Cardiff and Vale College Art students showcase the ‘Humans of Cardiff’ at the Saatchi Gallery
A group of Art and Design students from Cardiff and Vale College are set to have their work on display at the prestigious Saatchi Gallery in London.
The students have been taking part in the Humans of Cardiff project. They met with local people – sometimes family and friends, sometimes strangers – took photos of them and recorded their life stories. They then used the photographs to create their own interpretations of the people as works of art which will be accompanied by texts outlining their subjects’ often moving stories.
The CAVC Humans of Cardiff portraits have now been submitted to the Saatchi Gallery Schools Prize competition, along with several portraits of David Bowie the students painted to commemorate the pop star’s death last year. The works have also been put forward for the Royal Academy Summer Show.
CAVC Head of Creative Industries Kristen Harries said: “Humans of Cardiff is a wonderful project and I am immensely proud of the learners who took part. To take part in something as prestigious as the Saatchi Gallery Schools competition will be a life changing experience for them.”
Art and Design student, 17-year-old Io Parsons from Cardiff, said: “It’s really exciting and a big opportunity for me to have my work seen by everyone when it’s not really seen by anyone right now.
“It’s been really fun to find a subject that you’re passionate about and paint something the reflects that and not just doing something that someone has told you to do.”
Fellow Art and Design student, Lauren Robins, is also 17 and lives in Barry. “I’m excited and also a little bit scared to have my work exhibited in the Saatchi Gallery,” she said. “I don’t really know how it’s going to go but it’s exciting.
“It was a fun experience taking part in Humans of Cardiff and it really helped me with my confidence in talking to strangers. I was nervous about it to start.”
Twenty-year-old Imane El Fadili from Cardiff added: “It’s a great experience for me, having the opportunity to meet new people and learn from them. English is my second language so I had to be brave and try to get into conversation with people that I’ve never seen before. It made me brave; I’ve never done anything like it before.
“I’m looking forward to my work going to the Saatchi Gallery – it’s a great opportunity and I will be meeting talented people and learning from the experience and get inspiration. I like College and art is my favourite thing to do.”
The students work will also be exhibited in the Sustainable Studio in Cardiff from April.
Notes to editors
- Photo shows some of the Art and Design students with the Humans of Cardiff portraits
- in 2016 CAVC won the prestigious UK-wide Association of Colleges Beacon Award for its innovative and sector leading apprenticeship provision
- Cardiff and Vale College is one of the top companies for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the National Centre for Diversity’s 2016 Top 100 Index. It has also been awarded the National Centre for Diversity’s Award for Welsh FE College of the Year 2016
- CAVC has been shortlisted for the TES College of the Year Award – the winner will be announced in February 2017
- Cardiff and Vale College was awarded College of the Year at the 2015 and 2016 Insider Business and Education Partnership Awards
- Apply now to join CAVC in Sept 2017
- Why not follow the latest updates from Cardiff and Vale College on Facebook.com/CardiffandValeCollege, Instagram @cavcinsta or Twitter @cavc
For more information contact:
Chris Baker
Communications Officer
Tel: 01446 725003. Mob: 07932 770938
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