For Impact’s society spotlights, Lauren interviewed the Art Society committee to find out more about what the society gets up to and what students can get out of joining the society.
Many students, including myself, wouldn’t consider themselves to be artistic or good at drawing. What would you say to anyone who is in that position but would like to join the Art Society?
“Art Society has been a crucial part of the university because it provides a platform for students of all artistic levels to take part. Art is an expression of your emotions and it really doesn’t matter how ‘good’ your work is. It’s more about coming along and releasing emotions and having a good time.
“It’s a really stress-free environment where we just want to have a good time, so everyone is welcome”
If your intention in joining the society involves advancing your skill and learning new techniques, then we cater for that. If your intentions revolve around the idea of having a good social environment and meeting more people, then we cater for that too! It’s really a stress-free environment where we just want to have a good time, so everyone is welcome.”
How are meetings structured and what do you get up to? Can people bring along artwork they’re currently working on or does everyone focus on the same form of art in the meeting?
“The structure of each meeting depends on what the activity is. Some meetings are very flexible and in the past there have been ‘Bring Your Own’ sessions in which people can use materials we provide to work on their own projects.
Other sessions, like our regular ‘Life Drawing’ ones, are more structured. These tend to revolve around the model’s poses, which last varying lengths of time.”
What kinds of activities and socials do you run as a society?
“We run a variety of activities that incorporate a variety of art, like life drawing sessions, portrait classes, tie-dye, mug and t-shirt personalisation, gallery visits and many more!
For socials our most popular event would be ‘drink and draw’, which is a way to meet others, relax and draw at your leisure in a chilled environment!”
Are there any particular kinds of art that you focus on as a society? Last year the art society ran life drawing and zine making sessions. What plans do you have for this year’s meetings?
“As a society, we are open to every and any type of art that our members are interested in. Whether that’s pumpkin carving, portraiture classes, print-making or clay-modelling: if people want it, we will supply it!
We are hoping to have more collaborations with successful artists next year who will lead relaxed workshops and classes for our members.”
What’s been your favourite experience as part of Art Society?
“Personally, as someone who is not studying Art at university, it’s been amazing to get back into art in a relaxed environment with other people who are all so different but have art as their common interest.
It’s exciting to get your creativity flowing if otherwise you wouldn’t have time to fit it in around university and studying – I’m so glad that the Art Society got me back into art and that I could meet people who enjoyed it too!”
Lauren Winson
To find out more about the Art Society’s meeting times and Fresher’s events, see their Facebook and Instagram accounts.
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Featured image courtesy of UoN Art Society via Facebook. Article image 1 courtesy of @uonartsoc via Instagram. Article image 2 courtesy of UoN Art Society via Facebook.
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