George Deeb graduated in MA Applied Imagination in the Creative Industries from Central Saint Martins in 2014. He recently moved to Amsterdam, and has since decided to set up a new Alumni group for those living in the Netherlands.
We caught up with George to find out more about what he has been doing since graduating, and his future hopes for this newly established group.
What made you decide to come to London and study at UAL?
Growing up in South Africa I always felt restricted creatively, and short on inspiration. Life was too “normal” for me and I was bored. I always craved more, and London is the city that I found it in. Everything about London inspires and motivates me. I always knew that London is the place I had to be in order to progress along my creative journey. As for UAL, that’s simple – I desperately wanted to be a tiny part of the vast and rich history, and the environment that Central Saint Martins is renowned for. I was and am so proud to be able to say that I walked through the same doors as some of the worlds greatest creative minds. So in short it is the history and culture of UAL and CSM that made me want to study there.
What did you study? And did you enjoy your time at UAL?
I did MA Applied Imagination in the Creative Industries at CSM. Yes, I loved my time at UAL, it was possibly the best time of my life, and I would really like to return one day to maybe do a PhD.
What have you been doing since you graduated?
Despite my best efforts I was not able to stay in London after graduation. So I had to leave. Since then my main focus has been trying to get myself back into Europe. Now after much effort I have just moved to the incredible city of Amsterdam where I am trying to focus on my creative career. During this same time I have also accidentally entered the world of contemporary art, started making films, and created a blog called Blahble. My focus now that I am in Amsterdam is to both join a creative team, as a creative strategist, while also pursuing my own personal projects and art ambitions.
What made you want to set up an alumni group in the Netherlands? And what do you hope to achieve from it?
The day that I found out that I was going to move to the Netherlands, one of the first things that I did was to search for the UAL alumni group in the Netherlands (assuming there was one). After learning there wasn’t one, I figured that because I wanted a alumni group there might be others who would want one too. So I decided that I might as well just bite the bullet and help start one. My main goal for starting this group is to meet people. As I said I am completely new to the Netherlands so I am really wanting to meet cool new people and build up a little community.
If you want to be a part of the new alumni group in the Netherlands, please visit the Facebook page or get in touch on hello@ualalumni.nl or http://ualalumni.nl
Find out more about our UAL alumni groups and associations across the world