Art students at Cardiff and Vale College Make Art Not War

Art and Design students from Cardiff and Vale College have been exploring what peace means to them as part of the 14-18 NOW project.

The project is part of a five year initiative to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of the First World War. As part of a live brief set by the Imperial War Museum, visiting artist Ethan Dodd has been attending CAVC’s Barry campus to work with Level 1, 2 and 3 Art and Design students.

“We’ve been working on ideas of what peace means to students as part of the 14-18 NOW Make Art Not War project,” Ethan explained. “We’ve been making flags and looking at symbolism and ideas around peace and protest.

“We’ve also been working with ceramics, textiles and crystallisation – which is my specialism.”

Cardiff and Vale College will host a conference in the Spring which will bring together artwork made by college students across Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the Make Art not War live brief. The work inspired by Ethan Dodd, as well as other work from CAVC Creative students across the College will feature.

“I’ve really enjoyed working with the learners – it’s really rewarding,” Ethan said. “They’re good fun and I think I’m learning more about myself and what I want to do as an artist.

“This project has opened their eyes and make them think about artists they might not have known before and work in mediums they haven’t used before. It lets me go home with a smile on my face.”