April 2015 – September 2016.
Phase Three was a pivotal stage of Shades of Noir’s (SoN’s) journey and growth. It was a busy phase growing our student outreach and involvement, awareness and presence across the University of the Arts London and relationships with other Art and Design institutions.
Outcomes.
Content:
Content development has been a key focus of this phase. The Content Team produced over 150 new blogs, started a youtube channel and increased the reach of our resources across the institution.
Social media has been a useful tool for reaching out to students and academics from creative institutions, as well as broadening our industry links.
Student Development:
The Phase Three team has included 8 students and alumni in total over the eighteen-month period. In addition to this, we have also had a number of contributors from other institutions involved with events and creating content. We have facilitated support for student lead projects such as Black Blossoms and Diversity Matters, as well as supported students with their final major projects. The impact on students is hard to quantify, however, we are aware that students do reference the work of SoN in their writing, that there is clear personal growth in the team members who are involved and that the safe spaces we create are valued and give release to express frustrations.
Staff Development:
Throughout Phase 3, SoN built upon our work with Academic teams across UAL. We built on previously commissioned staff development and course handbook reviews at Ravensbourne in collaboration with Black British Academics and began work with London College of Communication to run a similar exercise of critique. ‘Whilst the workshops were very challenging, they were very useful in discussing issues of diversity and sharing different perspectives as well as being armed with sector knowledge’. Lecturer Ravensbourne. Additionally, SoN continues to be a vital contributor to the Post Graduate Certification (Pg Cert) in Academic Practice unit Inclusive Teaching and Learning ‘This unit is transformational, it has changed my teaching practice, provided me with so much information and confidence, allowed me space to be reflective and impacted my life’. Pg Cert Graduate 2016, UAL Lecturer
Events & Publications:
Phase Three heralded a new form of SoN Events, which were received well across the institution and outside of it, all were oversubscribed. We welcomed representatives from CHEAD, Arts Council, and HEA. One email from a staff attendee from Brighton University states ‘I want to thank you for these events, for having the courage and initiative to create the opportunity for change, awareness, and solidarity which informs the curriculum. Would there be scope for you to deliver staff training next academic year?’ Over this phase we held four-panel discussions that facilitated the space for students, academics and professionals to come together and discuss the following topics in a safe and open space:
- Funding for the Arts
- Race, Religion & Free Speech: The Power of Social & Broadcast Media
- Beyond Gender: The Identity of Fashion
- Feminisms – Arts of a Woman
These events also seeded the SoN Terms of Reference Zines. We have always had terms of reference documents since events in 2011, however, these Zines have taken this concept to the next level and have continued to grow in size and cultural wealth. They have not only found a home in UAL’s libraries but have also been circulated globally. All of our publications can be found on Issuu. Additionally Aisha Richards co authored Embedding Equality and Diversity within Art and Design, A Practitioners Guide (2015), Higher Education Academy (now Advanced HE) and delivered keynotes for CHEAD Leadership Programme, Sheffield University (2016) and BME Women in the Arts, King’s College University, London’s Intersectional Feminist Society (2015). Additionally Shades of Noir is featured in UAL annual reports (2015 and 2016).
In partnership with UAL Graduate Futures week, we also organised a dinner with the aim of bringing students and professionals together. This was attended by a number of competition-winning students from UAL, artist Yinka Shonibare, Members of the BAFTAS, UAL Governors and the Senior Management Team.
Challenges Faced.
- Communication clarity of what we do
- Perception of SoNs role to support pedagogic practices
- Uncomfortable with the unknown