Our university is filled with thousands of talented creatives, from our multiple theatre societies to our writers, dancers and performers of the future. So many of these groups and individuals have fun and creative ways to showcase their talent to fellow students, staff, alumni and the wider community and to celebrate the remarkable achievements of their members, often boosted or supported by the University of Sheffield or the Students’ Union. But one group which often struggles to benefit from this are the artists among us.
Whether it’s classic landscapes or portraits, abstract or realistic, artists often struggle to get their work supported or showcased in any capacity for any extent of time. Many people are unaware that many of our artistic societies even exist! Not every artist will be set on having their works put on display, and many enjoy just creating art for their own purposes and joy. But for those who may be considering an artistic career or business, or want to just put their work out there for the world to see, opportunities are often limited. So what could our university and Students’ Union be doing to support student artists and allow them to show their talents to the extent that other creative societies can through productions and readings?
Firstly, I’d like to see the university and Students’ Union take a more proactive role in promotion of all creative societies, but especially that of artists. Many of these societies have a large and loyal following among their communities but can struggle to reach new audiences beyond those that follow them on social media. The fact that all societies are listed on the Students’ Union website certainly helps, but even this page isn’t as well advertised as it could be.
This could be remedied quite simply, even through these social pages sharing content and advertisements for upcoming showcases, productions or readings on their social pages, or allowing individual societies to post their upcoming events in a collaborative post. This would hugely increase the audiences these posts are introduced to and would allow new patrons to discover things they were previously unaware even existed.
Next, I would like to see more opportunities for student artwork to be displayed throughout the buildings of our university campus, as well as in other key places such as the SU concourse or on Leavygreave Road. Our university, particularly the Students’ Union, has so much empty wall space which sits blank and unused, with the exception of during SU Officer election season. For the rest of the year, the walls remain largely void of life, and yet presents a perfect opportunity for student artwork to be displayed. When you consider how much available space this would leave across all of the university buildings, there is ample space in which to display student artwork in so many different forms and sizes and the potential this would unlock is immeasurable, from the students to the many guests that would be reached through university open days and public access.
In a similar area, student artwork could also be specifically curated and displayed in some of the many designated display areas throughout our university. Western Bank Library and the Information Commons each have museum areas, and several spaces within the Students’ Union have also been used for curated displays in the recent past. Whenever these spaces do not have guest exhibitions, it would be advantageous if these were being used for student artwork purposes, not only to increase the visibility of student work, but also to raise awareness of these spaces’ existence and to keep them filled throughout the year. It may also inspire creativity from new artists and communities if they knew that their work could be displayed for the world to see.
Finally, we can all appreciate how expensive art supplies can be, as well as often being bulky, cumbersome and a long walk from most student accommodation areas! If only there was a deposit of art supplies at accessible prices right on the university’s doorstep…
Not many people are aware of the existence of the Print & Make Workshop, but they’re a fantastic source of art supplies hidden right next to the Arts Tower. The only catch is that access is by UCard only, and even then only for students on specific courses for which this these items are required. But here lies a fantastic opportunity for students within all departments and all courses to access the resources that would make creating their own artwork possible. Whilst I completely understand the practicalities of restricting this access so that students on these courses can always access resources, by removing the UCard selectivity, a huge number of students would be able to pursue creative endeavours that may not have been able to previously, which can’t be a negative thing.
Ultimately, we all need to be doing more to better facilitate student artists, support and showcase their work and make these activities more accessible to everyone within our student community to allow them to unlock their potential, show their skills and try a new creative pursuit. There are so many things that can be done which would require very little functional changes to be implemented and may have untold positive benefits to those students who have so much talent to show to the world. Student artwork is as valuable to our community as any of our creative, academic or extra-curricular endeavours and its proper celebration is long overdue.
