The annual UAL Alumni of Colour Association (AoCA) Winter Showcase is happening this week, and for the first time, it’s online, meaning more people than ever can join in and take part.
The AoCA Winter Showcase is a great space for conversations and collaborations to take place, across the alumni network. Each year the event brings together a cross-generational group of creatives to share experiences, as well as offering a platform for graduates to introduce their work to their peers.
Meet the speakers for this year’s event (constantly updated).
Genieve Vasconcelos
Genieve graduated from BA Fashion Design, at London College of Fashion (LCF). Before starting the second year, her extraordinary designs were selected to be exhibited at the Glacéau Vitamin Water sponsored exhibition at the Old Truman Brewery and showcased at the Seams event at the Hoxton Arches.
As part of her course in the second year, she created a collection that was featured in a fashion show and received remarkable reviews. This show catapulted her designs into the fashion industry arena.
In Genieve’s final year her Urban Tribes graduate collection was selected to open LCF’s prestigious Press Fashion Show 2019. After her graduation, she was headhunted by Pause Fashion Hub to showcase her collection in a solo presentation at Freemasons Hall.
One of her highlights was an extraordinary project for the high street store, H&M. Genieve was commissioned to design a large-scale couture dress made from recycled clothing, which was displayed in the main window of one of H&M’s flagship stores, for its first fashion recycling week!
Calvin Chinthaka
Calvin graduated from LCF with a BA (Hons) in Fashion Photography. A natural storyteller, who fosters a range of approaches, rather than a singular or fixed practice of fashion photography, Calvin is able to define fashion photography in practice, research and development, and a cultural, educational, professional, and global context; breaking new ground through visually representing the fashion narrative.
Having worked for over five years on both national and international brands – across corporate, creative, and advertising campaigns, and in a freelance capacity – devising and delivering successful visual content, Calvin brings innovation and tenacity together, with his specialist subject knowledge in fashion film production, creative production, content creation, fashion photography and distribution,
Calvin offers a holistic approach to developing and creating a rich digital body of work, ready for industry.
George Adebola Adesegun
George studied at London College of Communication (LCC) in 2007, on the Digital Production Diploma.
Born in London in 1965, George was raised in Lagos, Nigeria. At the age of eighteen, he returned to England to study fashion and in 1991 he started his own eponymous designer label, George Adesegun, with the help of The Prince’s Trust Business Award.
Throughout the '90s, George worked on both his own label and as a freelance designer for a number of other companies and couture designers, including Frank Gower in Amsterdam. His ready-to-wear line was sold in the major shopping centres chains Bluewater, and Lakeside as well as in various boutiques around the country. In 2016 George returned to education, studying for his Master of Arts in Printed Textiles for Fashion and Interiors Designs, at UCA Rochester England.
Currently George is researching wearable technology and sustainable materials and devices in fashion and accessories. He has recently produced his Eko Atlantic Jeans UK collection of sneakers, as well as a new clothing range, all made using upcycled and sustainable denim materials, and natural leather products made from apple skin, pineapple fibres, and cactus.
Karee Luna
Karee is a New York City-based Graphic Designer. She graduated from the BA (Hons) Fashion Illustration course at LCF in 2013. Since then she has gone on to work as a graphic designer and editor for consultancy and design firms, working on many diverse projects with a variety of clients.
Over the last few months, her passion and concern for racial equality have led her to create the 'Kids 4 Black Lives: Coloring Book', her first, self-published book under her company 'Luna Bound'. Karee has found it a blessing to share her art in a way that not only brings families and friends together but has a message that will hopefully help in the betterment of tomorrow. She is looking forward to witnessing the positive impact this will have on the younger generation, and creating more meaningful projects such as this one in the future.
Kim Chin
Kim initially completed her BTEC in Art & Design at Camberwell College of Arts, before going on to study on the BA (Hons) Textile Design course at Chelsea College of Arts, graduating in 2003.
Born in the creative capital of London, with roots in Southeast Asian, Chinese and Caribbean heritage, this cultural fusion subconsciously influenced Kim’s love for pattern and colour at an early age, both with creativity running in her family tree, and being free to explore textiles and printmaking within her early art education.
Shaping her extensive career opportunities at international brands in Europe and North America, “change from within” was her mantra to impact better practices as she was overwhelmed by the abundance of fast fashion waste.
In her next chapter of creative expression Kim had a desire to direct her craft towards a more personal practice with a purpose; encouraging connectivity through self-reflection. She returned to London to continue traditional printmaking methods such as Lino cutting and screen printing, as well as painting on found materials which otherwise would have been discarded, such as old photographs; renewing old memories with new ones. Her desire for inviting audiences to celebrate different perspectives of British culture, whilst working at a slower, more sustainable pace that enrichens quality with time.
Kim is working towards a new project to launch in the new year that combines coming together, giving back to the community whilst honouring her cross-cultural experiences to creating with a soul.
Puneeta Sharma
Puneeta is Assistant Paper Conservator in the Prints and Drawings department at Royal Collection Trust (RCT), based at Windsor Castle. She is a quadruple alumna of UAL, having completed the Foundation Diploma in Art & Design at Central Saint Martins (CSM) in 2005, followed by a Diploma in Digital Media Design at LCC in 2006. Puneeta then went on to do her BA (Hons) Fine Art at CSM, before completing a Masters in Conservation, Art on Paper at Camberwell in 2014.
She has held various positions as Conservator in the Royal Archives, the Chester Beatty Library, the National Archives, Kew, London, and Magdalene College, University of Cambridge. At RCT, her role includes the preparations of artworks for exhibitions, loans and display, and the ongoing maintenance of the collection.
Thea Smartt Henry
Graduating in 1997 from London College of Fashion (LCF) with BA (Hons) Menswear Tailoring, Thea worked for two years in Fashion Buying before leaving the industry to work in non-creative fields. Many years later, she developed a fascination with polymer clay, creating and launching her first jewellery range in 2005.
She is fascinated by texture, colour and distortion. Using polymer clay and metal wires, she balances bold and earthy colours to create individually remarkable jewellery pieces.
Her design approach shifts between the orderly sketching of patterns and connecting shapes, through to clay-play; development through colour blending, polymer clay manipulation and design-on-the-table. She likens the comparative processes to creating clothes patterns using digital or paper flat lay pieces and modelling with fabric on a stand. Cracks and hints of fingerprints to denote ‘hands at work’, all become compelling features in Thea’s creations when added with deliberation.
Thea is fascinated with the countless effects achievable through the medium of polymer clay. ‘Relic’ pieces include deconstructed shards of previous projects to reduce waste; “...creating beautiful things with my hands is a balm for my soul in the astonishingly fast pace of London.”
Thea is a member of the British Polymer Clay Guild and has exhibited annually as part of the Sydenham and Catford Artist Trails.
Chiara Vicini
Chiara is an Italian born Artist and Designer. Prior to moving to London, Chiara obtained a BA in The Science of Fashion and Costume History in Rome, before studying on the MA Costume Design for Performance at LCF, graduating in 2017.
Whilst studying, Chiara began freelancing as an Artist working on a multitude of projects from Graphic Design to Fine Art. As an eclectic artist, she has always had a penchant for the arts as a whole. Even when designing costumes, Chiara draws on her knowledge within the other disciplines to create distinct pieces.
With the majority of her family working in artistic fields, it was clear that at a young age it was bound to rub off onto her!
UAL Alumni of Colour Association Winter Showcase Event
Thursday 19 November 2020
6pm - 8.30pm GMT
Online event
RSVP by emailing aoca@arts.ac.uk