South West
eschew the traditional move to London on graduation in favour of carving out their own career in the south west. Bristol in particular has become a popular destination for recent illustration graduates from Falmouth looking for somewhere to set up their own groups and studios. “It’s a growing centre for illustration,” says Nigel. “A lot of our students in the third year get together and say ‘let’s move to Bristol, let’s build a community in Bristol’. They’re helping to build a reputation [for the city].” By setting up collectives, Nigel says ex-students are
developing “an organism around which an identity can be built”. Used to the supportive community of the university, they want to replicate this when they leave and the South West seems to offer an environment that nourishes these kinds of initiatives. Bristol is popular because it has many of the qualities
that attract people to the region but offers brighter lights and a livelier cultural life than much of the rest of the South West. Again, the existence of one of the top university courses in the country has helped to stoke the city’s creative atmosphere. Gary Embury is a senior lecturer at UWE with more
than 20 years’ experience as an illustrator and he understands the pull of Bristol for illustrators. Not only did he study in the city, he then went on to live and work in London and Paris, before eventually moving back to the South West. “It’s got a really good arts and music scene, and recently a really good illustration scene, too,” he says. An urban environment with easy access to the
countryside is also appealing to all kinds of artists, as are cheaper living costs and overheads and a generally more laidback lifestyle. And as the city’s community of illustrators has grown, momentum has gathered, with artists increasingly coming together to develop their own projects. Snap Gallery, a studio cooperative of artists,
illustrators and designers set up by ex-UWE students, is just one of many grassroots initiatives among Bristol’s creative community. Likewise, the South West Illustrators group (known affectionately as SWILL) was formed in the early 1980s and its two-dozen or so active members regularly meet every few months in either Bath or Bristol to discuss projects and share ideas. Meanwhile, Jamaica Street Artists is a much bigger
and longer-established collective. The artist-led studio – one of the largest of its kind outside London – offers a vibrant studio space to a diverse range of artists, from illustrators to textile designers, and is committed to supporting the region’s emerging talent. Christine Hill, programme leader at UWE, believes
that group initiatives like these thrive in the South West because the region fosters a spirit of self-reliance that encourages creative endeavours. “I think people are
>
TOP Leah Heming, Fly to Bristol, acrylic and paper on canvas.
www.leah-heming.com LEFT Jamie Jones, Venue magazine (3rd year coursework at UWE).
www.whoisjamiejones.com
Artists & Illustrators 25
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84