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ARTS 

STUDIO 

University of Kent Drama and Theatre / Event and Experience Design / Fine Art / 

Film Studies / History & Philosophy of Art / Music and Audio / www.kent.ac.uk/arts 

University’s £5m 

boost for arts at 

Medway 

Kent student 

goes National 

Filmmaker Clio 

Barnard on being 

seduced by film 

FREE

www.kent.ac.uk/arts 

Editorial team 

Editors: Jacqueline Aldridge, Colette O’Reilly, Angus Pryor 

Design: Lesley Farr, Design and Print Centre 

Photography: BFI, Simon Jarratt, Jim Higham, Alison Hollis, Kevin Goddard, 

Mike Keeling-Smith, Lesley Farr, Bruno Poet, Silvia Bernardi 

Published by the University of Kent 2011© 

Cover: Production design by Emily Chalmers, a fourth-year MDrama student, for Wordplay.

CONTENTS 

Introduction 3 

Film 4 

History & Philosophy of Art 11 

Fine Art 16 

Music 21 

Events 27 

Drama and Theatre 32 

The Kent Experience 38 

Worldwide Links 42 

Undergraduate programmes 44 

Postgraduate programmes 46 

Visit Kent 48 

1

University of Kent / ARTS STUDIO 

Event and Experience 

Design 

‘My degree and the experience 

I gained through it has been 

a great help in finding work.’ 

Berna Ucel 

Creative Events (Design 

and Production) graduate 

Fine Art 

‘You can be as controversial 

as you like, if you want to 

make a piece that shocks 

people, you just have to 

explain why.’ 

Angus Pryor 

Senior Lecturer in Fine Art 

History & 

Philosophy of Art 

‘I am impressed by the 

creative energy of our 

students, their insightful 

comments and their 

enthusiasm.’ 

Junko Theresa Mikuriya 

Lecturer in History & 

Philosophy of Art 

Film Studies 

‘The Scala screened a 

wonderful mix of European 

avant garde and American 

cinema. I completely fell in 

love with Robert Mitchum in 

Night of the Hunter and Out 

of the Past.’ 

Dr Peter Stanfield 

Director of Film Studies 

Drama and Theatre 

Studies 

‘I discovered plays and 

whole classifications 

of theatre that I didn’t 

know existed.’ 

Sue Howell 

Drama and Theatre 

Studies graduate 

Department of 

Music and Audio 

‘Music excites and engages 

our brains at so many levels 

that we can’t help but like it.’ 

Dr Alastair Disley 

Lecturer in Music and Audio 

2


WHY STUDY 

THE ARTS? 

JONATHAN FRIDAY 

HEAD OF SCHOOL 

Welcome to the first issue of ARTS STUDIO, the 

magazine from the University of Kent’s School 

of Arts. Here, we aim to inform you about what a 

Kent arts degree offers and show you what it is 

like to study an inspiring course at an excellent 

university. 

What sort of education will an arts degree 

give you? How will it help your career 

prospects? And is university worth the 

investment? 

This magazine helps you find some of the 

answers with a combination of features, 

interviews and profiles about our staff, 

students and graduates. You will see how 

our drama, film, fine art, history and 

philosophy of art, music and event design 

programmes combine academic rigour, 

personal development, life skills and career 

opportunities. You can find out more about 

the calibre of our award-winning academic 

staff, our professional-standard facilities, 

our educational philosophy and our 

dynamic students. 

At the University of Kent, we believe that 

studying the arts at undergraduate or 

postgraduate level offers unique benefits. 

Yes, we offer strong academic qualifications 

and good career prospects. But is that all 

you should expect from your investment in 

higher education? 

In the School of Arts, we take the view that 

university should also educate students 

more broadly. Graduates with wide horizons 

and the ability to question, listen and 

persevere have invaluable skills that will 

help them succeed in any area. An arts 

degree is a long-term investment and we 

hope you think it is one worth making. 

Enjoy reading ARTS STUDIO and best 

wishes for the future. 

If you would like more information about our courses, 

please go to www.kent.ac.uk/arts or follow us on Facebook: 

http://en-gb.facebook.com/universityofkentschoolofarts 

or email artsinfo@kent.ac.uk 

3


FILM 

www.kent.ac.uk/arts/film 

BAFTA Badlands 

Documentary Cowboy 1913 

Fantômas Nuremberg Fiction 

Flashback Soap Gladiator 

Filmmaker Performance 

Cinema Festival Noir 

4

STAFF PROFILE 


PETER STANFIELD 

Director of Film Studies, 

Dr Peter Stanfield is the author 

of books on Hollywood 

westerns, the American 

gangster film and jazz and 

blues in American film. His 

latest book, Maximum Movies 

Pulp Fictions will be published 

in the summer. He spoke to us 

about his early film education 

and the dialogue between 

high and low art. 

Did you always want to study film? 

I left school at 16 and started an engineering 

apprenticeship, but soon realised that it wasn’t for 

me. I went to New York; I had never been before 

but felt I had because I knew it so well from all 

the movies I had seen – Taxi Driver, Mean 

Streets, Shaft. 

Travelling made me realise that the world was 

bigger and more mysterious and marvellous than 

I could ever imagine if I stayed in a factory in 

Hemel Hempstead. So, when I returned to the 

UK I took an American Studies degree. At the 

time, I lived near King’s Cross and frequented a 

cinema called the Scala, it was one of the last 

great repertory cinemas, and gave me my first 

film education. It screened a wonderful mix of 

European avant garde and American cinema; I 

completely fell in love with Robert Mitchum in 

Night of the Hunter and Out of the Past. I signed 

up for the first taught MA in Film Studies at the 

University of East Anglia where I was taught by 

many leading figures including Charles Barr and 

Thomas Elsaesser. It was an extraordinary time to 

be studying film, and I loved every minute of it. 

What is the equivalent of westerns for 

today’s students? 

Teaching students today I don’t get the sense of 

that kind of homogeneous culture. Science fiction 

and horror are the most popular genres, but they 

tend to attract ardent cult fans; there is not a 

sense that we all consume and share knowledge 

about these genres. 

What do you enjoy about teaching? 

Students are very visually literate and working 

with them gives you a new take on contemporary 

films. You find yourself watching films you might 

not otherwise come across and, as someone 

who is always looking for something surprising in 

film, this can be inspiring. 

Does your research inform your teaching? 

Of course, and vice versa. I teach a module 

called Pulp Film: Popular Cinema and the Avant 

Garde where I ask students to think about the 

dialogue between low and high art. We look at 

what happens when avant garde ideas meet 

popular movies – film noir is the perfect example 

where the veneer of Parisian sophistication is 

given to what are actually a bunch of low-budget 

crime movies. Reevaluated by a group of French 

cinephiles in the 50s, many of these films have 

now become part of the film studies’ canon. 

In talking and thinking about this with the 

students, the classes became a series of 

research in practice seminars, where I was able 

to test my ideas, and through this we discovered 

new things about the films, their relationships with 

each other and across genres and time. That 

process has informed my research and has led 

to the publication of a book, Maximum Movies 

Pulp Fictions, which is based solely on my work 

at Kent. 

Is there one area of film studies that 

particularly interests you? 

My first great love in film was the western and my 

PhD focused on westerns from the 1930s 

culminating with John Ford’s Stagecoach, (most 

studies start with Stagecoach but mine ends with 

it). This research was the basis for my first book, 

Hollywood, Westerns and the 1930s: The Lost 

Trail. I don’t teach westerns now; the death of the 

western is not so much on the screen as in the 

cultural memories of the students, they just don’t 

watch cowboy movies. When I was growing up, 

our culture was saturated with it, I grew up with 

the Milky Bar Kid and played with cowboy toys. 

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

Film to see before you come to Kent The Assassination of Jesse James by the 

Coward Robert Ford (2007) 

Practitioner whose work you admire I always seek out a soundtrack by Nick Cave 

or a film by Jim Jarmusch or Aki Kaurismäki 

Film Festival you would like to convene I would call it Paris/New York and it would 

feature American films set in Paris and French films set in New York 

5


Gladiator (2000, USA) 

Ridley Scott 

Dr Aylish Wood 

Gladiator is a great example of a film whose makers 

claimed to have authentically recreated a historical 

moment. In exploring this film, students gain insights 

into how visual effects and set design recreate history 

through fiction as well as actuality. In Gladiator, 

influences certainly include museum artefacts, and 

archaeological sites, but these sit alongside visions of 

Rome inspired by nineteenth-century paintings. 

When the new Emperor enters Rome, the scene 

deliberately echoes Leni Riefenshtal’s shots of the 

descent of Hitler into Nuremberg in Triumph of the Will. 

Meanwhile, we can trace a lineage in the set design 

and special effects back from 2000 to the 1925 

version of Ben-Hur. Peeling back these different layers 

gives students a way of exploring the fictions of 

special effects. 

THREE TO WATCH 

Three members of the School of Arts’ 

Film Studies Department pick a film they 

love teaching and explain what we can 

learn from going to the movies. 

6


Badlands (1973, USA) Terrence Malick 

Professor Elizabeth Cowie 

Badlands is based on the true story of the Charles Starkweather and Caril- 

Ann Fugate murders in 1958. In the film, Martin Sheen plays Kit, a James 

Dean lookalike and petty criminal working as a garbage collector, until he 

meets Holly (Sissy Spacek), a 15-year-old school student. Her father’s 

opposition to their relationship leads Kit to kill him, and the couple go on 

the run through the US ‘badlands’; Kit robbing and committing further 

brutal murders. 

What is so interesting is that the story is shown through flashback, 

narrated several years later by an older Holly, so that we watch a ‘then’ time 

but hear about it in a ‘now’ time of the film’s showing. But there are 

discrepancies between what we see and hear in the flashback to the past, 

and what Holly tells us happened, so that we may ask ourselves whether 

she is really trustworthy. With this questioning, we become aware that 

another ‘narrator’ has enabled us to perceive this discrepancy that we may 

ascribe to Malick as director and writer, but which also emerges in the 

editing, cinematography and added music, drawing us to actively engage 

in understanding what the film is telling us. 

7


8 

Fantômas (1913) Louis Feuillade 

Dr Frances Guerin 

Fantômas is the turn-of-the-century equivalent of a soap opera, with five 

one-hour episodes that don’t connect story-wise but have the same 

characters. The Fantômas films were made before narrative was 

standardised in cinema but after cause and effect narratives had been 

around for a few years in the US. 

As a film, or films, Fantômas still retains all the elements that so excited 

audiences when the cinema first came to life in the early twentieth century. 

This means students are able to enjoy the films, as well as have their 

minds opened up to the possibility of alternative forms of cinema. In 

particular, students appreciate the vast possibility of a cinema that doesn’t 

demand a coherent, stable, or predictable viewing position. Thus, 

Feuillade brings the otherwise ‘strangeness’ of silent and early cinema into 

the student’s world. 

And because Fantômas is filled with intrigue, suspense, shifting 

identities, incompetent institutions (such as the police, the press), crimes 

against rich people, jokes, impossible scenarios (that we nevertheless get 

caught up in), students not only remain enveloped in the drama, but they 

acquire critical insight into the uncertainties of the social fabric of pre-First 

World War urban France.

STAFF PROFILE 


CLIO BARNARD 

Clio Barnard’s work has screened in galleries including Tate Modern, London 

and MOMA, New York. Her critically acclaimed debut feature film, The Arbor, 

won awards at festivals around the world; she was also nominated for the 

BAFTA Outstanding Debut Award in 2011. Here, she tells us why she 

became a filmmaker and why she enjoys teaching at Kent. 

When did you first get 

interested in film? 

The film that really got me thinking 

was Andrei Tarkovsky’s Andrei 

Rublev. I remember thinking that 

here was the ultimate art form, 

because you could work with 

sound, moving image and words. 

I saw the film at an impressionable 

age and was really blown away 

by it. 

Your first degree was in fine art; 

when did you focus on film? 

I was doing big charcoal drawings 

and to make a record of how they 

progressed and changed, I set up a 

Bolex 16mm hand-wound camera 

so that I could take single frames of 

the drawings. This then turned into 

an animation. I got excited by the 

magic of film and started shooting 

live-action 16mm and Super 8 

footage. I forgot about the other 

things I was doing; I was really 

seduced by film. 

I then took a postgraduate course 

and immersed myself in making my 

own work. I made a piece of video 

art called Dirty Science, which was 

selected by Tilda Swinton for an ICA 

show. It was very early in my career 

and it felt great that somebody else 

had chosen my film and that lots of 

people would now see it. I then got 

a job producing motion graphics 

and title sequences for MTV, Film 4 

and Channel 4, which supported 

me and allowed me to continue 

making my own work. 

When did you move into 

teaching? 

I was invited to work at the 

University for the Creative Arts 

(UCA) which has a very good 

experimental film and video 

course. I enjoyed teaching 

because I had to engage with 

ideas in a way that I hadn’t had to 

doing commercial work. I found 

teaching very intellectually 

stimulating. Seeing students’ 

individual voices emerge is very 

exciting. 

Do you think teaching and 

filmmaking work well together? 

I think they have a very positive 

effect on each other. While I was 

teaching here and at UCA, I made 

a gallery installation called Road 

Race, which was inspired by many 

of the things I was engaging with in 

my teaching – such as ideas around 

documentary and the impossibility 

of recording the real. 

The film department here has a long 

history and an excellent reputation. 

Combining that with our recent 

move into a new building, which has 

excellent technical facilities, means 

that students get the best of both 

worlds. I feel very fortunate to be 

able to combine teaching and 

filmmaking and I think being taught 

by practising filmmakers has a 

hugely positive impact on the 

students. 

Your most recent film, 

The Arbor, has been very 

successful. What attracted 

you to this story? 

I started thinking about it in 2006; 

my interest grew out of my 

admiration for the work of 

playwright, Andrea Dunbar and film 

director Alan Clarke, and from my 

ongoing fascination with the 

relationship between documentary 

and film. Andrea wrote her plays in 

the 1980s and died in 1990. Max 

Stafford-Clark, who directed her 

work, returned to Buttershaw, the 

place where Andrea was from and 

where the plays were set, a decade 

after her death to see how it had 

changed. The outcome was a piece 

of verbatim theatre, A State Affair. 

I was interested in the idea that a 

play or a film shapes an ending but 

that the place doesn’t end. So, I 

went back to Buttershaw to see how 

it had changed and also to reflect 

on the previous representations. In 

making The Arbor, I felt it was vital 

that people were reminded that 

what they were watching was a 

retelling of a true story. Actors 

lip-synch the words of the people I 

interviewed, which I think acts as a 

distancing device and draws your 

attention to the illusion. 

The film is award-winning and 

people’s responses to it have 

been very positive. How did 

that make you feel? 

When you make a film, you have no 

idea how people are going to 

respond to it. At the end of the 

filmmaking process, you are 

necessarily involved in the 

Recommendations 

minutiae, looking at whether it is 

bright enough or dark enough, or 

whether the sound should include 

a creak or not, so you begin to lose 

sight of the bigger picture. When 

the first reviews started coming in it 

was very rewarding. At the heart of 

the film is a very tragic set of 

circumstances and, in the making 

of it, I formed real bonds with the 

people involved. The fact that they 

also felt rewarded by its success 

meant a lot to me. 

A film to see before you come to Kent 

It is different for everybody, and of course part of what 

inspires you is discovering something yourself, but having 

said that, two films that inspired me before I went into 

further education were Rashomon by Kurosawa and 

Performance by Donald Cammell and Nic Roeg 

9


STUDENT PROFILE 

KARIS OUTTEN 

Karis Outten is in the final year of her joint honours 

Film and Drama degree. Here, Karis talks about her 

studies at Kent and her unusual plans for the future. 

Why did you choose to 

study film and drama? 

I have always been interested in 

drama and attended drama, 

singing and dancing classes from 

the age of five. I had never studied 

film before but I have always been 

interested in film and the course 

has been fantastic. Now, every time 

I watch a film I notice things that I 

wouldn’t have otherwise. Drama 

has lived up to my expectations, 

I love the Drama Department! 

What attracted you to 

Kent? 

I visited a lot of universities, but 

the moment I saw the campus at 

Kent I thought, this is where I want 

to be. It is beautiful. The course 

leaders who gave talks were also 

very inspiring and that is when I 

decided on the subjects I wanted 

to do. 

How did you feel when you 

first arrived? 

I felt welcome here from the 

beginning. In your first year you 

have to learn to do a lot of things 

(like cooking!), and how to 

manage your time. You become 

independent and for me 

discovering that I could live 

independently made me feel better 

about myself and helped to give 

me the confidence to do well in 

my studies. 

How are your studies 

going? 

If you study an arts subject, people 

can be a bit dismissive, and 

question why you are not studying 

law or business. But I believe art 

can have a positive impact on 

communities and have no regrets 

about my choice. 

Both film and drama offer brilliant 

choices and are flexible about 

which modules you can choose. At 

the moment, I am taking a module 

called, New York and the Movies. 

The lecturer is Peter Stanfield and 

he is a brilliant lecturer, very 

dedicated and passionate about 

his subject and when he teaches it 

makes you want to learn more. Our 

lecturers treat us like equals and I 

really appreciate that; they are 

interested in your ideas and listen 

to what you say. 

With drama, there are two modules 

that have greatly influenced me, 

they are taught by Melissa 

Trimingham and focus on 

performance art. One is a theory 

module, the History of Performance 

Art, and the other is a practical 

performance art module. For my 

practical work I have chosen to do 

a solo piece; I have really enjoyed 

developing the performance side 

of my work and am very grateful for 

Melissa’s input. Alongside my 

performance exam, I also have to 

produce a research portfolio, which 

in my case will include images, a 

DVD and pieces of music, as well 

as written work. 

You mentioned that 

studying film has changed 

the way you view films. 

What about drama? 

I have always made art, creating 

sculptures out of everyday objects 

and making jewellery and clothes. 

Having studied at Kent I now 

understand where that work came 

from and can also see that my 

work, which I was really only 

producing for myself, has meaning 

for other people too. I find it 

rewarding and fascinating to be 

able to apply what I have learnt 

here to my own work. 

Have you thought about 

what you will do next? 

I am passionate about my work 

and would love to be a full-time 

performance artist if funding 

allowed. At the moment, I am 

applying to do a research Master’s 

degree in Drama, but I am also 

thinking of applying to join the 

police force. I know that might 

sound like an unusual career 

choice but I have always wanted 

to do something that benefits the 

community and, even if it is not 

in the creative way that I first 

envisioned, I will see where it 

takes me. 

You graduate this year. 

What do you think your 

abiding memories of Kent 

will be? 

One of the things I love about Kent 

is the number of international 

students we have here; it is a 

wonderfully multicultural 

environment. You learn so much; 

working with international students 

really broadens your view of the 

world and makes you think about 

other countries and what is going 

on there. Also, within your studies, 

it is very interesting to hear from 

people who come from different 

cultures and so have a different 

take on what you are studying. 

Also, there are some wonderful 

lecturers here, very helpful and 

very imaginative. As well as being 

serious about what they do, they 

encourage creativity and want you 

to think differently, they love 

different opinions and discussion 

and debate. Finally, I think I will 

always remember the beauty of 

Canterbury and the campus. I love 

the environment here. 

If you think university is what you 

want to do, I would say go for it – 

it has made a world of difference 

to me. 

10


HISTORY & 

PHILOSOPHY 

OF ART 

www.kent.ac.uk/arts/hpa 

Auction Publicity Disegno Fake 

Chalk Darkroom Catalogue 

Optimism Budget Light Print Hang 

Drawing Vision Photography 

Gallery Vision Critic 

11


DISCOVER YOUR 

PLACE IN ART 

HISTORY 

If you think an art history degree means 

three years with your nose in a book and 

the odd gallery visit, read on. Kent’s History 

& Philosophy of Art team offers better ways 

to teach this subject. 

The Kent History & Philosophy of Art BA (Hons) programme includes 

buying works of art, writing arts’ reviews, overseas study trips and handson 

work experience. Among other careers, graduates go on to be 

journalists, auctioneers, teachers, curators and PR agents. This is one of 

the reasons we are ranked second in the UK for art and design graduating 

students' employment prospects in The Guardian University Guide 2011. 

It also makes our degrees more interesting, of course. Here are some 

of the things that Kent’s art history students typically get involved with as 

part of their degree programme. 

SHOP 

We give second and third-year students a budget and a mission – to go 

out and buy works for the School of Arts’ world-class print collection. They 

can ask for advice but they are also free to make mistakes and everyone 

gets marked on how well they do. 

The prints they buy form the basis for an annual exhibition. We then 

add all the student purchases to our collection of several hundred works 

back in Canterbury. This includes prints by leading artists and printmakers 

including Sir Peter Blake, Tracey Emin, Jake and Dinos Chapman and Ana 

Maria Pacheco. 

MAKE 

The best way to learn about Old Master drawing and painting techniques 

is by having a go yourself. If you try drawing like Rembrandt, you get firsthand 

experience of his materials and processes. 

We don’t assess students on the quality of their drawings. However, 

we do expect them to use their practical experience as the basis of formal 

written assessments on topics such as the role of drawing in the theory 

of ‘disegno’. And, if you know how hard it is to make marks with chalk 

on paper in the style of Michelangelo, you will get a deeper appreciation 

of the original works. You may also find it easier to spot a fake. 

The same goes for photography. If you develop your own work in a 

darkroom using traditional techniques you will get a better understanding 

of the form. 

WRITE 

On our Visual Arts Writing module, students are introduced to the basics 

of writing for publication by those who have done it – rather than by those 

who just talk about it. 

All students write essays but we teach our students how to write 

professionally and how to adapt to different ‘house styles’. So many jobs 

in the art world (think of critics, curators, dealers and publicists) rely on 

strong writing skills. As a result, no one in the business can afford to 

divorce style from content. 

Our students write pieces for newspapers, magazines, catalogues 

and publicity material. Their brief is to produce readable, engaging copy 

on contemporary art world issues and some of this work has even been 

accessioned to the British Library. 

MANAGE 

The School of Arts’ Studio 3 Gallery hosts exhibitions of work by 

renowned artists throughout the year. (To find out more, see our blog at 

http://blogs.kent.ac.uk/studio3gallery) Each summer, our second and thirdyear 

students put on an exhibition in the Studio 3 Gallery. We expect them 

to reach professional standards. Using the works they bought, they 

catalogue, curate and publicise their additions to the Kent print collection. 

This event is now a fixture on the local art scene and gets great reviews. 

International journal, Print Quarterly (XXVII, 2010, 4), described Krikey! 

Kentemporary Prints as ‘refreshing and optimistic...an example of how 

ingenuity and enthusiasm can overcome lack of financial resources’. The 

review went on to commend the ‘liveliness of the writing’ and ‘impressive 

list’ of featured artists. 

Our teaching methods mean that students leave our course with 

tremendous confidence and practical skills as well as a thorough 

grounding in the subject. If you can project manage an exhibition, spend 

a budget wisely, write a press release and challenge the authenticity of an 

Old Master drawing, you will also have a head start in any chosen career. 

12


Student project: cyanotype 

Shadows of the Wanderer, Ana Maria Pacheco 

Elysium and Tartarus (detail) James Barry 

13



MICHAEL 

HEALEY 

KRIKEY! 

KENTEMPORARY PRINTS 

Kent Print Collection 4th Exhibition 2010 

Michael Healey is in his final year 

studying for a BA (Hons) in History & 

Philosophy of Art and spent last summer 

working with painter, Humphrey Ocean 

RA. Here, Michael talks about why he 

chose Kent and how his studies have 

opened doors in the art world. 

Why did you choose to 

study art? 

I am not too sure. I happened to 

pick up The 20th Century Art Book 

one day. At the time I didn't know 

anything about art, and had no real 

interest in it, but the book 

immediately held my attention, with 

very succinct, accessible texts 

accompanying images of art works 

by famous, and not so famous, 

artists. It was a perfect ‘appetiser’, 

and I was very keen to gain a 

deeper understanding of art, and 

that is where the University of Kent 

came into the picture. 

What made you choose to 

study at Kent? 

Unlike most other universities 

offering courses in History & 

Philosophy of Art, the majority of 

modules at Kent are assessed solely 

by coursework. This was very 

important as I often get flustered 

by exams. I also liked the fact that 

many of the modules focused 

on modern art (post-1945). The 

location appealed to me too. 

Canterbury is the perfect alternative 

to the hubbub of London. It is a 

much calmer place, but still rich 

in the arts; many notable 

contemporary artists have lived and 

studied in Canterbury – including 

Michael Craig-Martin, Tracey Emin, 

Gary Hume, Angus Fairhurst and 

Humphrey Ocean. Nearby Margate 

is also undergoing an exciting 

cultural transformation, led by Emin, 

Peter Blake and Gavin Turk. 

Through my degree, I have not only 

studied the works of the artists I 

read about in The 20th Century Art 

Book in great depth, which has 

illuminated my initial (very basic) 

understanding of them, but I have 

also had the chance to interview, 

and in some cases, work with them. 

Which modules did you enjoy 

the most? 

I particularly enjoyed the module on 

Visual Arts Writing which included 

writing reviews of art exhibitions, a 

blog, a catalogue essay and, best 

of all, interviewing an artist of our 

choice. I chose the American 

photographer Andres Serrano, who 

is generally considered the most 

controversial living artist. To my 

surprise and delight, he responded 

to my emails and happily answered 

my seemingly endless stack of 

questions. 

My favourite module, however, was 

Print Collecting and Curating. Each 

student had to devise an exhibition 

bid, including identifying possible 

prints to buy or loan and plans for 

publicity, within a £2,500 budget. 

Students then decided which bid 

they liked most and, fortunately my 

bid – Krikey! Kentemporary Prints, a 

celebration of contemporary 

printmakers with Kent connections 

– won. Over the next three months, 

we worked together to make the bid 

a reality. We obtained £70,000 

worth of prints on loan from dealers 

including a £10,000 Frank 

Auerbach etching and ten 

diamond-dust screenprints by Peter 

Blake. In addition, Humphrey 

Ocean loaned his own prints and 

addressed around 300 people on 

the opening night. Tracey Emin, 

Fred Cuming, Chris Orr and Ana 

Maria Pacheco also gave up their 

time to help us. 

The exhibition ran for three weeks 

during which we had over 700 

visitors and sold over 150 

catalogues. We were congratulated 

by Stephen Deuchar, director of 

The Art Fund, and Penelope Curtis, 

director of Tate Britain and the 

show was nominated for the 

prestigious Times Higher Education 

Awards 2010. The exhibition also 

received a very complimentary 

review in the scholarly journal Print 

Quarterly. Curating the show was 

the most exciting period in my life 

and I am very proud of my 

achievements during this module. 

How has the degree affected 

your employment prospects? 

My studies here have already had a 

great impact on my job prospects. 

After enlisting Humphrey Ocean’s 

help for the Krikey! exhibition, I was 

offered an internship with him. I 

have made a start on archiving 

Humphrey’s entire output of work, 

his paintings, prints, and drawings, 

from the 1970s to the present day. 

It is a great privilege to be working 

at the studio of a respected Royal 

Academician, and to be 

responsible for cataloguing such 

an extensive body of work. Further, 

my efforts will be forever 

cemented, as the cataloguing will 

eventually be used for a catalogue 

raisoné. I get on very well with 

Humphrey and he often takes me 

out and about to London museums 

and galleries, including the 

Dulwich Picture Gallery, where he 

was recently artist-in-residence. 

The internship has now finished, 

but Humphrey has invited me back 

to continue working with him, and I 

am very much looking forward to 

resuming this. 

Studying at Kent has made me 

more confident and ambitious than 

ever. It has opened doors into the 

art world for which I am most 

grateful. 

14

STAFF PROFILE 



JUNKO THERESA 

MIKURIYA 

Junko Theresa Mikuriya, lecturer in History & Philosophy of Art, 

teaches the Camera, Light and Darkroom module. She worked as 

a professional photographer for many years shooting album 

covers and fashion editorial in Taipei and Hong Kong. We 

asked about her passion for photography and her move from 

freelance photography to university lecturing. 

When did you discover your interest in 

photography? 

When I was 10, I took a photography class at 

Taipei American School and learned how to 

develop and print my own pictures. I started 

taking photographs of my sister Frances who 

remains my muse and model to this day. I loved 

discovering the world around me through the 

camera lens. Photography enables you to see 

things that you would otherwise neglect. 

Why do you prefer analogue photography? 

Digital photography has its advantages; it is 

immediate and low in cost. But I love the 

materiality of film, the smell of the chemicals, the 

red light in the darkroom, and the feeling of 

anticipation. At Kent, I teach analogue 

photography and I really enjoy taking students 

into the darkroom to develop their first roll of film. 

The wonderment on their faces never ceases to 

amaze me. There is something magical about 

analogue photography which cannot be 

replaced by digital technology. 

How did you get started in photography for 

the fashion and music industries? 

After my first degree, I spent a year in Milan 

studying Italian and building up my portfolio. 

I was asked by modelling agencies to take 

photographs for their models’ portfolios. After my 

MA degree in French at the Sorbonne and while 

I was studying photography at the Speos Paris 

Photographic Institute, I was commissioned to 

shoot an album cover for one of the major record 

companies in Taiwan, which led to more work with 

other music labels such as Sony and EMI. 

When did you decide to move into 

teaching? 

I moved into teaching by chance. I was invited to 

teach as a visiting artist by the documentary 

filmmaker Christine Choi, Director of the School 

of Creative Media at City University in Hong Kong. 

That’s when my interest in teaching took hold and 

I realised how much I enjoyed sharing my passion 

for photography with students. I decided to return 

to England to study for a PhD in Cultural Studies at 

Goldsmiths and then I came to work at Kent. 

Camera, Light and Darkroom is a practice-based 

module aimed at complete beginners. Students 

have the opportunity to combine their theoretical 

understanding of photography with practice, to 

apply what they have learned in the history and 

aesthetics of photography to their own work. In 

class, I am impressed by the creative energy of 

our students, their insightful comments and their 

enthusiasm about photography. Having taught 

students from different disciplines, I find that 

History & Philosophy of Art students are very 

perceptive and have a strong visual vocabulary. 

This is probably due to their art history training. 

What do you think students gain from 

your course? 

I aim to introduce them to a wide range of 

photographic skills. In the intermediate 

photography module, Photography and Intuition, 

we begin by making pinhole cameras in order to 

gain a conceptual awareness of photography as 

‘writing with light’. Students are often intrigued 

that you can take pictures with something as 

simple as a shoe box. We also explore early 

photographic processes such as the cyanotype. 

In the summer, I ask students to make 

photograms of themselves by lying on a huge 

cyanotype sheet. After exposure under the sun, 

the cyanotype is washed with water in the 

darkroom. The resulting image appears ghostly 

and mysterious; shapes and forms write 

themselves with light. What we have is a 

photograph produced without a camera. 

By introducing students to these different ways 

of creating images, I hope that they will be 

enthused and will continue to be involved in 

photography after graduating from Kent, either 

pursuing further studies, working in a gallery or 

taking pictures for their own pleasure. 

Recommendations 

Magazine: Aperture Magazine 

Books: Eikoh Hosoe, Ordeal by 

Roses (1961) 

Daido Moriyama, Memories of a 

Dog (2004) 

Robert Frank, Flamingo (1997) 

15


Education Freedom Responsibility 

Video Curation Lens Plaster 

Painting Sculpture Studio 

Space Contemporary Installation 

Light Practice Critical writing 

FINE 

ART 

www.kent.ac.uk/arts/fineart 

16

STAFF PROFILE 


AMANDA BEECH 

Professor Amanda Beech is an artist and writer. Her 

work uses a range of media including video, sculpture, 

installation and drawing and she has exhibited 

internationally, most recently in Berlin and 

London’s Tate Britain. She taught at Goldsmiths and 

the University of the Arts in London before arriving at 

Kent in October 2010. 

When did you know you wanted 

to be an artist? 

It really never felt like a choice since 

I can’t imagine doing anything else. 

I make art, and I enjoy writing and 

curating as these are part of my 

practice and loop back into the 

production of art. When I was 

studying art, I spent most of my 

time painting and, even though I 

haven’t painted for 15 years or so, 

I still draw and consider most of 

my work to be defined through 

producing pictures; whether the 

work is produced in time-based or 

three dimensional media. The idea 

of producing and working with 

images remains central to my work. 

What is the main inspiration for 

your own practice? 

I am interested in the power and 

force of the image as well as 

images of force. In particular, the 

question of how these forces 

moblise, organise and ask us to 

rethink what images mean and how 

we relate to them, is central to all my 

work. This work is inspired by the 

problems of thinking about the big 

themes of agency, critique, freedom 

and truth and how they are possible 

in western neoliberal democracy. 

Therefore, my work entangles a 

wide variety of research, including 

philosophical texts, TV shows such 

as CSI: Miami and film noir. I also 

co-direct two research groups which 

include academics, writers and 

artists and discuss current issues 

in art research. I enjoy testing my 

ideas in these kinds of environments 

and sharing these concerns through 

live discussion. 

What attracted you to Kent? 

Coming from an art college, I liked 

the fact that at Kent there is a wider 

reach of research that includes 

science-based and humanities 

programmes and this of course 

opens up possibilities to work 

across disciplines. I was also 

attracted by the space available: 

there are large studios and 

interesting outside spaces which are 

ideal for sculpture and large work. 

There are also lots of opportunities 

for the students to show their work, 

all of which leads to a quite 

progressive sense of practice. 

How is studying Fine Art at 

Kent different to studying it 

elsewhere? 

It is an exciting time to be at Kent. 

We are working together across 

Fine Art, Music, and Event and 

Experience Design to create a 

new common framework for the 

curriculum, allowing students from 

all disciplines to be taught together. 

Dedicated specialists will teach 

subject-specific skills, but, once 

a week, students will have the 

opportunity to share their 

experiences and discuss aspects 

of their work with each other. 

Through these joint sessions, they 

gain an understanding of each 

other’s skills and expertise which 

helps to accelerate their learning. 

The sessions will also give them 

the chance to make contacts with 

people who they may well end 

up working with in the future. 

How do students find the 

critiques? 

Understanding how criticism works 

is fundamental to students’ ability to 

be responsible to their practice. 

They need to understand the 

difference between anecdotal 

feelings and analysis and critical 

commentary, and also to understand 

that being critical is not a negative 

thing. It is a challenging environment 

for students – their assumptions are 

tested – but by the time they leave 

the course they understand better 

what shapes and informs their 

decisions and judgements, how 

they are constructed and that they 

are part of a wider set of cultural 

debates. 

What do you enjoy about 

teaching? 

Seeing students bring in new ideas 

about what art can be and inventive 

approaches to making art is 

inspiring. It is enthralling to listen to 

people who have a really different 

take on the world. All the students 

are different and that is what makes 

teaching fascinating and worthwhile. 

How do you see the future for 

your students? 

I think Fine Art produces graduates 

who are innovative, creative and 

analytical in their thinking. They 

understand what underlies the 

existing frameworks of society and 

have the imagination to see the 

world in different and unusual ways. 

It is a big claim to make for art, but I 

do believe that people who graduate 

from arts courses can change the 

way we think about our culture and 

ourselves, can change society and, 

hopefully, make it better. A student 

from Kent could produce work in 

ways that we might not have thought 

of yet – creating images that ask us 

to readdress our relation to society 

and each other. They could write 

new understandings of what images 

mean, and curate at international 

galleries such as the Serpentine 

Gallery in London, programming 

what the public will see for the next 

20 years. The promise of such 

innovation and professionalism, 

as well as wielding that kind of 

influence, is quite a remarkable 

thing. 

Amanda Beech, Sanity Assassin, three-channel video installation with sound, 2010 

17


QUESTIONS 

QUESTIONS 

QUESTIONS 

Is art the answer? 

by Angus Pryor 

What sort of education 

does a Fine Art degree 

give you? What do you 

actually learn on a Fine 

Art degree course? 

How does making your 

own work in a studio 

teach you anything? 

Will a Fine Art degree 

help you find work 

afterwards? And why 

all the questions? 

If questions excite you then Fine Art will teach 

you more than you ever dreamed. Art students 

are questioned constantly about the work they 

make. Learning how to give well-informed, 

responsible answers is a major part of their 

education. 

In many ways, they get the best of both 

worlds. As a Kent Fine Art student, you get the 

freedom of art school with the rigour of a wellrespected 

university degree. 

But freedom also brings responsibility. 

You are free to explore any form of art 

practice including painting, sculpting, 

ceramics, digital arts, photography, installations, 

music and performance. However, you will be 

asked ‘why?’ at every stage of your journey. 

You can be as controversial as you like. If 

you want to make a piece that shocks people, 

you just have to explain why. ‘Because I felt like 

it’ or ‘because that’s just me’ are not good 

enough. 

In order to give good answers, you must 

first listen, read, think and write. Lectures, 

reading and assignments on Kent’s Fine Art 

degree cover philosophy, history, sociology, 

religion and science. This makes for a strong 

academic education. 

All Fine Art students attend tutorials or ‘crits’ 

every week and that is when the questions start 

coming. You get used to researching your 

answers, predicting our questions and thinking 

on your feet. You build up knowledge that means 

you can come up with an answer to questions 

you never expected. 

Dealing with questions in this way is a skill 

that takes you a long way. Fine Art degrees are 

highly regarded and many of our students go 

on to graduate positions in the art world and the 

UK’s extensive creative industries, while others 

opt to work elsewhere in the public, private or 

commercial sectors. Their ability to give clear, 

confident, creative answers helps make an 

impression in whatever career they choose. 

A Fine Art degree also teaches you to 

change your mind. We won’t force you down a 

particular path or insist that you adopt a ‘house 

style’. On our new Arts at Medway campus, you 

will mix and share facilities with our music and 

creative events and performing arts students. 

You do not even choose your final degree 

straightaway. You could end up with a BA (Hons) 

in Fine Art, Fine Art (Curation), or Fine Art 

(Critical Arts Writing). If you want to switch to a 

music or event design degree, we try to make 

that happen for you. 

You’ll have to tell us why though... 

Angus Pryor is Senior Lecturer in Fine Art. 

18


19


Mercy 2010 

HEIDI YSSENNAGGER 

Heidi Yssennagger completed her Master’s in Fine Art 

in 2008 and, since then, her work has been exhibited 

across the UK. Here, she talks about her time studying 

at Kent and how it has changed her life. 

Why did you choose to study at Kent? 

It was a chance decision really. I had been 

seriously ill and hospitalised for six months. I 

needed something to do to keep me occupied 

while recuperating and a nurse recommended 

art as a therapy. 

Initially, I took a foundation course, and loved it so 

much that I decided to continue on to the HND 

and then the top-up BA. So what started off as a 

time-filler led to a degree; something that I would 

not have contemplated at the beginning. My tutor 

then advised me to progress onto the MA at Kent. 

Did your Master’s live up to your 

expectations? 

I have to say that I had absolutely no 

preconceptions of what the MA course would be 

like or, indeed, Kent as a location for study, I had 

not spoken to anyone who had previously taken 

an MA either, so there were no expectations. 

Indeed, I was the first person in my family to even 

gain a BA, so this was uncharted territory for me! 

As it happens, my MA year at Kent was 

exceptional! An incredibly intense year, I had the 

most wonderful tutors, who were very supportive 

and yet challenging too. I had a great studio 

space, where I could concentrate on my work 

without distractions. 

20 

The History & Philosophy of Art lectures took 

place on Monday evenings, which was great as 

they did not eat into my studio time, and I found 

most of them very informative and interesting. 

They were designed to challenge the students 

and to move us up to a higher level of thinking 

and reasoning. 

I particularly loved the way I was encouraged 

to fully exploit my own unique ideas and areas 

of exploration throughout the course, and was 

not expected to follow a generic pathway. This 

ultimately meant that our end-of-year exhibition 

was both diverse and exciting, with an incredible 

variation of works, genres and media. 

Highlights of the course for me were the trip to 

New York and the visits to London galleries. The 

tutors expertly explained and debated works with 

the students, in order to enable us to think about 

art from many different viewpoints. 

Do you think your course has changed 

you? 

The course gave me the opportunity to mature 

in my making, thinking and writing, I was able to 

collate all that I had learnt in my previous years 

of study and to make sense of them. In short, 

I feel that this year made me into an ‘artist’. 

I gained a lot of confidence in myself as an artist, 

and the determination to continue with my 

chosen path. The course helped me to have 

belief in my work and in my own capabilities. 

Did your course lay the foundations for 

your current work? 

I think that if I had not taken my MA, I would 

possibly have not had the confidence to keep 

going as an artist. The work that I produced on 

this course was my ‘master work’ and has been 

shown nationally over the past two years, making 

the bulk of many exhibitions. My thesis has also 

been of great use and has recently been the 

basis of a course that I have written and am 

hoping to teach at a higher education college 

later this year. 

I don’t really have a ‘typical’ working day. I am in 

my second year of a part-time teaching degree 

and have a teaching placement one day a week 

at Ashford School of Art and Design, which I am 

really enjoying. I teach painting privately, take on 

commissions, work with a charity and show my 

art at medical conferences. I am also still a 

practising artist and always have a ‘project’ on 

the go! 

How did you enjoy your time at Kent in 

general? 

I absolutely loved my time at Kent, and was sad 

that it was over so quickly. Unfortunately, I did 

not have time for a social life, the course was an 

intense one-year MA, and I am also a mother, so 

partying had to be put on hold! 

What advice would you give to graduates 

thinking of coming to Kent to study? 

Kent is an exciting and inspirational place to 

study. I did not regret a single day spent there, 

and would happily return. I found that the level of 

teaching and support were second to none and 

would definitely recommend studying at Kent.


MUSIC 

www.kent.ac.uk/musicandaudio 

Anechoic chamber MP3 

Uncompressed audio Singing 

Silence Sound Stockhausen 

Technology Studio Production 

Design Sonic Art Compose 

Talking Heads Noise Video games 

21


THE SCIENCE 

OF MUSIC 

by Alastair Disley 

The School of Arts’ music degrees include 

the only science programmes in our portfolio. 

While creating and playing music, students 

on our courses in Audio Design and 

Production or Music Technology also learn 

about the science behind the production of 

sound, and discover not just how music is 

made, but why. 

22


Although music is an accepted part of 

everyday life, scientific research raises lots of 

questions about our relationship with our 

favourite tracks. Why are we so dependent on 

music? Is our relationship with our MP3 players 

harmful? And could we do with a bit more 

silence? 

If you would like to know more about music 

research and what you might learn as a 

science undergraduate in the School of Arts, 

read on. 

THE HISTORY OF NOISE 

Road traffic and aeroplane noise make silence 

hard to find and we often think of the past as a 

quieter place. But, if we go back to before the 

Industrial Revolution, we just find a different 

kind of noise. Horses drawing carts, merchants 

shouting their wares, the thud of a blacksmith’s 

trip-hammer, and the noise of abundant wildlife 

mean that the countryside may be as quiet now 

as it has ever been. 

TECHNOLOGY 

This complex auditory environment has 

influenced the evolution of the human brain. 

This means that we are very good at focusing 

on what we want to hear, and tuning out all the 

background noise. Understanding how our 

brains hear sound can help us create ultrasmall 

music recordings such as MP3s. 

MP3 files are typically up to 90% smaller 

than uncompressed audio such as a CD. MP3 

compression works by comparing a sound 

recording with how our hearing systems work, 

and throwing away the sounds we wouldn’t 

hear. 

We couldn’t hear many of the discarded 

sounds even if we wanted to. We only hear the 

lower and highest frequencies in our hearing 

range when they are comparatively loud, so 

MP3 compression discards quiet sounds at 

those pitches. We hear best at middle 

frequencies – those pitches that make up 

speech and sung vocals – but even here some 

quiet sounds are masked by similar loud 

sounds, so MP3s discard those quiet sounds 

as well. 

23


HARM 

Unfortunately, portable music players may also 

be one of the worst current causes of hearing 

damage. Everyone loses some ability to hear as 

they grow older – our hearing systems are 

designed to keep the lower frequencies 

associated with speech or danger at the 

expense of high frequencies. 

Researchers asked people listening to MP3 

players in the street if they could measure their 

volume levels. They found that many people 

were being exposed to levels typical of a loud 

concert or nightclub. 

Our ears can only cope with loud sounds 

for a short time before they suffer physical 

damage, which cannot be repaired. This affects 

different frequencies from age-related hearing 

loss, and can make it difficult to hear speech 

clearly or enjoy and mix music. 

SILENCE 

But is silence the answer? Thanks to human 

ingenuity, we can almost find true silence – and 

it is deeply uncomfortable. Anechoic chambers 

are soundproof boxes that absorb all sounds. 

Once the door is shut, you enter a world where 

the loudest sounds are within your own head. 

Your loudest shout is absorbed by the foam 

wedges on the walls, and most people can’t 

stand more than a few minutes inside. 

HEALTH 

So, does that mean music is good for us? 

The short answer is yes. Many people listen 

to music, or play music, or sing in groups, 

because it makes them feel good. But the field 

of Music Therapy takes this even further, using 

music to help people in a clinical setting. It can 

help children to communicate; for example, 

those on the autistic spectrum. Some stroke 

victims can gradually regain the ability to speak 

by singing their words, as this uses a different 

part of the brain. 

Listening to sound at too high a volume can 

destroy the very ability to hear and enjoy music. 

But at a happy medium, music excites and 

engages our brains at so many levels that we 

can’t help but like it. Silence, then, is relative. 

Sound is such an important part of our lives 

that most of us only like peace and quiet in 

small doses. 

In summary, the relationship between 

humans and their MP3 players throws up lots 

of questions. Research from a wide range of 

fields including hearing, technology, cognition 

and health provides answers that help us 

understand better the role of music in human 

evolution and contemporary society. 

Dr Alastair Disley is Lecturer in Music and 

Audio. 

24

STAFF PROFILE 


TIM HOWLE 

Professor of Contemporary 

Music, Tim Howle is a 

composer whose audiovisual 

works have been 

performed around the world. 

He spoke to us about sonic art 

and how his interest in music 

composition began. 

Describe 'sonic art'? 

Sonic art is something of a catch-all. It grew out 

of musique concrète and elektronische musik 

from the middle of the 20th century. But over 

the last couple of decades, other forms of 

contemporary music including electronica and 

experimental, noise-based, popular music have 

also entered the frame. Pieces including video 

are becoming increasingly popular too. 

Also important is that it comes from various 

musical traditions and techniques. Although 

a composer might be making music with or 

for technology the usual notions of musical 

behaviour still exist. A composer might write 

for the violin or use more abstract material. 

Nevertheless, a phrase is still a phrase, 

orchestration and structure are still important. 

When did your interest in this begin? 

As a child, I was given a tape recorder by 

a family friend. In my early teens, I lived near 

Keele University and used to go to the music 

department on open days. There was a 

composer there called Tim Souster and he 

would demonstrate some of his compositional 

techniques in the studio. There were a couple 

of penny-dropping moments for me: the studio 

is a creative space and not simply for recording 

in, and that pitch is part of timbre. Tim Souster 

layered many pitches together into something 

that was too complex to be a chord. It was a 

conglomeration; a complex sound in its own 

right. He would then filter this, to simplify it and 

turn it back into something that was pitched. To 

me as a youngster, it was magical – alchemy. 

When did you first compose? 

I started to compose while having piano lessons 

at around six years of age. It was probable that 

I had not done enough practice, so I composed 

my own piece to try to impress my teacher. I am 

not sure that I could articulate it at the time, but 

I was aware of the composer’s ‘voice’ in the 

pieces that I was playing and I wanted to have 

a voice of my own. This continued with playing in 

bands and writing songs. 

Have the developments in technology 

changed the way you work? 

Yes. Technology can act as an instrument or 

an ensemble or a studio environment. Initially, I 

used technology to assist in the compositional 

process, recording parts onto tracks on a 

tape recorder so that compositions could be 

constructed incrementally. Then I bought an Atari 

ST computer and took this onto the stage at gigs. 

Clearly, nowadays the laptop is a very important 

musical instrument/ensemble/studio. 

Why did you choose to come to Kent? 

The chance to be part of the new developments 

in Medway is very exciting. Having music/popular 

music/technology/sonic art and a range of new 

studios is a good place to be. Our studios are 

fantastic, the links to London are very useful and 

we are also developing relationships with 

international partners. 

Jeff Beck, 1968 

In your post-punk band you performed in 

over 1,000 gigs. What was that like? 

We gigged too much – we were so enthusiastic. 

I remember the smaller venues were better for 

good musical performances, whereas the larger 

venues changed our performance. We took on 

a new persona – the ‘performers’ in the band 

that is – I was the composer/songwriter (not 

the lyrics) I used to stand near the back of the 

stage, hiding behind my guitar, trying to look 

cool. We supported the Human League at 

Bingley Hall in Stafford watched by 8,000 people; 

the bass player was so far away I could hardly 

make him out. 

Do you find yourself being influenced by 

your students’ music choices? 

Yes, very much so. One can only listen to so 

much music and getting suggestions from 

students is a good idea. This is also true of some 

aspects of technology. When I find something 

new, I often share the information; we all help 

each other. 

Tim’s Desert Island Discs 

Anything by: Denis Smalley, 

Berio, Conlon Nancarrow, Talking 

Heads, early Stockhausen, Jeff 

Beck, Steve Reich and Zappa. 

25 

Grant Gouldon @ Wikicommons



ADAM ROSE 

Adam Rose graduated in 

2010; he now works as a 

game tester for a video 

game company. Here, he 

talks about his time at Kent, 

his current career and his 

plans for the future. 

What attracted you to Kent and to Music 

Technology in particular? 

Music has always been a passion for me, but I had 

worked mainly in composition and had never 

experimented with the technology side before. I 

was interested in learning about the new 

technology and acquiring new computer skills, so 

the facilities here attracted me – the studios and 

other equipment on the site were brilliant. 

How were your studies? 

The teaching was really good. We had relatively 

small classes in our year, so the teaching felt 

personal, with lots of opportunities for one-to-one 

interaction, especially outside of lectures. The 

lecturers were available if you needed advice – 

and still are, even now that I’ve left. 

I always knew when assignments had to be 

submitted – dates were given to us well in 

advance. The course was flexible enough that 

I could have a part-time job, and still keep up 

with my studies. 

Were there any areas that you found 

particularly inspiring or interesting? 

Music for film and TV was definitely a very 

interesting subject for me, as were the studiobased 

modules. I found sound design 

inspirational, because it was something new 

and different, using a different side of technology 

to generate and explore music and sound. 

That module introduced me to some concepts 

of programming, which are relevant to my 

current job. 

Was the course flexible enough to allow you 

to pursue your own passions? 

Yes, it was definitely flexible enough – I was part of 

the Jazz Band at Medway, and the Big Band and 

Concert Band on the Canterbury campus. There 

was enough time to be able to go up to London to 

do recordings, for example. There was flexibility 

within modules to follow interests, such as video 

game sound design and, of course, the optional 

choices allow you to choose your own path. 

How would you describe your fellow 

students? 

A wide range of personalities and interests, some 

interested in particular genres of music. This was 

great because, if a particular module was looking 

at a style of music I wasn’t familiar with, more often 

than not someone in the class would know about 

it, and then you could work together to understand 

it more. Overall, they were a great bunch of 

people. 

How do you think your course has changed 

you? 

It has made me more open to styles of music. 

I no longer completely dismiss a style of music 

straightaway, but will give it a chance. It has 

definitely built my confidence; in a recording 

situation, you are dealing with people who you 

have to direct, talk to, and be nice to, and you 

can’t do that without confidence. 

How did you enjoy your time at Kent in 

general? 

I enjoyed the course and my time at Kent, it was 

great. I had great fun – you could hang out with 

friends and have a laugh; there was a very relaxed 

atmosphere about the place which was nice. 

What careers advice did you receive at 


The careers adviser came to talk to us on several 

occasions, with really helpful information, such as 

how to kick-start a music career. I also went to see 

her for some extra advice, to improve my CV and 

make it more appropriate for a music career. She 

was honest about the fact that finding a career in 

music can be hard, but explained how we could 

maximise our chances of getting an interview. 

We also had a professional practice module which 

looked at how to handle yourself in a music 

career. We were given some really sound advice 

on different areas of the music business such as 

publishing or recording, from lecturers in the 

music industry who had a lot of contacts. Some 

really interesting guest speakers came in from 

the music business, and they gave us loads of 

advice. 

The practical assignments were really useful for 

a music career – the studio assignments were 

great for building up knowledge of the studio 

environment, and meant that I was able to create 

a good portfolio to demonstrate my abilities. The 

assignments showed potential employers what we 

could do and reinforced the skills we had been 

taught. The assessments also helped us to learn 

useful skills for the workplace – for example, how 

to do a professional presentation. 

In what way has your degree helped you 

find work? 

Looking at video game sound design was the 

inspiration for me to start looking for work in the 

area I now work in (the video game industry). 

What do you enjoy about your work? 

There’s quite a lot of variety in the work that I do. 

I didn’t start in the company doing sound, but now 

I have my foot in the door, I can demonstrate my 

music technology skills, and try and implement 

those into games to improve their sound design. 

I test the games that we develop and publish, and 

report any bugs and errors, and fix any I can. I’m 

also in charge of third party games we publish, 

liaising between the developers and the game 

engine manufacturers. 

In the future, I hope to take the lead with sound 

design on our major game product, and find new 

ways of making our games sound even more like 

real life. 

Have you any advice for prospective 

students? 

If music is a passion of yours, then go for it, and 

commit yourself to it. Music was and still is my 

passion, but although the job that I’ve got isn’t 

directly related to music and wasn’t an area I’d 

expected to go into, it has turned out to be a really 

interesting career, especially sound-wise. 

26


Inspiration Experience Drama 

Research Impact Dazzle 

Design Practice Create Build 

Work Materials International 

Production 

EVENTS 

www.kent.ac.uk/arts/creativeevents 

27


Brand Experience module 

Olympic sponsors promotional trucks 

The work in this module, for second and 

third-year students, was based on a live 

brief undertaken by the creative agency, 

M, for the Beijing Olympics. Students 

were asked to design a sponsorbranded 

truck that is, literally, a travelling 

advertisement and, when stationary, a 

promotion and exhibition space. 

MAKING AN IMPACT 

Making extraordinary 

acts of imagination 

come to life takes 

skill, knowledge, flair, 

dedication, organisation 

and guts. Our Event and 

Experience Design 

degree helps you with 

all of the above, and 

gives you the chance 

to make an impact on 

other people’s lives 

as well as your own. 

Celebratory Performance and Street Arts module 

Rusty Robot assembly Devised by second-year students, 

the performance consists of the gradual assembly of the 

robot from components hidden among the historic collection 

of objects in the Dockyard, eg, a pile of rusting chains. 

28


Project Pitch module 

Freak and Monster launch 

This is an event proposed by 

Charlotte Perry for the launch of 

Lady Gaga’s perfume, Monster 

and her fashion line, Freak, which 

would take place at Leeds Castle. 

The image shows a model of the 

castle, with projections across the 

lake; a submerged stage in the 

lake will rise allowing for a 

performance by Lady Gaga. 

Independent Realised 

Project module 

‘The Vortex’ – this installation, 

created by Amber Swan-Hutton, 

is based on research into the 

waste vortex of plastic that has 

formed in the Pacific Ocean, 

and is having a devastating 

impact on marine life. Amber 

negotiated siting the installation 

in an empty unit in a Maidstone 

shopping mall. This was done 

in conjunction with the mall 

manager and the town manager 

who had supported an antiplastic 

carrier bag campaign 

in Maidstone. The bags held 

pieces of plastic and rotting 

fish, it was an over powering 

sensory experience, a beautiful 

visual that was literally rotten at 

its core. 

29


WORKING CREATIVELY 

The success of Kent’s Event and Experience 

Design graduates proves that fascinating 

opportunities exist for graduates with first-class 

academic qualifications, imagination and the drive 

to realise their dreams. 

Following a career in event design is an exciting 

prospect: the range of locations – from regional 

to national to international; the range of 

materials – from puppets to fireworks to 

complex lighting systems; the scale of events – 

from company launches to fashion shows to 

music festivals, makes your working 

environment diverse and dynamic. 

When producing events, you can let your 

imagination take the lead, inventing new ways 

of showcasing neglected buildings or areas, 

involving communities in events that give them a 

different take on their environment, and creating 

spectacular one-off events that stay with 

people forever. 

You may find yourself working with 

museums or galleries to create experiences that 

will inspire people to want to discover new 

worlds. Alternatively, your work could be with a 

large commercial company looking to rebrand 

itself for a new generation. 

At Kent we develop your creative side, 

building on your existing skills and introducing 

you to the latest technology and equipment; our 

workshops give you the space to develop your 

ideas – however grand their scale. Alongside 

your creative work, we support you to develop 

project management skills. 

We also ensure that you get experience of 

working in the real world. All students work on 

real world projects – creating real events for real 

clients, which means that when you graduate 

you have the kinds of experience that 

employers are looking for. 

International impact 

The reputation of the University and of our 

course means that we attract students from 

across the world to study with us. You will study 

and work with students from countries including 

France, Spain, Malaysia, Poland and the US, 

giving you a unique chance to learn about other 

cultures first-hand and to broaden your 

experience of how events are produced and 

perceived around the world. 

Trafalgar 200 celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. The event was designed 

by Kent lecturer Paul Gambrill as part of the Mice International Group. 

Success in the 

marketplace 

Below is a list of the destinations of 

some of our recent graduates. Their 

diversity in terms of location and content 

shows the range of options available to 

you as an Events graduate. 

Charlotte Lam – Working full-time for the 

EC Square PR & Events company in Hong 

Kong, currently creating a fashion event and 

art exhibition for Louis Vuitton in Macau. 

Amber Swan-Hutton – Working on a full-time 

intern scholarship programme as a creative 

for Closer, a live media experiential marketing 

agency (winner of the 2009 Experiential 

Agency). 

Charlie Cook – Has formed her own event 

company with Ciaran McKay – The Sparky 

Initiative, and will be creating the opening 

event for the Medway Fuse Festival in June 

2011. 

Heike Lohse – Heike is working freelance 

as a pyrotechnician and artist on large scale 

outdoor shows. She is currently working with 

Walk The Plank, a creative force of artists, 

theatre makers, pyrotechnicians, and event 

engineers based in the north west of 

England. 

Laura Welfare – Has been working as an 

account manager for an award-winning, 

integrated advertising agency Nexus-H on 

campaigns and events across Europe for 

clients including Suzuki, Sharp, Honda, 

Hitachi and Vogue. 

Chris Carr – Has set up his own event 

design company Lucid Illusions and has 

recently been commissioned to design and 

produce a large music festival (The Aurora 

Festival) in Greece this summer, and will be 

appointing two of our second-year students 

to assist. 

Dave Moore – Working for corporate event 

company Get Elastic as a production 

manager. Projects include The Grolsch 

Barge, The Gillette Festival, and The Secret 

Cinema. 

Liz O’Byrne & Emily Owen – Liz spent 

several months working for The World 

Famous, a company of creative 

pyrotechnicians. Earlier this year, Liz & Emily 

formed their own events company and have 

just received their first commission (Spark 

Commission) from The Fuse Festival. 

30



http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:BeijingOlimpicGames2008-08-08.jpg 

BERNA UCEL 

Berna Ucel graduated from the 

Events programme in 2009. 

While at Kent, she went to 

Beijing to work on the 

closing ceremony for the 

Olympics. Berna spoke to us 

about her studies and how 

they helped her to find work. 

What attracted you to Kent and to this 

particular programme? 

Kent was recommended to me by my cousin and 

the Creative Events programme immediately 

caught my attention. When I read about the 

modules, I knew it was the perfect course for me. 

I had previously studied and worked in interior 

design, music, drama and media and, in this 

programme, I could combine these skills. 

Which areas of your degree did you find 

particularly inspiring? 

Sound, Lighting and Projection was one of the 

modules I enjoyed the most. It was interesting to 

learn about what is involved in the technical 

production side of an event. The AV studio was 

well-equipped and having access to the studios 

and workshops at all times meant we could 

practise the new programmes we were taught 

and rehearse for our projects. 

I also found the Installations and Interventions 

module very inspiring. I learnt how to express my 

ideas using different forms whether through 

performance or a site-specific display. 

I was part of the first cohort of students and we 

were encouraged to give our opinions on how the 

course was working and what areas could be 

improved. Our lecturers were always open to new 

ideas. I didn’t realise it at the time, but this was 

the perfect preparation for working in the events 

industry, as I can now see that working in a team 

you are always looking for ways to improve the 

events you produce and the job itself. 

People who work in the industry came in to 

speak to us; to have the chance to speak to 

people who already work within events helped us 

to appreciate the diversity of our course and the 

options available to us after graduation. The 

course itself was very helpful in terms of 

providing contacts for the students. 

Did your course change you? 

I definitely think my course has changed my 

overall thoughts about creativity within the events 

industry. It has widened my horizons and made 

me more aware of the opportunities that are 

available in the industry and what can be done. 

During my second year at Kent, I was selected 

by the London Organising Committee of the 

Olympic Games and Paralympic Games 

(LOCOG) to do work experience as assistant 

stage manager for the handover and closing 

ceremony at the Beijing Olympics. This was an 

amazing experience while still studying and 

helped shape my thoughts for my future career. 

Has your degree helped you find work? 

My degree and the experience I gained through 

it has been a great help in finding work. It is not 

easy in today’s competitive world; you have to be 

persistent and stay focused on your aims. 

I am currently working as an Events Executive at 

one of London’s magnificent venues. So far, it has 

been an incredible job and I am very lucky to be 

working with a great team. A typical day involves 

responding to enquiries, planning events and 

running them on the day – it is the perfect 

balance of office work and practical work. 

In an ideal world, I would love to have my own 

events company, designing and planning events. 

But for now I am looking to build good contacts 

and gain as much experience as possible. 

Is there anything else you would like to 

pass on to prospective students? 

University is an experience in its own right. 

What you do with your time and what you take 

from it is completely up to you. Whether you enjoy 

the library, rushing around organising social 

clubs, Welcome Week, maybe even long 

lectures…, or simply meeting up with friends in 

the student pub… there is always something to 

look forward to! 

31


DRAMA 

AND 

THEATRE 

www.kent.ac.uk/arts/drama/ 

Guernica Carpentry Project 

management Polystyrene 

Performance Puppets Shakespeare 

The Globe Dramaturgy Scenography 

Edinburgh Festival Royal Court 

Masks Rehearsal Programme 

Theatre 

32

STAFF PROFILE 


ROBERT SHAUGHNESSY 

Professor of Theatre, 

Robert Shaughnessy 

joined Kent in 2004. He 

has published widely 

on Shakespeare; his 

most recent book is 

The Routledge Guide 

to William Shakespeare. 

He spoke to us about 

teaching Shakespeare and 

the rewards of working 

with original materials. 

David Garrick as Richard III 

When did your interest in theatre begin? 

I had planned to study English Literature as an 

undergraduate but took a first-year option in 

drama and was hooked – I decided to take a joint 

honours English and Drama degree which 

involved academic study and a certain amount of 

performance and practice. I tried to sustain that 

in my early career, working as an academic 

researcher but also engaging in practice, mostly 

as a director or deviser. 

What attracted you to working at Kent? 

I knew of Kent’s Drama Department before I 

arrived here; it had a reputation for having a good 

balance between practice-based and more 

traditional forms of research, as well as a very 

close connection with contemporary professional 

practice. 

Has Shakespeare always been a passion? 

My interest in Shakespeare really took off with my 

postgraduate research. I was excited by working 

with the plays practically as well as by watching 

productions in the theatre. 

I enjoy teaching Shakespeare and find that 

students have a real engagement with his plays; 

they are intrigued when you introduce plays such 

as the history cycle, that are new to them. I try to 

place the plays in their historic context and find 

that the best way to teach history is to start on 

contemporary ground. We talk about the actual 

theatres as they existed in Shakespeare’s time, 

which leads us to the Globe Theatre in London. 

We look at how the current Globe recreates a 

historical place, and discuss how much of it is an 

invention and what purpose it is serving in the 

21st century. This in turn leads to a discussion of 

the relationship between the way in which we 

reconstruct history and history as it might have 

been. Working in this way helps to make these 

things concrete and tangible. 

What other areas of theatre do you teach? 

I also teach contemporary theatre but I tend to 

look at theatres and institutions rather than 

focusing on this or that playwright. I look at the 

National Theatre and the kinds of theatre it 

encourages and produces and what that tells us 

about the identity of the theatre company, or a 

theatre such as the Royal Court, which has a 

reputation for encouraging and promoting new 

playwrights. 


What do you enjoy about teaching? 

I am always interested to hear students’ views, 

and try to ensure they feel involved in the 

academic life of the University. I think it is 

important that they understand how research can 

inform their work and enrich them, so at an early 

stage in their studies I encourage them to 

develop as independent researchers. At Kent, we 

are extremely fortunate to have a superb set of 

resources for drama students including original 

theatre programmes and theatre memorabilia. 

Being able to show students a programme for, 

say, the first performance of Look Back in Anger 

in 1956, brings history to life. Quite often, 

students have not worked in this way before and 

find working with tangible objects a very 

rewarding experience. They enjoy discovering 

what can be learnt from this kind of material and, 

by working in this way, start to become a part of 

the University’s research community. 

One Shakespeare play to see before you come to Kent 

Measure for Measure – sex, death and power, what more can you ask for? 

A performance that has always stayed with you 

There are two and it’s difficult to choose between them. One would be Forced 

Entertainment, at a time when they were nowhere near as famous as they are now, 

in a show called Hidden J: I saw it in a tiny Prema Arts Centre deep in rural 

Gloucestershire with about six other people. It was a wonderful, mad mix of drunken 

stories, bad dancing, and strange dreams. 

The other would be Deborah Warner directing Titus Andronicus at the Swan 

Theatre in 1987, which turned this play that everyone thought was garbage into a 

moving, extreme and lyrical event. 

33


Sam Westbury is the School of Arts’ Workshop 

Technician and runs the workshop on the 

Canterbury campus. After his degree, Sam took 

an apprenticeship with the English National 

Opera in prop-making and has since worked with 

numerous companies, including the Disney 

Corporation, the National Theatre, and Madame 

Tussauds. Sam and his colleagues help students 

with the practical challenges of their courses. 

A DAY IN THE 

LIFE OF THE 

WORKSHOP 

9am The workshop opens for 

business. Today, first-year Drama 

students are spending the 

morning with me, as part of their 

Theatre Workshop module. In 

these sessions, I often use 

puppetry as a focus but the 

course also covers sculpting, 

carpentry, theatrical costume and 

prop-making. The idea is to help 

students pick up practical skills 

and put what they do into an 

academic context. Although some 

of our students do go on to work 

as theatre technicians, the point 

of this module is to provide a 

broad perspective on this aspect 

of theatre studies (while sneaking 

in a few life skills as well). 

This term’s Theatre Workshop 

project involves bringing Picasso’s 

response to the Spanish Civil War, 

Guernica, to life on stage. As well 

as the challenges of making a 3D 

recreation of the semi-abstract 

masterpiece (full-size horses and 

all), the students need to 

understand the historical and 

theoretical background to the 

painting. After the session, we 

walk through campus to the 

Aphra Theatre to meet students 

who, as part of this module, are 

specialising in lighting, to create 

the scene. Working collaboratively 

in this way really helps students to 

understand the multi-disciplinary 

nature of backstage theatre work. 

The results were fantastic. 

I was able to put a film of their 

performance up on the Drama 

Department’s YouTube channel 

immediately, which then led to a 

group discussion and dissection 

of their work. 

12 noon Time to clear up 

and check a few messages. The 

inbox includes an email from the 

workshop in the School of 

Architecture saying, yes, some of 

our students can go across and 

use their laser cutter for a modelmaking 

project. There is also a 

request from the Engineering and 

Digital Arts’ workshop asking us 

to introduce some of their 

students to sculpting in clay. All of 

the workshops on campus have 

different equipment so we try to 

34


share resources – the Engineering 

workshop is great for metalwork and we 

send our students there if they need to 

do any soldering. One of the 

advantages of being on such a big 

campus is that everyone benefits from 

the huge range of resources. 

2pm Typically, our students come to 

us with great IT skills, but not many of 

them have any experience with an 

electric drill, sewing machine, paint 

brush or saws. This afternoon, three of 

the first-year students who were at this 

morning’s session have come back for a 

mini-tutorial on power tools. Mastering 

these practical skills is a real confidence 

builder. One of the best parts of my job 

is helping students to get to grips with 

things that they never thought they 

could do – or were afraid to try. 

2.15pm We are about to start a 

production meeting so we put the kettle 

on. Debs Metcalf-Askew (production 

manager), Ian Baird (lighting) and Scott 

Miller (sound) all have extensive 

professional theatre experience, having 

worked at music festivals and in places 

including the Royal Opera House and 

the New York Theatre Workshop. Their 

job is to help the students to ensure 

their productions meet professional 

standards. A group of fourth-year 

MDrama students have come in to talk 

to us about their production of Samuel 

Beckett’s Play. They take us through 

their plans for the budget, logistics, the 

audiovisual requirements, sound, and 

provide a realistic timetable. Putting on 

a performance is a complex piece of 

project management and we advise 

them but also make sure the students 

take a hands-on approach. When the 

meeting is finished, a couple of 

students stay behind and I help them to 

get supplies of wood and polystyrene 

for their build. 

3pm The Workshop is open to School 

of Arts students from all disciplines and 

students often come in to spend time on 

independent projects. As well as 

encouraging those who never thought 

they could ‘make’ anything, we love 

helping the real enthusiasts who want a 

challenge. Unless they need to use one 

of our really specialist pieces of 

equipment (such as the table saw), we 

let them find their own way and provide 

help and advice as we go. This is why 

the workshop is often inhabited by the 

results of their labours; you might see a 

marble fireplace (actually 100% wood 

and polystyrene) or sides of beef 

(made from foam) lying around the 

place. Problem-solving is a major part 

of the process and I encourage 

students to combine research and 

practice, in order to understand what 

materials they will need for their project. 

Some of the students get very 

ambitious and want to tackle some of 

the more complex paint effects and 

body-casting techniques that we 

professionals specialise in. 

4.30pm Time to tidy up and move 

the music upbeat to reflect the start of 

the weekend. We close at 5pm, so there 

is just time to check up on some maskmaking. 

Everyone enjoys making masks 

and it is a great way to introduce 

students to measuring, sculpting and 

drawing. This group has been working 

on historical Commedia dell’ arte masks 

and they look wonderful. 

35


STAFF PROFILE 

DUS˘KA 

RADOSAVLJEVIĆ 

Dus˘ka Radosavljević joined Kent in 2008, 

having worked as a dramaturg for the 

Northern Stage Ensemble and Newcastle 

University, and as a Higher Education 

Programme Manager at the Royal 

Shakespeare Company. She also 

works as a theatre critic, writing 

regularly for The Stage newspaper. 

Here she discusses dramaturgy and 

how it influences her teaching. 

Can you explain what a dramaturg is? 

In European theatre, the work of a dramaturg is well established, but it is 

quite a new concept in the UK. It’s about being responsive to how a piece of 

work as a whole communicates to its audience; you work with writers and 

directors, dancers and other performers, as well as lighting and set 

designers to tease out meanings and the best ways to communicate these 

to the audience. In the past, I have defined it as being an in-house agony 

aunt; someone employed by the theatre to be an ‘outside eye’. 

How did you get into this work? 

My PhD centred on how plays are constructed and how this can have 

political effects. I have also done a lot of work translating and adapting 

plays, a process that I find fascinating. There is an assumption, which to 

some extent is true, that what you can say in one language you can say in 

another. But in adapting and translating work, you discover that equivalent 

words in another language may mean something different. Equally, in 

theatre, a play on the page feels very different when you see it on the stage 

where it exists in another language. 

I also work as a theatre critic, which for me, is not about criticising individuals 

but about looking at a piece of work at every level and assessing its 

qualities. I think all of this prepared the way for my work as a dramaturg. 

How does your experience as a dramaturg influence your 

teaching? 

I think that in order to work successfully in the theatre you need to develop 

the attributes of a dramaturg. You need to understand everybody’s input and 

the mechanics of how a piece of work makes it to the stage. At Kent, we are 

teaching a younger generation how to be dramaturgs; by learning about 

many different aspects of theatre, they are able to step outside of their work 

and understand the bigger picture; if you are going to be successful, you 

need to be able to do this. 

36 

Slava’s Snowshow 

Do you enjoy teaching? 

I find working with young people inspiring, you can test your ideas out on 

them and they often give you very interesting responses. Sometimes you 

meet former students who are now working in theatre and they will tell you 

how a particular lecture or workshop was very important to them and that is 

very rewarding. 

At Kent, unlike a lot of other drama departments, we do not have staffdirected 

performances either within the curriculum or outside of it. Students 

have access to all the resources for their own work, which we go to see and 

offer feedback on. 

Do you think Kent graduates are well-placed for employment? 

I think we equip them for jobs in the real world; drama gives people skills that 

are not just relevant to the subject itself. Confidence, projecting your voice 

and positive body language can help you in job interviews and impress 

potential employers. Many of our graduates go on to work in the theatre, but 

others have gone into teaching, business or social work. 


Go out of your comfort zone – try something quirky such as 

Slava’s Snowshow. 

Performer or director you 

would always seek out 

Robert Lepage – a Québécois actor, 

theatre director and filmmaker, with 

an excellent dramaturgical 

sensibility, who has made a real 

mark on the theatre of the late 20th 

and early 21st century around the 

world. 

Robert Lepage 

viZZZual.com @ Wikicommons TBWA\Busted @ Wikicommons



SUE HOWELL 

Sue Howell graduated from Kent’s Drama and Theatre 

Studies degree. Here, she tells us how her studies led to a 

dream job at the National Theatre in London. 

Why did you choose this programme? 

From a young age, I took part in performing arts, 

studying various forms of dance and taking both 

acting and singing classes before choosing to 

study performing arts at college. It was at college 

that I gained a deeper interest in theatre; as well 

as performing, we studied other aspects of the 

industry such as budgets and finance, community 

work and technical theatre. I was attracted by this 

diversity and, with a lot of help from my tutors at 

college, I looked into several drama and theatre 

studies courses. I chose the four-year programme 

at Kent because it seemed to offer everything I 

wanted, and the best prospects for me in the long 

run. 

Did your course live up to your 

expectations? 

The course offers a fair amount of flexibility and 

gives you the chance to explore your interests 

and passions. I revelled in being able to study 

often opposing theatre genres at the same time 

and being given the freedom and encouragement 

to bring knowledge and experience from one to 

inform the other. I discovered plays and whole 

classifications of theatre that I didn’t know existed. 

This was a great inspiration to me and I feel that 

this exploration allowed me to discover my 

passion for the area I now work in. I was 

particularly inspired by modules covering 

multimedia and theatre, and scenography. 

How would you describe the teaching at 


The level of teaching within the Drama 

Department is of a high standard, with many of 

the lecturers being active practitioners 

themselves. I felt this brought a different 

perspective to the teaching and guidance that 

they were able to offer. There were several 

lecturers at Kent who not only inspired me, but 

also encouraged and guided me through my time 

at university. They made my experience 

enjoyable and helped me get to where I am in my 

career. For example, my multimedia lecturer 

Rosie Klich opened my eyes to some amazing 

performances and ideas, and Gary McCann 

allowed me to incorporate my passion for lighting 

into my design work and also helped me to get 

my placement at the National Theatre, which led 

to my current employment. 

Bruno Poet 

I also owe a lot to the wonderful drama technicians 

at Kent – Ian Baird, Scott Miller and Sam 

Westbury – who took the time to help me develop 

my skills. With their help, I built up skills and a love 

of the technical side of the theatre that I guess has 

led to my career choice. 

What did you gain from your studies? 

I feel my course, especially my final specialism 

year, helped me to develop my abilities to organise 

and push myself to achieve my potential. I think it 

also gave me a good basis for working within the 

theatre industry. I have a good general knowledge 

of not only genres, but also practitioners and 

process. 

When did you first think about becoming a 

professional technician? 

I initially discovered lighting at college but my love 

of technical theatre definitely developed over my 

time at Kent – I was able to look further into how 

influential and integral technical aspects of the 

theatre really are to a performance, so becoming a 

technician felt like a natural progression of this 

development. 

How did you find your job at the National 

Theatre? 

As I said, I did a three-week placement working 

across the three different theatres that make up the 

National Theatre. After this experience, I was 

contacted by the technical manager of the Olivier 

Theatre and asked to work on Hamlet for a month; I 

have been here ever since. I have been lucky 

enough to be involved in productions such as the 

Broadway transfer Fela! and Danny Boyle’s new 

production of Frankenstein. I feel incredibly fortunate 

to have the job I do now but I’d like to think it shows 

how important it is to gain work experience and get 

your name and face out there. It has definitely 

taught me how important that is in this industry! 

What advice would you give to prospective 

students? 

The only advice I would give prospective students is 

to strive for whatever it is that they are passionate 

about. At Kent I found it possible to do that. It had a 

good environment and good facilities, but most 

importantly the staff were supportive, encouraging 

and passionate about theatre. And if you don’t know 

what you want to do, this course can help you 

explore yourself and your passions. 

37


THE KENT 

EXPERIENCE 

By choosing Kent, you are deciding to become part of one of 

the UK’s leading universities. Kent has an excellent academic 

reputation and you learn with some of the most influential 

thinkers in your field. Your ideas and opinions are listened to 

and you are encouraged to improve your knowledge and 

widen your experience by attending open lectures, readings 

and workshops; visiting exhibitions; and seeing fringe 

theatre, dance, comedy and independent films. 

Kent is highly rated by its students. In the 2010 

National Student Survey, 87% of our students 

were overwhelmingly satisfied with the quality of 

their courses, while in the Times Higher 

Education Student Experience Survey, Kent was 

ranked 15th. We also do well in independent 

university guides; for example in The Guardian 

University Guide 2011 Kent was ranked 27th in 

the UK. 

The School of Arts has a presence on Kent’s 

Medway and Canterbury campuses, with Event 

and Experience Design, Fine Art and Music 

based at Medway, and Drama, Film and History 

& Philosophy of Art at Canterbury. 

ARTS AT 

CANTERBURY 

The Canterbury campus is built on 300 acres of 

parkland and is just 30 minutes’ walk from 

Canterbury city centre. It is self-contained and 

includes student accommodation, a library, 

sports centre, theatre, nightclub, cinema, places 

to eat, bars and shops. The student community 

is made up of around 16,000 students from 

around the world, at last count there were 125 

nationalities represented on campus, which gives 

the campus a very cosmopolitan feel. 

38 

The School’s home is the RIBA Award 

winning Jarman Building (named after artist 

and filmmaker Derek Jarman) and built at the 

heart of the Canterbury campus. It has 

professional standard drama and film 

production studios, including multi-user and 

individual digital editing suites, as well as 

teaching rooms, social spaces, Studio 3 (its 

own gallery), and a centre for postgraduate 

students. 

The School plays a major part in the 

thriving arts scene on campus, working closely 

with the on-campus Gulbenkian Theatre and 

Cinema, and staging international art 

exhibitions, by artists such as Henri Fantin- 

Latour, Frank Auerbach, Humphrey Ocean, 

Tracey Emin, the Chapman Brothers, James 

Barry and Ana Maria Pacheco, as well as our 

annual student show. 

The campus also has two theatres, the 113- 

seat Aphra Theatre (a courtyard-type gallery 

theatre space) and the Lumley Theatre, a 

flexible and adaptable white room space. In 

Eliot College there is an additional rehearsal 

studio, a sound studio, a theatre design suite 

and a darkroom used by students studying 

photography. Students across the School take 

advantage of our well-equipped construction 

workshop. 

In the neighbourhood 

Canterbury is a historic city, with a 

cosmopolitan atmosphere as befits Britain’s 

closest city to continental Europe. It has a 

unique charm, with ancient and modern sitting 

comfortably together and there are plenty of 

specialist shops, as well as many restaurants, 

pubs and bars. 

Canterbury is a cultural city with a strong 

focus on the arts. There are a number of 

galleries and the annual Canterbury Festival 

attracts thousands of visitors. The city is also 

home to the Marlowe Theatre, which hosts 

national touring productions of West End shows 

and attracts top artists from the worlds of 

dance, music, comedy, drama, ballet and 

opera. 

Getting around 

Canterbury is only 56 miles from London on the 

M2/A2 and high-speed trains run regularly 

between Canterbury West and London St 

Pancras and take under an hour. Regular trains 

also run to and from London Victoria, Charing 

Cross, Waterloo East and London Bridge – 

journey time is approximately 90 minutes. 

You can also take the Eurostar from Ashford 

or Ebbsfleet to arrive in Paris or Brussels in less 

than two hours. The Channel ports are less than 

20 miles away, and it is only 30 minutes’ drive to 

the Channel Tunnel at Folkestone.


The Jarman Building 

Fine Art studio 

Canterbury campus 

39


ARTS AT MEDWAY 

The University’s Medway campus is shared with 

three other higher education institutions and 

offers a lively and modern campus, with 

purpose-built, innovative buildings alongside 

the original historic structures. Facilities on 

campus include the Drill Hall Library, cafés, 

a shop which is also a mini off-licence, and 

Coopers, a bar serving good pub food at 

student-friendly prices. High-quality student 

accommodation is available adjacent to the 

Medway campus. 

The School of Arts is located within 

Chatham Historic Dockyard, a riverfront 

complex adjacent to the Medway campus. 

This 20-acre site has lots of small businesses 

including design, film, photography and 

gaming companies. The Dockyard has a range 

of historic buildings, the sheer scale of which – 

including the immense Slip 1, 2, and 3 – makes 

them uniquely suited to the creation of large 

scale public art projects and exhibitions. 

The University is investing over £5 million 

in its Arts at Medway initiative to provide its 

Fine Art, Music and Audio, and Event and 

Experience Design students with the best 

possible study environment. This investment 

will see the insides of the historic buildings 

transformed over the next two academic 

years to create inspiring environments for 

our students to work and study in. 

The names of the buildings reflect their 

former use and give a sense of the working 

history of the area. Buildings such as the old 

Smitheries, the Galvanising Shop, the Boiler 

Shop and The Fire Station will be adapted to 

become flexible spaces for painting, sculpture, 

printmaking, film and photographic studies, as 

well as new music and audio studios and 

performance areas. 

The Galvanising Shop will be the focus of 

our Fine Art and Event and Experience Design 

programmes providing work spaces and 

including bookable project spaces, an AV suite, 

a darkroom and a digital editing suite. 

The Boiler Shop will incorporate a workshop 

for use by Event and Experience Design, 

Performing Arts and Fine Arts students, and the 

Engineering Workshop will become a set of 

performance spaces and studios with a sprung 

floor and lighting rig that can be used for dance, 

theatre or performance art. 

The Fire Station is being converted to 

enhance our current music facilities, which 

include purpose-built studios and practice 

rooms, and will feature a listening room, foley 

studio, ensemble rehearsal space with grand 

piano and vibraphone, and an Electronica studio 

featuring vintage equipment. The Foundry will 

house our flagship recording studio. 

In the neighbourhood 

Medway is a bustling area with lots to see and 

do. Kent students are eligible for concessions at 

many of Medway Council’s sports centres, 

attractions and entertainment venues. There are 

exciting arts programmes at The Brook and The 

Central entertainment venues, which are less 

than ten minutes from campus. An annual arts 

festival and a variety of other festivals are held 

throughout the year. 

Getting around 

Medway has excellent road and rail links and 

is well served by the M2, M20 and M25 

motorways. Heathrow and Gatwick airports, 

the Channel ports of Dover and Ramsgate 

and the Channel Tunnel are all about an hour’s 

drive from the campus. There are direct rail 

links to London Victoria and Charing Cross – 

approximately 45 minutes’ journey time, and 

from Ebbsfleet station, just 30 minutes from 

campus, there is a 17-minute service from 

Ebbsfleet to London St Pancras. From 

Ebbsfleet, you can also take the Eurostar 

and be in Paris in just over two hours. 

GRADUATE STUDY 

Our community of graduate students follow a 

wide variety of taught and research 

programmes at our two campuses. They have 

access to a dedicated postgraduate room plus 

state-of-the-art facilities at our two campuses, 

and all the support and learning resources of 

a major, research-led university. 

School of Arts staff teach or supervise 

graduate students in areas close to their own 

research. All postgraduates are invited to 

participate in the School’s lively programme 

of research events, including international 

exchanges, conferences, seminars and 

symposia. For postgraduate students in Film 

Studies, there is an opportunity to spend their 

spring term in Paris. 

40


Chatham Historic Dockyard 

Student project 

Architect’s image: Galvanising Shop Purcell Miller Tritton LLP 

41


WORLDWIDE 

LINKS 

Kent is known as the UK’s European university 

due to its strong links and partnerships across 

Europe. Our international reputation means we 

attract a high proportion of students from 

overseas, which leads to a cosmopolitan 

atmosphere in which to live and learn. 

42


A global outlook 

At Kent, all of our students are encouraged to 

place their studies in a global context. The 

international nature of the University gives you 

the opportunity to meet and study with students 

from all over the world. This introduces you to 

alternative viewpoints and helps you to gain an 

understanding of different cultures, all of which 

adds an extra dimension to your studies, 

broadening your horizons and improving your 

prospects on graduation. 

The School of Arts offers a range of study 

or work abroad opportunities, some lasting a 

term, and others a full academic year. 

International placements are available in 

Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Greece, 

Germany, Malta and the US. We also offer 

several £500 international travel awards to fund 

undergraduate students on study trips abroad 

during the summer before their final year. 

If you are planning to spend time abroad, 

you can take advantage of extra languagelearning 

opportunities at the Centre for English 

and World Languages (CEWL), which offers a 

range of language options that you can learn in 

your free time. 

Studying in Paris 

The School’s Film Studies Department offers a 

Film Studies MA, which gives you the option of 

spending the spring term studying at Reid Hall, 

Kent’s centre in Paris. Reid Hall is located in the 

historic heart of Montparnasse, a few minutes’ 

walk from the Luxembourg Gardens, a large, 

classically designed park, where students from 

the Sorbonne and other universities often spend 

time. Reid Hall occupies traditional buildings 

grouped around two quiet and leafy inner 

courtyards. Kent postgraduates share the 

facilities at Reid Hall with graduate students 

from Columbia University, Barnard College, 

University of Florida and other similarly 

prestigious institutions. For more information 

about Kent at Paris, see www.kent.ac.uk/paris 

International students 

The School of Arts is international in outlook 

with staff from countries including: Ireland, New 

Zealand, Australia, Germany, Belgium, USA, 

Canada, Serbia, Greece, Malta, Brazil, France 

and Hong Kong. In recent years, the School has 

welcomed students from over 20 countries 

including: Jordan, USA, Germany, Greece, 

France, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, China, 

Romania, Cyprus, Malta, Estonia, Taiwan, 

Turkey, Bahrain, Brunei, Brazil, Canada, Japan 

and India. We work closely with the University’s 

International and European Offices to ensure 

our international students receive all the advice 

and support they need, both before they arrive 

at Kent and during their stay here. 


Jackie Chan Scholarship 

The School of Arts, with the support of the 

Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation, has an 

annual scholarship for a Hong Kong resident 

graduate intending to study on any of our 

taught MA Film programmes (including Paris). 

The scholarship will pay £15,000 over one year, 

which will contribute to tuition fees and 

accommodation. The studentship competition 

is open to any Hong Kong graduate or 

mainland resident with a first degree in an arts 

subject or related subject from a Hong Kong 

University. 

International and European 

Offices 

The University’s International and European 

Offices offer dedicated support to all 

international students. They have excellent 

knowledge of international qualifications and 

can provide specialist advice on applications, 

equivalencies of qualifications and entry 

requirements to Kent. 

When you arrive in the UK, a member of 

the International or European Office meets you 

at the airport. At the University, there is also a 

special Welcome Week, aimed specifically at 

international students, which includes a 

welcome dinner (giving you the chance to meet 

other international students) and trips to see 

local tourist attractions. 

To create a supportive student network, 

Kent has set up email groups and a student 

buddying scheme, so you can contact other 

students from your home country. Academic 

support includes the Student Learning Advisory 

Service, as well as English language and 

foundation courses. These are taught by our 

own academics, allowing us to offer teaching 

of an exceptional quality. 

For more information about the assistance 

we offer our international students, please go 

to www.kent.ac.uk/internationalstudent 

Free English lessons 

All international students at Kent have the 

opportunity to take advantage of up to two 

hours of free English lessons a week at our 

Centre for English and World Languages 

(CEWL) through the English Language 

Development Programme (ELDP). CEWL also 

provides pre-sessional English courses and the 

International Foundation Programme that are 

specially designed to prepare international 

students for academic study. 

43

Work session with Kent Drama undergraduates led 

by PhD student Electa Behrens at the PerformAzioni 

Festival in Bologna, Italy. Photo: Silvia Bernardi 

UNDERGRADUATE 

PROGRAMMES 

Single honours 

Art and Film (WV63) 3 years BA (Hons) 

Audio Design and Production (J930:K) 3 years BSc (Hons) 

Design: Event and Experience Design (W900:K) 3 years BA (Hons) 

Drama and Theatre Studies MDrama (W421) 4 years MDrama (Hons) 

Drama and Theatre Studies BA (W400) 3 years BA (Hons) 

Film Studies (W610) 3 years BA (Hons) 

Fine Art (W100:K) 3 years BA (Hons) 

History & Philosophy of Art (V350) 3 years BA (Hons) 

Music and Composition 3 years BMus* 

Music Technology (W351:K) 3 years BSc (Hons) 

Popular Music 3 years BMus* 

Visual and Performed Arts (W000) 3 years BA (Hons) 

* Subject to approval 

You can spend a year on a work placement or studying or working 

abroad on all of our single honours programmes. 

Joint honours 

Drama and… 

Classical & Archaeological Studies (QW84) 3 years BA (Hons) 

Comparative Literature (QW24) 3 years BA (Hons) 

English and American Literature (QW34) BA (Hons) 

English Language and Linguistics (WQ43) BA (Hons) 

Film Studies (WW46) 3 years BA (Hons) 

French (RW14) 4 years BA (Hons) 

German (RW24) 4 years BA (Hons) 

Hispanic Studies (WR44) 4 years BA (Hons) 

History (VW14) 3 years BA (Hons) 

History & Philosophy of Art (VW34) 3 years BA (Hons) 

Italian (RW34) 4 years BA (Hons) 

Multimedia (GW44) 3 years BA (Hons) 

Philosophy (VW54) 3 years BA (Hons) 

Religious Studies (VW64) 3 years BA (Hons) 

www.kent.ac.uk/arts/undergraduate

Film Studies and… 

Classical & Archaeological Studies (QW86) 3 years BA (Hons) 

Comparative Literature (WQ62) 3 years BA (Hons) 

Computing (WG64) 3 years BA (Hons) 

Drama (WW46) 3 years BA (Hons) 

English and American Literature (QW36) 3 years BA (Hons) 

English, American and Postcolonial Literature (WQ63) 3 years BA (Hons) 

French (RW16) 4 years BA (Hons) 

German (RW26) 4years BA (Hons) 

Hispanic Studies (WR64) 4 years BA (Hons) 

History (VW16) 3 years BA (Hons) 

History & Philosophy of Art (VW36) 3 years BA (Hons) 

Italian (RW36) 4 years BA (Hons) 

Philosophy (VW56) 3 years BA (Hons) 

Religious Studies (VW66) 3 years BA (Hons) 

History & Philosophy of Art and… 

Classical & Archaeological Studies (VQ38) 3 years BA (Hons) 

Comparative Literature (VQ32) 3 years BA (Hons) 

Cultural Studies (VV93) 3 years BA (Hons) 

Drama (VW34) 3 years BA (Hons) 

English and American Literature (VQ33) 3 years BA (Hons) 

English, American and Postcolonial Literature (VQH3) 3 years BA (Hons) 

Film Studies (VW36) 3 years BA (Hons) 

French (VR31) 4 years BA (Hons) 

German (VR32) 4 years BA (Hons) 

History (VV31) 3 years BA (Hons) 

Italian (RV35) 4 years BA (Hons) 

Philosophy (VV35) 3 years BA (Hons)

46www.kent.ac.uk/arts/pg

POSTGRADUATE 

PROGRAMMES 

Taught programmes 

MA European Theatre 

MA Performance Practice 

MA Theatre Dramaturgy 

MA Film Studies 

MA Film Studies (Paris) 

MA History & Philosophy of Art 

MA Music and Composition* 

MA Music and Technology* 

MA Fine Art* 

MA Critical Arts Writing* 

MA Curation* 

MFA Fine Art* 

MFA Curation* 

MFA Critical Arts Writing* 

Research programmes 

MA, MPhil, PhD Drama 

MA, MPhil, PhD Film Studies 

MA, MPhil, PhD History & Philosophy of Art 

MPhil, PhD Music* 

MA, MPhil, PhD Practice as Research Drama 

MA, MPhil, PhD Practice as Research Film 

* Subject to approval


Visit Kent 

Come along for an Open Day or 

a UCAS Visit Day and see for 

yourself what it is like to be a 

student at Kent. 

Open Days 

If you are interested in visiting Kent, there are 

Open Days during the summer and autumn at the 

Canterbury campus and the Medway campus. 

These general Open Days provide an excellent 

opportunity for you to discover what it is like to 

live and study at the University. You can meet 

academic staff, find out about our courses and 

attend subject displays, workshops and informal 

lectures. We also offer guided tours around the 

campus, including University accommodation. 

In the School of Arts, we offer you the opportunity 

to tour the School’s facilities in the Jarman 

building at Canterbury and across our buildings 

at Chatham Dockyard in Medway. Talks from 

School staff, performances by current students 

and exhibitions of their work, give you a sense of 

the breadth of the work produced by the School, 

and members of staff and current students are on 

hand throughout the day to answer your 

questions. 

You can find further information about Open 

Days, including dates and details of how to book 

your place, at www.kent.ac.uk/opendays 

UCAS Visit Days 

If you apply to study at Kent and are offered a 

place (or invited to attend an interview), you will 

usually be sent an invitation to one of our UCAS 

Visit Days. The Visit Day includes presentations 

in your subject area, guided tours of the campus, 

including University accommodation, and the 

opportunity to speak with academic staff about 

your chosen subject. 

Informal visits 

You are also welcome to make an informal visit to 

one of our campuses at any time. The Information 

and Guidance Unit can provide you with a selfguided 

tour leaflet which includes the main points 

of interest. It may also be possible to arrange 

meetings with academic staff, although we cannot 

guarantee this. For more details and to download 

a self-guided tour, go to www.kent.ac.uk/informal 

We come to you 

The University of Kent attends higher education 

fairs in the UK, mainland Europe and in many 

countries around the world. At these events, 

universities and colleges come together to give 

face-to-face information and guidance to 

prospective students. 

We also have Kent overseas representatives who 

can give you up-to-date advice on courses, the 

application process, applying for a visa (if you 

need one), and details about living and studying 

in the UK. The International and European Offices 

are also able to arrange individual tours 

of campus. 

Applying to Kent 

Undergraduate degrees 

For entry on to full-time honours degree courses, 

all students should apply through the Universities 

and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), the 

UK’s central admissions service. 

The institution code number of the University of 

Kent is K24, and the code name is KENT. If you 

are applying for courses based at Medway, you 

should add the campus code K in Section 3(d). 

What you need in order to apply 

You can find detailed instructions on how to 

apply at www.ucas.com, or in the UCAS directory, 

which you can get from schools, colleges or 

public libraries. 

You should apply online if possible, either via 

www.ucas.com if you are applying directly or via 

your college or school if it has a UCAS online 

application system. 

UCAS, PO Box 28, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire 

GL52 3ZA United Kingdom 

Postgraduate degrees 

You can apply for postgraduate programmes 

at Kent electronically via our website at 

www.kent.ac.uk/studying/postgrad/gradapply.html 

If you do not have access to the web, please 

contact the Information, Recruitment and 

Admissions Office at the address below for 

advice. 

Further information 

If you have any general enquiries about applying 

to Kent, please contact: 

If you would like further information 

about any of the School of Arts degree 

programmes please contact: 

T:+44 (0)1227 827564 

E:artsinfo@kent.ac.uk 

Information, Recruitment and Admissions Office, 

The Registry, University of Kent, Canterbury, 

Kent CT2 7NZ 

T: 01227 827272 

F: 01227 827077 

E: information@kent.ac.uk 

48

Mad, Angus Pryor, oil based mixed media on canvas 24m x 2 

www.kent.ac.uk/arts

Work by Lucy Condon, Fine Art student 

Work by Elizabeth Hainsworth, Fine Art student 

www.kent.ac.uk/arts 

d

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