Fine Art PhD Student Premiers at London Film Festival 2013

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Firstly, we would like to welcome Stephen Connolly, a new Fine Art PhD Research student to Kent at the School of Music and Fine Art. Stephen brings a wealth of talent and ambition to the School and we are delighted to announce Stephen’s latest film is about to premier at the 57th London Film Festival. There is an opportunity to attend the screenings in October at the London Film Festival Experimenta strand.
Artist filmmaker Stephen Connolly’s work investigates cinema and representation through place, politics and history, he explores relationships between the subject and institutions through landscape and the notion of the ‘ensemble’ in moving image.  A Central Saint Martins Fine Art (film/video) graduate, his single screen work has been widely shown internationally since 2002. He is starting a PhD in Fine Art as a Kent 50 Scholar.

I wanted to ‘play the stranger’ with the original film. I’ve put the story to one side and concentrated on other aspects of the movie – the landscapes, the documentary footage used and the kind of material that was used as research for the work. The aim is a peek into the “spectatorial” explains Stephen Connolly.

Attend the Screenings:
There is an opportunity to attend the screenings next month at the London Film Festival
Friday 12th October at ICA Screen 1  – 6.50pm
Saturday 20th October at  BFI Southbank NFT3 – 1.15pm

For more information or to book click here.

Kents first Symposium of Acoustic Ecology November 8- 9, 2013

A new symposium to celebrate the sounds and experiences of Acoustic Ecology is set to take place in Medway, during 8-9th November.
Registration is now open for booking.

The Symposium of Acoustic Ecology investigates soundscapes as complex sounding systems that change in space and time, and shape our understanding of the surrounding world. The event is proud to be endorsed by the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology (WFAE).

The event, taking place over Friday and Saturday daytime and evenings on 8-9th November, will be held at various locations around the University’s Medway campus and the Historic Dockyard, and consist of talks by keynote speakers, including a special guest speaker – all experts in their field, 2 concerts, an array of installations and Listening Rooms, culminating in a finale concert held at the stunning Slip 3, Mezzanine building at the Historic Dockyard Chatham.

Acoustic Ecology is a discipline studying the relationship mediated through sound, between living beings and their environment and the Symposium is first of its kind in Medway hosted by the School of Music and Fine Art, University of Kent.

Booking and Registration:
Online Registration is open now and available through the University of Kent web-store.
Register Now to secure your place.

Tickets:
Students of University of Kent – £10
Goldsmiths College -£10
Students – £20
Non-students – £40

For more information visit:   
http://acousticecology.org.uk

Contact:  
info@AcousticEcology.org.uk  Tel: 01634 888 980

ICA Student Placements available

 A fantastic opportunity has arisen for two students to undertake a work placement at the Institute of Contemporary Arts.

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Gain valuable skills within the Digital Team supporting the Head of Digital with a range of tasks within video production and digital development. We have two voluntary placements for student internships, available for 3 months for a minimum of 2 days per week. 

  • Placement 1  – Digital Development
  • Placement 2 – Video

These are quite technical roles and would require students to have a certain level of understanding of how to operate video editing software and social media outlets. However, anyone with an interest in gaining experience of working within a communications department in an arts organisation is encouraged to apply.
Both roles are subject to a 2 week probationary period.

Student placements in ICA Communications Department will involve varied tasks focused on supporting the Head of Digital in all aspects of organising and forward planning the ICA’s digital activities as required. The successful candidates will work closely with the Communications Department providing proactive and comprehensive support in all aspects of online development and office management.

All students will be working closely within their team on general administrative and office duties which will enable them to gain a thorough and practical working knowledge of a Communications Department within a public visual arts organisation, and develop skills and experiences that are complementary to your studies.  
A full job description is available on request by emailing MFAReception@kent.ac.uk

Applications:
Please send your CV and covering letter to learning@ica.org.uk
by 5pm Friday 4th October.

Please note that this is a two day per week commitment: Please contact your course convenor/ year co-ordinator if you have any concerns about how you’d manage this internship requirement alongside your course commitments.

School of Music and Fine Art – Taster Day

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Experience university life for a day – For FREE!

Saturday 26th October 2013
10am-2pm

The School of Music and Fine Art at the University of Kent are holding taster sessions for all of our undergraduate degree programmes on Saturday 22 October 2013, 10am – 2pm. 

These sessions are free of charge and are aimed at Year 12 and 13 students (or mature applicants) who are considering applying to university to study in a related area.

The sessions provide a great opportunity to see and use our wonderful new facilities on the Historic Dockyard, to meet and work with some of our academic staff and students, and to gain first-hand experience of the courses and opportunities we offer.

We are offering taster sessions in the following areas:

  • Music
  • Creative Events
  • Music Technology
  • Popular Music
  • Fine Art

Interested?
Please email us at getcreative@kent.ac.uk to sign up and be sent further details. We welcome interest from both individual students and from schools and colleges.

If your school or college would like to organise a taster day so that your students can get a feel for university life or an insight into particular courses, please email your requirements to getcreative@kent.ac.uk Taster days are generally subject specific but we are happy to be flexible in terms of both timings and content so that we can best meet your needs.

Double shortlisting for Kent in Times Higher Education Awards

The University of Kent has been shortlisted in the two categories for which it made submissions to the Times Higher Education (THE) Awards 2013: Excellence & Innovation in the Arts and ICT Initiative of the Year.

Kent’s shortlisting for Excellence & Innovation in the Arts is based on its recent programme of development, innovation and investment in this sector. This has resulted in the University not only consolidating its existing reputation as a first-choice arts destination for students but in it also becoming an arts champion and cultural hub forCanterburyMedway and the region. Kent’s successes in this area include:

Kent’s shortlisting for ICT Initiative of the Year reflects its commitment to develop and promote a high quality learning experience through innovative teaching methods. The focus of the submission is the development and use of ‘serious games’, or immersive technologies, to enable students and child protection professionals undertaking continuing professional development to practice and discuss difficult child protection cases in safe environments.

Developed by Professor David Shemmings and Dr Jane Reeves from Kent’s Centre for Child Protection, these games combine expertise from a number of the University’s units, disciplines and academic schools, as well as external experts from organisations such as Special Branch, Kent Police, Kent County Council, Kent Probation and Child Health Services (Essex). The resulting programme is considered to be a ‘trail blazer’ for Kent and is expected to set the standard for its future distance learning courses. Feedback from students, practitioners, local authorities, children’s homes, voluntary organisations, training providers and charities has also demonstrated the need for this new style of learning tool – one that is also a far reaching and impactful ICT solution to a range of virulent social problems.

Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow, the University’s Vice-Chancellor, said: ‘This is further good news for Kent in a year during which the University has been ranked among thetop 20 in the UK. It is also further recognition of Kent’s academic strengths and successes, as well as the impact it makes upon society at all levels. I congratulate all those involved in the shortlisted projects and offer them my best wishes for the awards ceremony.’

The winners of the THE Awards 2013 will be announced during a ceremony on 28 November at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London.