (Sound for the Moving image 2016) is a fine art painting graduate from DJACD, later gaining a masters in Sound for the Moving Image (2016) from the GSA’s School of Simulation and Visualisation. Donald is a sound, video and fine artist based in Glasgow, Scotland. Donald has also produced graphic design, video and sound commercially and In his spare time Donald performs as Dino Bardot in the band Franz Ferdinand.
Martin Clark (Fine Art Photography 2003) is a filmmaker. In 2014 Martin co-directed BAFTA Scotland-nominated Exchange and Mart with Cara Connolly, which was also selected for the Sundance International Film Festival. He also received a further BAFTA Scotland nomination in the Short Film category for Jealous Alan, the film he wrote and directed in 2019. Martin Clark on Vimeo.
Danny Campbell (Bachelor of Architecture 2012) is the founder and Director of HOKO Design, a firm with an innovative platform which gives self-practising architects and designers the space and time to focus on creative work. Launched in 2019, the firm also utilises VR technology to give clients an interactive experience of the project as it develops. www.hokodesign.com
Andrew Flynn (MEng 2014) is co-founder of POTR, launched in 2019 with Martin Flynn. POTR is the company behind POTR Pots, a flat pack, eco-friendly self-watering origami plant pot. Throughout their development, POTR Pots were designed to be as environmentally friendly as possible, ensuring the product fit within POTR’s long-term ambition of creating a circular economy. With this in mind, all materials used in the pots are made from 100% recycled material and are 100% recyclable at the end of life. In August 2019 POTR launched a Kickstarter campaign which exceeded its target by more than 4250%, generating £25,512. www.potrpots.com
David Freer (Communication Design 1997) is the co-founder of O Street graphic design agency. David learnt his trade at The Glasgow School of Art and Rhode Island School of Design, starting his career at Saatchi & Saatchi in London before co-founding O Street in 2005. O Street now have desks in Glasgow, London and Denver, Colorado. Their previous work includes the new Scottish banknote series from RBS, and work with Spotify, Google and Last.fm. http://www.ostreet.co.uk/
Josephine Lohoar Self (Painting and Printmaking 2017) is a Scottish BAFTA-nominated writer and director working predominately in stop motion animation. Josephine’s short stop motion animated film The Fabric of You was longlisted for Best Animated Short at the 2021 Academy Awards as well as being nominated for a Scottish BAFTA. It received a Special Mention during its premiere at The Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2019, and has gone on to play at Oscar-qualifying festivals such as the LA International Short Film Festival and Bucheon International Animation Festival. Josephine is also an alumnus of the 2020 Berlinale Talents programme at The Berlin International Film Festival. Last December, Josephine was commissioned by the Irish national broadcaster RTÉ to produce and direct a short animated film called Gunter Falls in Love. The film played across a selection of their platforms over the festive period and is now on a year-long festival circuit.
Currently based in Berlin, Josephine is developing her next animated film with support from the British Film Institute. while also pitching for commercial projects. www.josephinelohoarself.com
Jyni Ong (Communication Design 2017) joined It’s Nice That as an editorial assistant in August 2018. In March 2019 she became a staff writer and in June 2021, she was made associate editor. www.itsnicethat/authors/jyniOng
Eleanor Stewart (Communication Design 2009) is the Director of Clubhouse, an independent animation studio based in Glasgow. She is an award-winning animation filmmaker and paper artist, and specialises in creating playful hand-crafted models and stop motion animations from paper. She has produced work for a variety of international clients including Poppy Scotland, The One Show, Hyundai, Jura Whisky and RSPB Scotland. Her bespoke paper models and set design have featured in magazines, advertising and window displays. Upon graduation, Eleanor was awarded the Bram Stoker Medal for most imaginative work in her final year Degree Show at The Glasgow School of Art, and a D&AD (Design & Art Direction) Best New Blood Award in London. She was a finalist in the category of Best Visual Artist in the Sunday Herald’s Scottish Culture Awards, and her animations have been screened in the UK and internationally, including performances with live symphony orchestras. www.clubhouseanimations.com
Chris Strachan (Masters in Design Innovation and Citizenship 2015) is a design researcher and co-founder of Glasgow Tool Library. Established in 2017, Glasgow Tool Library is a social enterprise that operates like a normal library, but instead of sharing books it shares tools. By creating a communal resource and community-run library, they aim to challenge unsustainable relationships between use and ownership, promoting a more collaborative economy and society.www.glasgowtoollibrary.com
Ruth Switalski (MLitt Fine Art Practice 2014) is a freelance artist, art psychotherapist and facilitator working in community arts and wellbeing. As an artist, she has exhibited nationally and internationally with a practice based in sculptural installation and drawing. She has worked across diverse settings such as prisons, addictions and recovery, community mental health, young people’s mental health, care-experienced young people and community consultation. She also has experience as the founder and curator of former gallery space 1 Royal Terrace, and has taught freelance practice design through the Cultural Enterprise Office. Ruth is currently the Arts and Mental Wellbeing Coordinator for Articulate Cultural Trust, and a freelance art psychotherapist.
Molly Mae Whawell (Sculpture and Environmental Art 2016) is a visual art practitioner working between sculpture, installation, film, choreography and performance. She is also Festival Coordinator at Glasgow International Festival.