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Loughborough trio to fly the flag for Britain at international arts festival

Posted on 11/04/2008
P. Klein

Three graduates from Loughborough University School of Art and Design will be jetting off to Italy in May to take part in a prestigious international arts festival.

Matt Atkinson (22), Amy Eastland (23) and Sam Taylor (23) are among a group of graduates from four East Midlands universities – Loughborough, De Montfort, Derby and Nottingham Trent – who have been chosen to represent the UK at the Biennale of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean.

It is the first time that the UK has taken part in the Biennale, which is now in its thirteenth year and considered to be one of the most important Mediterranean events focusing on youth creativity. During the ten-day festival, which is being held in Puglia, Southern Italy, around 1,000 artists, aged between 18 and 30, from more than 20 countries, will exhibit their work.

Professor Terry Kavanagh, chair of the University’s arts committee, says the University is proud to have three of its graduates representing both Loughborough and the UK at the Biennale.

“Over the years Loughborough’s students and graduates have excelled in major national art and design competitions and events, and their work consistently achieves international critical acclaim,” he commented. “This year’s Biennale offers an outstanding opportunity for the University, and particularly three of our most recent graduates, to demonstrate to a brand new audience the skills and accomplishments that have secured Loughborough a position as one of the country’s top five places for art and design education.”

At the Biennale, Matt Atkinson will exhibit a series of his paintings, the focus of which are disused buildings. His work is a nostalgic appreciation of the unlikely beauty that evolves from their natural decay and defacement.

Amy Eastland’s submission for the exhibition is a series of images through which she interprets the words of Winston Churchill to depict his life. Her collages have been developed using existing imagery, particularly old photographs and papers, as well as imagery Amy herself creates electronically.

Sam Taylor’s work is a series of cigarette box sculptures, built to three times their normal size using traditional model-making techniques. They have been developed to explore the value and status that everyday objects are perceived to have in our cultural environment.

Laura Dyer, Executive Director of Arts Council England, East Midlands said: “Arts Council England, East Midlands is delighted to be the first English region to be represented in the Biennale and proud that such talented young artists have emerged from our region.

“Each of these universities make a considerable contribution to the cultural footprint of the region. They are powerful investors in the arts and major players in cultural provision and development in the East Midlands. They are central to creating the region’s arts workforce and supporting high quality arts opportunities.

“I look forward to the day when we welcome the Biennale to the UK.”