Empowering the next generation of creatives with graduate consultancy projects
- Written byNicole Horgan
- Published date 01 November 2023
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Learning through practice and exchange is fundamental to any creative arts education. At UAL, we aim to enhance our students’ employability and entrepreneurism by providing a wide range of opportunities to apply their skills and subjects in real world contexts. These opportunities aren’t just limited to their time as students, but continue into their post-graduate life. Our graduate consultancy projects offer recent graduates the opportunity to work with some of the world’s leading companies on diverse and challenging briefs – providing paid work experience that acts as the first stepping stones of their careers as creative entrepreneurs, innovators and change-makers.
Caroline Ashley: From Incubator Programme to 20 Fenchurch Street
Caroline Ashley graduated with first-class honours from Chelsea College of Arts in 2022. During her time at Chelsea, the pandemic-induced shift to remote learning sparked a desire to work with more tangible art forms and ultimately embrace sculpture. Caroline’s work explores the connection between textiles, patterns, and computational technologies, reflecting on the human experience in the digital and physical realms.
Whilst at Chelsea, Caroline joined forces with fellow student Isabella Blake and founded the Collective Gallery - a gallery space situated at the college made for students and run by students. Both Caroline and Isabella were ‘ambitious to see if [they] could make it work outside of the institution’ and successfully applied to take part in the UAL Incubator: Launch programme.
Caroline and Isabella joined a cohort of graduates from Camberwell, Chelsea and Wimbledon Colleges of Arts with the aim of bringing their early-stage business ideas to life over a six-month period. Speaking of the programme, Caroline said:
"We’d gone into Collective Gallery thinking about what it is that we want to do and what is our message. But we weren
'’t really thinking about our audience...And [the programme] really opened our eyes to what we were communicating.”
A defining takeaway for the duo was the opportunity to gain a better understanding of different funding models within the creative sector and how to clearly articulate their creative mission so that it aligns with funders' needs.
Alongside the gallery, Caroline and Isabella also began to explore their own individual opportunities following graduation. Caroline was able to leverage the skills she gained during the Incubator programme to win a commission to design a public sculpture in the lobby of 20 Fenchurch Street (otherwise known as the Walkie Talkie building), made possible through a graduate consultancy opportunity facilitated by Camberwell, Chelsea and Wimbledon Colleges of Arts. Tailoring her proposal to align with both her artistic practice and the client’s needs, Caroline was able to win both her first public and paid commission.
Punctuated Equilibrium (2023) took inspiration from the fabrication of the London skyline and the building’s connection to the people within. Following it’s display in the lobby, the sculpture can now be found installed in the Sky Garden – London’s highest public garden found at the top of 20 Fenchurch Street.
Wanpeng (Loki) Xu: Understanding client briefs to create a showstopping trophy
Earlier this year, Wanpeng (Loki) Xu, a Product and Furniture Design graduate from Chelsea College of Arts and now technician at Camberwell College of Arts, was successfully awarded the graduate consultancy opportunity to design and create twelve trophies for the global 2023 Inspire Awards programme run by leading facility management company, ISS.
As Loki’s first paid commission in the UK, he was given the brief to design an awards trophy that captured ISS’s values of sustainability and diversity. Drawing inspiration from his experience of living in London as an international student, Loki created a beautiful circular award that reflected the dynamism and inclusivity of the city. Along with the circular design, reclaimed glass taken from ISS’s workplaces and the Thames riverbed were used in the design to highlight ISS’s sustainability efforts. The opportunity gave Loki experience of how to respond to briefs and navigate client feedback, explaining the rationale behind the specific choices he made and showcasing his expertise gained throughout his degree.
Speaking about the commission, Loki said:
“This project really reinforced the idea of who I want to be as a designer and what I am good at. University teaches you a certain set of skills, but this is your opportunity to actually put them into place and use them in a different environment. You really see the impact of your work and how it is valued by people.”
While ISS was able to give its employees a truly one-of-a-kind artwork as part of their 2023 Inspire Awards, Loki was able to stretch his creative abilities and feel empowered in the beginning stages of his post-university career.
Are you interested in collaborating with our graduates on a creative project? Get in touch. Find out more about paid-for opportunities for students and graduates: