Running in the Student Elections

When it was announced that the Student Elections had opened with LCA, and I heard about the position for Editorial Officer, I jumped at the chance. Being Editorial Officer means being the editor of NEST magazine, and since arriving at LCA I've been keen to do more publication work. The magazine itself provides an amazing opportunity for students to get their work featured, but working on the production, publishing, and promotion of the magazine itself would provide me with so many more opportunities to gain experience working on a larger publication, and to network and meet other likeminded people.

After entering myself for the elections, and getting confirmation I was running for the position, I wrote an official manifesto for my campaign:

NEST magazine is an incredibly important platform for showcasing our students work, not only within Leeds College of Art, but nationally and internationally as well. As a young creative I understand the importance of gaining this kind of exposure, and in the role of Editorial Officer I am keen to use NEST as a way to allow as many students as possible to access this opportunity. I would guarantee to sustain the high quality of the publication as it stands, while continuing to utilise the many talents that exist within the college. I would further the encouragement of participation from students at both Blenheim Walk and Vernon Street, which would allow for a greater variety of subject matters to be covered, ultimately allowing the magazine to be accessible to a wider audience.

With a view to making the magazine a greater collaborative effort, the first big change I would make would be to assemble a small creative team that would allow students from all areas to experience the process behind producing and promoting a successful magazine. I also hope to devote more time to creating opportunities for students to curate and exhibit work physically, as I believe this is also an important part of the exposure process.

NEST is a magazine created by students for students and I can only make these changes with your help, so vote for me for your next Editorial Officer!

Alongside this I created a series of posters to help promote my campaign around the college. I created a t-shirt for myself with gold glittery iron on letters, channeling the DIY aspect of art schools and the slightly tacky effect of creating ones own t-shirts. I wanted the poster to show me wearing the t-shirt and holding a copy of NEST magazine, almost recreating an anorak design kid, but the photos felt too staged and fake. With the help of a fellow student (Sophie Oldham) I shot a selection of different photos. Sophie suggested that I try to be more free in front of the camera. We decided I should wear the t-shirt backwards and roll up the magazine and put it in my back pocket, so that both of my arms were free to move around. I danced a little to try and capture some movement, and this worked perfectly. From these I created ten different poster designs - I used the same font as my t-shirt to convey the information and kept the designs relatively simple in order for them to be as clear as possible.

To help spread my message about my campaign I visited the Vernon Street campus and talked to many of the Foundation and Extended Diploma students to tell them about the elections, NEST magazine, and their potential involvement. I also talked to a proportion of the Higher Education students at the Blenheim Walk campus. Talking to such a large number of people was relatively out of my comfort zone but it has helped my confidence hugely to get out and meet the people I hope to be working with next year.