Are you passionate about the role the arts play in society? Hereford College of Arts is currently seeking candidates to join its active Board of Governors.

We welcome enquiries from individuals who understand strategic vision, have excellent judgement and a willingness to express opinions; and who have the desire and ability to make a difference to the College and the local community.

Our Board of Governors steers the activities of the College and is currently made up of a broad range of experience from across the community, business, the arts and individuals with experience in business, the arts, community affairs or education. The College is particularly seeking someone who has strong business skills and experience in developing partnerships or programmes in the voluntary or community sector. A good knowledge of Herefordshire public sector, private institutions and previous experience in governance would also be of benefit, along with an overriding belief in the value of arts education.

Our governors use their combined experience and strategic thinking collectively to make a crucial contribution to the future of the College. If you would like to join us and help shape a successful future for Hereford College of Arts please send your CV and covering letter to:
Linda Watkins
Clerk to the Governors
Hereford College of Arts
Folly Lane
Hereford
HR1 1LT

Alternatively phone Linda on 01432 379351 for more information or via email to lwatkins@hca.ac.uk

More information available on our website at http://www.hca.ac.uk/governance/

Robert Thomas, and Sam Pearce, 2nd year BA (Hons) Artist Blacksmithing students both picked up student awards, with Simon Bushell and Ed Blower (2011 Grads) winning one of the top prizes, the coveted ‘Golden Anvil.’

Not to be left out, even the Artist Blacksmithing teaching staff who went along also were presented with a teaching award!

Read the Craft Cluster blog, full of great stories and photos. http://www.thecraftscluster.blogspot.co.uk/ - for the full story

Responding to much needed social, café and exhibition space our stunning new Arts Space and main entrance for Folly Lane has just been unveiled.

Designed by Hewitt Studios and constructed by Keir Moss to high environmental standards, the contemporary and innovative space was funded almost entirely from College reserves. Integrated in the design are landscaped gardens and outdoor spaces.. The space is kitted out with striking café furniture, soft seating and tables, flexible exhibition panels, wifi access and computer points.

HCA approached us to devise a new front-end for their existing campus. As an Arts College, they demanded an innovative design-led solution. Our proposal delivers much-needed cafe, exhibition and admin space in a striking new volume. A reflective pool is used to both animate the space and mediate sunlight. Externally, the building is clad in a combination of local timber and anodised aluminium panels, subtly reflecting its immediate environment. A comprehensive landscape scheme roots the building to the site and creates a series of external social and exhibition spaces for the College and its students. Architects View, Hewitt Studios

The design and architecture is already generating great interest from national and regional bodies, together with installation of award winning café chairs designed by Vitra.

Ready for the start of term, students and staff are already taking full advantage of the space which has completely transformed the front-end of the College and generated a very different atmosphere to the whole envrionment.

The official opening events start week commencing 23rd Jan and includes an exhibition showcasing recent graduate work as well as a display from younger students from county high schools. The week culminates on Friday 27th with an Open House invitation to the local community between 10am -12noon and then the official opening during the evening.

Jesse Norman, MP and Clare Woods, Artist and Fellow of the college will officially open the building during the evening at the invited guest night. More visitors will have the chance to see the new Arts Space first-hand on Saturday 28th Jan during our Saturday Open Day for prospective students and parents, starting at 10am.

Hereford is full of photographic activity this month, with opening of the annual Hereford Photography Festival and photography student activity at Hereford College of Arts. The first term of the academic year is well underway now and the sixty-five returning HCA BA (Hons) and FDA Photography students will soon be hitting the streets of Hereford.
The city is home to many student photographers attending Hereford College of Arts. As part of their modules, students are given the task to photograph the city. Each student is given keywords to explore in the city limits. The people of Hereford should not be alarmed if they see a mass of young people armed with cameras. The students are instructed on the ethics of photographing in public spaces and will be carrying student identification.
The college also delivers short courses in photography. In addition, HCA also hosts taster days for young people who are thinking about studying photography and other students interested in including photography into their artistic practice.

Indesign have an international reputation for finding the right fashion and textile design talent for some of the major leading fashion houses, and have been Agents for the best of UK textile talent for over 30 years.

The company only elects to work with a small number of colleges in the UK; however, they have been so impressed with the work produced in Hereford over the last few years that they came back to the College to see what our current 3rd years were up to. The outcome was that they selected the work of 4 students who all specialise in print for fashion, and took the work to a major international buying event in New York in January, where it was viewed by the top buyers and forecasters who work for the major global fashion brands.

Hereford work stood up to scrutiny, alongside many professional and established textile designers, and the results were outstanding! BA (Hons) Textile Design students Rebecca Marshall and Rebecca Wanklyn both sold work, as did Rebecca Cregan and Kate Pinhal, who joined us this year on our BA (Hons) Top Up in Textile Design. The students sold work to the likes of Calvin Klein and CK Home, Diane Von Furstenburg, Ann Taylor, Gap, and Marc Jacobs.

During her final year studying a BA (Hons) Graphic & Media Design at Hereford College of Arts Pippa responded to a student design competition launched by the Royal Mint to find a commemorative design for a limited edition £5 coin. The competition was rolled out to students throughout the UK.

Before she graduated, Pippa found out she had been short-listed for the Paralympic design. The judging panel asked her to tweak the design and, with the support and feedback of her tutors, Pippa continued to refine her design.

Innes Jones, course leader of BA (Hons) Graphic and Media Design, said of this final stage, “Pippa was supported and advised during the design synthesis. She went through a process of reduction to communicate key elements of the Paralympics through the simplest and most engaging forms.”

The finished coin celebrates accuracy, manoeuvrability and speed. Split into four, it features a wheel for manoeuvrability, a target for accuracy, a stopwatch for speed and the face of Big Ben to represent London and time.

Before becoming a student at Hereford College of Arts, Pippa worked in the media industry for ten years. She decided she wanted to reawaken her creative spirit and challenge her knowledge by completing a degree in Graphic Design. She felt that the creative freedom she was allowed on the course really “helped her develop a contemporary design aesthetic and engage in the latest design concepts.” The support and critique offered on the course gave her a new confidence and ability.

As for the future, Pippa is now looking to create more interactive designs combining her experience in publishing as well as graphic design and photography, which may include interactive magazines and books for Ipad and other tablets.

The College is incredibly proud of Pippa’s achievement. She tells us that the whole experience has been fantastic, throughout the whole process, particularly working with The Royal Mint. She graduated this summer with a first class degree in BA (Hons) Graphic & Media Design.

The commemorative coin will be unveiled and put into circulation on 14th November. The coins, the latest in a summer Olympic tradition dating back to the 1952 Helsinki Games, will go on sale later this month. See www.royalmint.com for more details

Five first year photography students from both the BA (Hons) and FDA Photography courses have organized an exhibition of their work at the art360 Gallery in Bridge Street.
The exhibition will run for a week and features the work of Joe Horton, Naomi Lowen, Peter Masters, Sophie Miller, and Jason Carden. The work can be seen until Saturday 3rd March.

They wanted a name that reflected anonymity and illustrated a safe, secure and caring environment. The competition was open to current students at Universities, Colleges and Sixth Forms. The overall winning design was by Timothy Stamp, 2nd year BA (Hons) Graphic & Media Design student from Hereford College of Arts.

Tim's design was chosen as the winning entry as he most closely fulfilled the brief, creating an identity for the Centre that suggests calm and is non-gender specific. The logo is clear and simple and will work well across the many formats on which it will appear, including a website, signage and letterheads.

2nd prize was awarded to fellow student, Sarah Loughran.

Around 20 of Hereford College of Arts' BA (Hons) Fine Art degree undergraduates will be working on a challenging outdoor project to produce a finished work in their choice of media in just one week. The project, Field Work, is to give students the opportunity to explore and interpret ideas outside the studio and to produce a completed piece of work for exhibition. Completed works will then feature in a dedicated Field Work exhibition at Down Stairs, the contemporary art gallery located at Great Brampton House.

Craig Barnes, Gallery Manager at Down Stairs, says: “Making art in site specific locations is a challenge for all artists. Come rain or shine, it’s important to get out of the studio once in a while. It will be fascinating to see how the students respond to the difficulties the project presents, and ultimately how the work responds to its environment.” Allison Neal, BA (Hons) Fine Art Course leader at Hereford College of Arts, says: “We are very excited to have a new venue showing contemporary art of such high quality in Herefordshire and we are delighted that our students are able to be involved in this excellent opportunity.”

The show opens with a preview reception on Saturday 29th October from 12–8pm, with hot cider served from 3pm onwards. The exhibition then remains open during opening hours of Friday to Sunday 12 –5pm until 6th November. For more information, visit Downstairs Gallery.

Students on the Contact Course at Hereford College of Arts have been working with local film makers, Catcher Media,  to produce a film about opportunities available for people with learning difficulties, after leaving school or College.

Commissioned by Herefordshire Council, Multi-Agency Strategic Transition Group and funded by the National Transition Support Programme the DVD focuses in on the lives and aspirations of a group of young people based in Herefordshire.

The DVD is compelling, funny and frank and gives a great snapshot into the opportunities and challenges that face young people with learning difficulties, particularly with the prospect of leaving college. The DVD follows individual students as they talk about their experiences from becoming a Course Rep in College to having the confidence to catch a bus into town and having lunch out with friends. We also get to see young people settled into independent living, supported by SCOPE 1st Key, to work placements at Kenchester Water Gardens, supported by Medcap Pathways, or being involved with one of the social enterprise schemes, such as mi-enterprise based in Leominster.

The students were also filmed taking part in a training session with ASPIRE choices, working on interview skills, and the importance of keeping fit and healthy by working out at a gym, such as the Point 4.  The finished film debuted during the college end of year Summer Show where it received many positive comments and has recently been officially launched.

Catcher Media, the Film-makers commented:

We are a Hereford based production company who work with communities, so to collaborate with all the partnerships involved, and particularly the students at Hereford College of Arts was inspirational. Whilst working closely with the students over a period of time it was very evident to see their self-esteem and confidence growing. This DVD will now be distributed to Schools & Colleges so will hopefully provide a deep insight in to the challenges and opportunities available to the students on the Contact Course, and other courses specialising in working with young people with severe learning difficulties.


• Copies of the DVD can be obtained from SEN Team, PO Box 185, Blackfriars street, Hereford

• A trailer of the DVD can be seen on Hereford College of Arts YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/HerefordArtsCol