Has anyone ever told you what actually happens after art school? The ‘are you going to be an art teacher?’ question is commonly asked by friends and family. What else is there really? This week Central Station has asked art school graduates to share what they’ve been up to since their graduation in the Life After Art School series.
My name is Kelly McGrath but I work under the name/brand KellyDawn Riot. I’m Irish but moved to Glasgow to do my MA at GSA. I’m originally from a purely printed textiles background, but have transitioned into a both a print and menswear designer in recent years. The opportunities in Glasgow have been wonderful and so I have decided to stay here as so far it’s been very kind to me.
Photography: Gabriela Silveira, Model: Bejoy Sanjeev
Since completing my MA two and a half months ago, I’ve been lucky to have had fantastic opportunities come my way quite regularly, but that’s not to say that they fell into my lap. A lot of it was days spent searching for opportunities online or going the extra mile to go out of my way to approach people.
The GSA Promenade and accompanying publicity was a launch pad as it provided great exposure for me. I was featured alongside two other classmates on The Herald and on the college website. From this, I was contacted and offered two photoshoots, one for an online retailer, and the other for GUM magazine. Following this, GUM offered me the main space for a fashion show at their launch event in December.
I think it’s important that if you meet like-minded creative people that you keep in contact and network as much as possible. There’s a lot of people who want to collaborate with other creatives and the photoshoots I have on my website were the result of this. Gabriela Silveira Photography and Bejoy Sanjeev were two people who really just wanted to get involved and be creative and I think you can see that in the shoot.
Since finishing college, I have ensured that a large portion of my time was spent entering both large and small competitions. Although it’s sometimes incredibly disappointing not to win or to hear that they don’t want you, it’s good to see who wins and what their website or CV looks like so that you can better yourself and improve on things (like your website, like I did).
However I have recently been awarded The New Talent Award for Scotland Re:Designed which was an exhilarating experience. It has provided me with fabric, funding and a mentor which is more than I could have asked for. From this, I was offered a fashion show with Glasgow University and have had the most amazing feedback and compliments from various creatives such as the director of Grazia and the director of Victoria Beckham.
If I had any advice it would be to network constantly and to research, research, research.
Comment below or on Twitter using #LifeAfterArtSchool & mentioning @CenSta with your experience after art school.
Stay tuned for updates from art school graduates all this week. In the meantime see a preview of what to expect from the Life After Art School features here.
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