NewVIc student Arooj wins Darning Newham’s design competition
The competition, as part of Newham Heritage Month, was created and led by two NewVIc alumni students, Katie and Memunatu.
Darning Newham is a textiles project for Newham Heritage Month 2021 that was created by two former students. Alumni Katie May Anderson and Memunatu Barrie who met whilst students at the College, and both studied A-level in Textiles and Fine Art at NewVIc. The former students wanted to use this project to give back to their old sixth form and celebrate the amazing creative department the College has to offer to young people.
Working with NewVIc students has always been a central part of their project. They created a design competition for all Art and Design students at the College, offering a £250.00 art supplies gift voucher for the winner. Current A level student Arooj came up first amongst 31 NewVIc Art and Design students that took part in the competition. Her work is also being exhibited as part of the online exhibition during Newham Heritage Month (NHM2021) at Stratford Library until mid June. The design competition for NHM2021 was created to inspire NewVIc students to pursue creative careers as Katie and Memunatu were themselves inspired through their time at the sixth form. The competition also gave current students the opportunity to showcase their creative practice and receive feedback from the Darning Newham team.
Darning Newham hosted a number of creative workshops online and offered free textile equipment to participants which had a great take-up from students and residents in the borough of Newham. The workshop was aimed at adults and children aged 12+ years. The former students’ project aim is to celebrate the contribution of women in the history of Newham. The former students’ believe using textiles to re-examine heritage can help translate history and shine a light on untold stories.
Participants in their projects throughout the month will have the opportunity for their textile prints to become part of a community banner for Newham Heritage Month which will be featured later in the month on the Newham Heritage Month website.
A level student Arooj, said:
“The inspiration behind my collage came from “the matchstick girls” who were women and girls from the nineteenth century sacrificing their health by exploitation and labour. I hinted at this crucial influence with the echoed image of the girl and “justice” underneath her. I also chose to explore the colour symbolism aspect of grey tones and red hints, visualising anguish within the period. I try to create thought-provoking works that can be somewhat relatable alongside other issues too.”
Judge and alumni Katie May Anderson, added:
“Arooj has produced a fantastic piece of work that we are exhibiting in Stratford Library until mid June along with some other work produced by NewVIc students who participated in the competition. Arooj’s work will also be printed onto fabric and used for future workshops. We are so pleased that as former NewVIc students ourselves, we have been able to come back and work with current students on this exciting project celebrating the contribution of women in the history of Newham. Congratulations to Arooj for doing so well and NewVIc for allowing myself, Memunatu and Darning Newham to work together on this project.”
Curriculum Team Leader and teacher of Textiles, Charlotte Amore, said:
“This is fantastic news for our Art and Design student Arooj. This was a fantastic project to be involved in, the students learnt so much about the history, diversity and community of Newham. Arooj's dynamic design was well considered and will transfer successfully to a textile repeat illustrating the huge contribution of working women to this borough.Well done Arooj.”
Newham Heritage Month festival is on throughout May 2021 under the theme Shops, Docks and Factories with live participatory events and online activities taking place across the borough to showcase the rich and diverse heritage of Newham.
For more information on Darning Newham and Newham Heritage Month please visit: https://www.newhamheritagemonth.org/records/darning-newham-newvic-textile-design-competition/
https://www.newhamheritagemonth.org/