<p dir="ltr"><strong><a href="https://www.instagram.com/samanthajones_mixedmedia/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Samantha Jones</a> - BA (Hons) 3D Design Crafts</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Every year, Arts University Plymouth’s Board of Governors speak to expert academics and tour the Summer Shows to highlight and celebrate the outstanding achievement of a student who has produced outstanding work while also overcoming obstacles to educational achievement.</p> <p dir="ltr">The winner of this year’s undergraduate Board of Governors Award is BA (Hons) 3D Design Crafts (now <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/ba-hons-craft-material-practices">BA (Hons) Craft &amp; Material Practices</a>) student Samantha Jones.<br /></p>

<p dir="ltr">Samantha Jones is a conceptual artist working in mixed media, with a strong focus on thanatology. Her site-specific work with metal, textiles, weaving, wire manipulation and glass is informed by the area and people around it, using light and shadows to emphasise the ephemerality and fragility of life.</p> <p dir="ltr">Her final major project at Arts University Plymouth, ‘Stand Sure’, acts as a research-led memorial to her deceased father, consisting of a series of rectangular empty vessels that hold 72-metres of coiled steel wire equivalent to his life span. The empty vessels diminish in size to represent the DNA link from father to daughter, to grandchildren, with shadows acting as the ephemeral link between father and those left behind. The steel wire has been crocheted with yarn to capture the colours of the Cairngorms mountains, an area in Scotland that her father originated from.</p>

<p dir="ltr">Sue Brownlow, Chair of Governors for Arts University Plymouth, said: “We found Samantha’s installation to be so exciting when we saw it that it made us want to know more. The installation looks incredibly tactile without being intrusive within the landscape. In fact, it appeared to be part of its surroundings, which made it particularly striking.<br /></p> <p dir="ltr">“Academics who have worked with Samantha told us that she has consistently produced excellent, thought-provoking and ambitious work, always approaching her studies with enthusiasm, passion and professionalism. They also made a point of highlighting Samantha’s love of research and extreme resilience. Congratulations Samantha!”</p>

<p dir="ltr"><strong><a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/ba-hons-costume-production">BA (Hons) Costume Production</a> - Class of 2023</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Each year Arts University Plymouth’s Dean of Arts, Design &amp; Media usually selects an individual student to recognise work of outstanding quality, based on the quality of the final work displayed within the Summer Shows. From the Class of 2023, for the first time, the Dean has selected the entire <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/ba-hons-costume-production">BA (Hons) Costume Production</a> cohort, for a body of work that is “exceptional in every way”. The Dean’s Award 2023 goes to <a href="https://www.instagram.com/hollybarker.uk/?hl=en-gb">Holly Barker</a>, Helen Claret, Macie Dow, Maya Drake, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jack_of_all_costume/?igshid=MzNlNGNkZWQ4Mg%3D%3D">Jackie Hall</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/freyaholland.costume/?hl=en">Freya Holland</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/callinggoosecostumes/">Rosie Keen</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tmccarthyreid/">Teryl McCarthy-Reid</a>, Ellie McNulty, Willoe Miners, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sylphncosplay/?hl=en">Emma Pearson</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/megannicolecostume/?hl=en">Megan Smith</a>, and Savannah Southey.</p>

<p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/people/stephanie-owens">Associate Professor Stephanie Owens</a>, Dean of Arts, Design &amp; Media at Arts University Plymouth, said: “I have taken a new approach to the Dean’s award this year, not by intention, but because I was entirely persuaded by the outstanding quality of the work produced and displayed as I found it on my walk through the exhibitions. I feel this work has raised the bar for what we might expect from talented undergraduate students when supported to be curious, independent, confident, and critical. The body of work I would like to recognise is exceptional in every way, including in how clearly each aspect was carefully researched, developed and made. <br /></p>

<p>For this exceptional reason, I have decided to award an entire course cohort, for the remarkable achievement of every student, but equally for a course team that has provided a learning environment that has allowed for such skillful, ambitious and inspired work to emerge at the university. Congratulations to the <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/ba-hons-costume-production">BA (Hons) Costume Production</a> graduates from the Class of 2023.”</p>

<p dir="ltr"><strong><a href="https://www.instagram.com/tyroneveradesign/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tyrone Vera</a> - BA (Hons) 3D Design Crafts</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Each year the Vice-Chancellor's Commendation Awards recognises outstanding creative and academic achievement, alongside a sustained contribution to the university community, for a student who has produced high-quality work, made significant progress, and made a positive contribution to their course through excellent studentship.<br /></p>

<p>The winner of this year’s Vice Chancellor’s Commendation Award is BA (Hons) 3D Design Crafts student Tyrone Vera. Tyrone, who was born in Gibraltar, creates work that responds to the act of playing, interpreted through a variety of materials such as rubber, foam, jesmonite and fabric. His final major projects at Arts University Plymouth, ‘Play + Work = Plork’ and ‘A Playful Landscape’, explores the sensory experience of the act of play.Tyrone’s eye-catching work has already been featured by Dezeen, Aesthetica and a-n, as well as being selected as one of the <a href="https://www.newdesigners.com/new-designers-2023-directors-picks/">Director's Picks at New Designers 2023</a>.</p>

<p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/people/paul-fieldsend-danks">Professor Paul Fieldsend-Danks</a>, Vice-Chancellor &amp; Chief Executive of Arts University Plymouth, said: “Tyrone has represented his cohort as an incredibly committed Student Representative, recently winning the ‘Above and Beyond Student Representative of the Year’ award for his diligence and dedication to supporting his peers. He has also worked as a Student Ambassador throughout his studies and has promoted craft and material practices through this role. His coursework is often exemplary and he pushes his creative practice, working with unusual material combinations through the theme of play and interaction. Congratulations to Tyrone for his exemplary dedication and outstanding body of work.”</p> <p dir="ltr">If you’re interested in creative study we have options available to start in September 2023 on our <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate">Undergraduate BA (Hons) degrees</a>, our <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/level-0-extended-degrees">Extended BA</a>, our <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate">Postgraduate Masters Degrees</a> and our range of <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/courses/pre-degree">Pre-Degree</a> study options, or in <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/study/distance-learning">January 2024</a> you can enrol on one of our <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/study/distance-learning">Distance Learning</a> BA (Hons) degrees. We offer something for everyone looking to further their artistic practice, and our team are on hand to help find the course that’s right for you.</p> <p dir="ltr">Arts University Plymouth won Silver in the Small or Specialist Institution category of the Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023, the only annual awards for UK universities based entirely on student reviews, improving on its 2022 average student review score, when Arts University Plymouth won Gold. Arts University Plymouth was also voted by students as the top arts university in the UK for overall student satisfaction in the National Student Survey (NSS) 2022. With limited places still available on courses starting in Autumn 2023, <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/clearing">Clearing</a> this year opens on Wednesday 5 July.</p>