Sustainability Awards Exhibition 2021/22

Leeds Arts University recognises the importance of embedding sustainability within its practices both operationally and educationally. The Sustainability Awards recognises innovative and engaging work that addresses environmental, social and ethical issues with sustainability running clearly through their approach.

Students were asked to consider and address a specific sustainability issue and consider why this was important, how their work would influence new thinking and how their work addressed the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in arriving at their solution. Presented are the winning entries from the 2021/22 Awards.

Further Education

Winner: Amina Jeng (Extended Diploma), Cultural Conservation, 2021/22, Textile Design, Photography. Jeng focuses on creating work linked to their Gambian background. The work looks to combat harmful stereotypes about the economic and social climate of the African continent. Jeng does this by creating fashion that is rich in colour, with accessories and traditional Gambian patterns that were sustainably sourced.

Runner-up: Sarah Templeman (Foundation Diploma), Untitled, 2021/22, Photography. Templeman’s work refers to the social issues of homelessness and class divide. The work itself reflects on isolation and loneliness, experienced by those forced to be homeless. Templeman encourages viewers to engage in conversations and action relating to the housing and energy crisis that is forcing people into extreme poverty.

Undergraduate

Winner: Celeste Zanatta (BA (Hons) Comic and Concept Art), Activism Anxiety, 2021/22, Digital Illustration. Zanatta’s work comments on the fast-paced and often volatile nature of social media. In particular, the artist focuses on the term ‘doom scrolling’. This term reflects how the more time a user spends interacting with particularly negative forms of news, the more that algorithms can generate more negative and potentially upsetting news, which can negatively impact mental health. Zanatta believes the way to combat this is to engage with the community around us and concentrate on tangible actions.

Runner Up: Andrea Shearer (BA (Hons) Filmmaking), Off the Rack - Green is the New Black,

2021/22, Documentary Film. Shearer interviews local businesses and individuals on the topic of fashion overconsumption and solutions being explored. The film aims to shed light on the industry’s significant footprint and inspires the next generation of fashion practitioners to change this.

Runner Up: Imogen Joyce (BA (Hons) Visual Communication), Up the Garden Path, 2021/22, Digital Illustration. Joyce’s work raises questions on children and young people’s excessive use of digital technologies and social media. With growing concerns about the climate crisis, the artist believes it is important to encourage children to connect and appreciate their natural surroundings as this can be beneficial for their mental and physical wellbeing. In response to this issue, Joyce created an educational pack in the format of a board game.

Postgraduate

Winner: Midge Ryall (MA Creative Practice), Journey from the Sun to the Rain: Finding Light through Storytelling, 2021/22, Creative Writing and Storytelling Workshops. Ryall’s work involved facilitating creative writing and storytelling workshops with a group of male refugees aged 18-35 who live in South Shields. The workshops culminated in the co-production of a poetry podcast. Ryall’s work challenges bias and social inequality.

Location: Leeds Arts University, Blenheim Wak, Leeds LS2 9AQ

This exhibition is available to view from 10am-4pm Monday to Friday by appointment only for external visitors. Please email curatorial@leeds-art.ac.uk to make an appointment. Staff and students are not required to make an appointment.