Leeds Arts Union offers a range of societies run by our students for our students. Edward Tagg, BA (Hons) Creative Writing student tells us more about the Collaboration Society and why he feels it's important.
The Collaboration Society came about because I wanted to increase cross-course collaboration beyond the projects brought to our classroom. Art is a form which it excels when shared, not just in presentation but in creation. The Collaboration Society was put together just before Covid-19 hit and somehow, through the grit of the students, came out after a year's work with a finished product! We began by putting together an art book called 'The Art of Farhawl', which we came together to produce and which was based on my novel 'Stand to Resist'. The concept art book can be found on Amazon and features 21 artists, mostly students from the University with a few additional features. Shortly after publication book became Amazon’s No. 2 best seller for concept art books!
Image: Kahenya Kang’ethe and Alex MacKenzie, BA (Hons) Animation
The society aims to create a space in which students can run their own projects on a smaller scale if they so wish, whilst the society president hosts a large project that all students can participate in.
I want to emphasise to students how useful, inciteful and fulfilling the act of collaboration can be, and that we're in the prime time of our lives to do so. From film students to concept artists, writers to cartography, our first project has laid out a foundation for a future hub for collaborative student work to flourish outside of modules and grades! Up next, we're doing another concept art book, but with a lot more emphasis on creation from the ground up, giving more weight to the artists inclusions.
Image: Celeste Drouin-Davis, MA Fine Art