Preston’s university helping teenagers achieve art ambitions

Labaina Himid, Peter Lloyd, Robin Fanner and Chloe Mason with the student ambassadors.

This week, The Saturday Club’s art exhibition was opened by a Turner Prize Winner.

The Club, a free weekly class for those aged 13-16, is run by the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).

It gives youngsters a space to be creative and get a taste of what it is like to study art-related subjects after leaving school.

The exhibition gave those a chance to showcase their hard work to friends and family during an evening full of praise.

Family and friends of the young artists attended the exhibition.

Lubaina Himid CBE, winner of the Turner Prize in 2017, and described as a “friend of the art school” opened the exhibition on 21 March at UCLan’s PR1 Gallery.

She said: “I am really proud to open this exhibition.

“Fifty-five years ago I went to a Saturday morning art class every week. The best thing about it was unlike being at school and home, going to the art class I didn’t think I was being taught anything.

“You didn’t feel it was a lesson, you thought you were exchanging ideas, information and experiencing things for the first time.

“This kind of organisation encourages you to bring yourself to the class.”

The message of the evening was that The Saturday Club is an essential place for students to bring their ideas and connect with people who are like themselves.

One young artist said: “I have created pieces of art that explore my identity.

“Through making boxes and 3D heads I am expressing what goes on in my mind, happy and sad.”

Classes are run by Robin Fanner, an art teacher at UCLan responsible for the drawn and made work, whilst Chloe Mason, a textiles student herself teaches the textiles and design side.

Peter Lloyd, Dean of the School of Arts and Media at UCLan, had nothing but praise after being amazed at what the Club had to offer when he joined the university only a year ago.

Peter said: “There’s some amazing work on the walls, young people being exposed to different ways of working, different techniques, mediums and ways of thinking, which is so limited in schools at the moment I think.

“It’s also about the people you meet. Saturday Art Club is about like-minded people coming together and understanding that they’re not on their own or as weird as they thought they were.

“Art club is amazing at that.”

The Saturday Club has been running since 2019, seeing hundreds of school children who have an interest in art and design.

The Club will be hosting another art show in the summertime, over the weekend of the 13-14 of July.

You can find out more information on their website.

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