A burgeoning music and arts festival which has become a platform for some of the UK’s hottest acts has teamed-up with De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) to offer students outstanding experiences both front and back stage.
LEAP YEAR: Japanese band Bo Ningen perform at Handmade 2015
DMU is one of the main sponsors of Handmade 2016, billed as three days of the finest music, comedy, art, film, performance and photography "hand-picked and carefully curated" by Leicester’s independent venues and promoters.
Thanks to the partnership between Handmade and DMU, students from the Faculty of Art, Design and Humanities will be offered amazing opportunities to put their stamp on the event, which takes place between Friday 29 April and Sunday 1 May and is expected to attract a weekend audience of thousands with headlining acts such as We Are Scientists, Deaf Havana and Swim Deep.
Placements, which students are currently being selected for, are for an Arts Assistant, Photography Assistant and Marketing assistants. Current DMU Fine Art and Video & Photography students are being offered paid opportunities to produce a display of work which will be projected within the venues for festival-goers to see, while DMU Fine Art and Photography & Video graduates can apply for a £300 bursary to create work for the festival.
Demon Media, De Montfort Student’s Union’s media group, is curating its own stage to showcase the best rising talent from the university and further afield.
Ben Carpenter, DMU’s Head of Fine Art, has worked with one of the festival curators John Helps, from the band Maybeshewill, to make the placements possible.
John, whose band is currently touring the USA and Europe, was a graduate from DMU’s Music Technology and Innovation department in 2006.
He said: “It makes total sense to the festival to involve DMU. The university has always had a reputation for its creativity in everything from music and fashion to fine art and photography, so we are delighted to have students on board contributing to a festival which is all about being fresh and imaginative.
“The roles working within the festival are varied so students from different disciplines in art, design and humanities can put what they have learned into practice. The idea is they not only have a brilliant time learning all the ins and outs and ups and downs of putting on a big festival but come away better prepared to make their mark in their chosen industry.”
Ben said: “These are superb opportunities for our students to be part of a really exciting festival which is all about showcasing the best new music and art in an imaginative and inspirational way. At DMU we know how important it is for students to get hands-on experience in a challenging and exciting way. Our partnership with Handmade is helping them to do that. I’m really looking forward to seeing the contribution they make to a great event here in Leicester.”
The Handmade Festival will take place in venues within the 02 Academy Leicester.
Posted on Thursday 3 March 2016