Illustration by Ben Aslett (Just Us Alumni)

Set up in 2009 by three final year graphic design students, with the aim of promoting the work of and aiding young creatives in making that giant leap from student living to working life – the collective is now run by freelance designer/illustrator Mark Grant.

Each year Just Us changes its collective members, bringing in new young creatives, working with them over the course of the year and giving them opportunities that will help for when they graduate. Previous members of the Collective form the Just Us Alumni and are called on occasionally for live briefs and projects.

Illustration by David Biskup

“From the outset our aim was to showcase young and emerging creative talent from universities and colleges across the UK – through exhibitions, live projects and online presence. We wanted to give students the confidence to network with industry creatives, whilst encouraging integration; boosting communication and collaboration.”

Illustration by Mariana Labao

The Just Us website also has a blog which is a place where you will find the latest news, events, and goings on from the collective and alumni, coupled with inspiration and anything we find interesting; providing a helpful resource for designers and illustrators alike.

Over the course of the years Just Us has worked on a number of projects from desktop wallpaper projects with art & culture blog Kitsune Noir (now The Fox is Black) to tent designs for Field Candy.

No Hats Indoors by Jamie Jones – Just Us x Evermade ‘London Etiquette’ project

This year the Just Us Collective had a project with Evermade.com in which 3 designs were chosen and produced for sale online and around various locations in London.

At the start of August the Just Us Collective will be exhibiting at Beach, London in Shoreditch. Titled ‘Pick & Mix’ the show will feature a mix of some of the collective’s latest work. See here for more details.

Pick & Mix is a collective exhibition from members of the Just Us Collective

Look out for ‘Just Us Editions’ in the near future, featuring a series of t-shirts and prints from members of the Just Us Alumni made available online through the Just Us Shop.

KKareer Centre, a Just Us Collective exhibition at KK Outlet, Hoxton Square (July 2009)

If you would like to be a member of the Just Us Collective next year and will be studying during 2012/13, keep posted in September for information.

Find Out More:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr | Pick and Mix

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See here for more Collectives featured on Central Station.
Contact us to talk about a feature for your Collective.

To add something special, each day in February 2010 there was a blog from selected members that explored a different aspect of where sound, music and creativity meet. The end result was a series of discourse by various different artists who use and/or appreciate sound & audio in different ways.

The organiser of the series, Emlyn Firth, compiled a daily list linking to each blog so that you could catch up on what they may have missed. To say thank you again to everyone to participated, and to give anyone who missed it a chance to comment and discuss, we thought we’d give it another spin.

And so we give you, Mix-Blog [Intro]. Enjoy.

You can also see each Mix-Blog listed here.

Got a blog about sound/audio/music that you want to tell us about? Feel Free to add a note & link in the comments below.

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Like a classic film or piece of art, one viewing just isn’t enough. Encore is about revisiting much loved creative blogs that are definitely worth a second look.

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Want to see more special events we’ve had in the past? Browse through our Partner Projects.

Grab your calendar and take notes as we bring you our Top 5 Central Station during GI2012:

Everything Flows
Patricial Fleming Projects
Patricia Fleming Projects presents ‘Everything Flows‘ Glasgow Artists/Musicians. Their Art and Recordings 1990 – 2010. This limited edition EP will comprise a selection of the outstanding ‘experimental art into music and performance’ scene growing from the Glasgow visual art sector over the last twenty years. The EP will present artists, their music and musical influences together for the first time.
20 Apr – 5 May | Tue – Sun, 2.30 – 6.30pm | Queens Park Railway Club

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The Mutual Charter
A campaign-style build up of events and online content as marked the progress of 14 simultaneous international projects created by members of The Mutual: an artists’ co-operative comprised of more than 150 early career creative practitioners. These projects will surface throughout the festival at various public and private venues and will be united in a publication launched at the end of the festival.
20 Apr – 7 May | see site for details

Keep an eye out for Packing And Mourning, a project by Penny Anderson, Eija Hirvonen, Shelton Walker and Youngjoo Yoo, previously featured on the site. You can see it at St Judes Hotel. Here’s the listing.

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RECORD STORE
For World Record Store Day 2012 (21st April) and to coincide with GI (Glasgow International Festival of Visual Arts), Monorail Records will be hosting an exhibition curated by visual artists Chris Biddlecombe and Janie Nicoll. This installation is the result of a collaborative project involving the creation of approximately twenty record cover artworks created by a wide range of Scottish artists, each of whom have a strong interest in or connection to music making; artists who have been in bands, who DJ, or who use music as a theme in their art making practice.
20 Apr -  May | Monorail Records
[Preview: 19 April | 6 - 8pm | Monorail Records]

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Field Office
An exhibition by first year Masters students from Valand School of Fine Arts, Gothenburg, Sweden. Field Office combines a space for showing work and a place for doing work. With an understanding of a field office functioning as an outpost for a series of explorations, conducted as fieldwork within the city, it serves as platform for a series of individual and collaborative art works and events, surveying, passing through and engaging with Glasgow. Coinciding with the Glasgow International Festival, the project connects with this event while also extending into Glasgow’s local art scene.
26th Apr – 7 May | see site for times | Repositioned
[Opening night 25 April - DJ set from Belle and Sebastian]

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Nothing About Us Without Us Is For Us
A public art event using obsolete technology to hurl language across Glasgow’s river Clyde. Led by Matt Baker & t s Beall, as part of Glasgow International Festival Visual Art 2012. It’s described as a sort of action / happening / community celebration / anti-festival. It is preceded by lots of workshops and tours that involve different groups of folk and institutions in and around Govan. There are around 20 workshops and events in total – some of which are organised for specific groups, and others which are open to the public. See the individual event listings here.
20 Apr – 1 May | See site for specific events | Around Govan

Tell us about any shows, exhibitions, gigs, things of interest that you have on during GI 2012. It doesn’t have to be on the “official” GI2012 programme to grab our attention.

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See more Top 5′s selected from the network here.

Since its inception in 1993 – formed in response to what was seen as a cultural vacuum – the gallery continues to be run by a group of voluntary directors on a two-year rolling basis. Through its dynamic and challenging programming Catalyst supports young and emerging local talent, often showcasing new names alongside established and international artists. Over the years Catalyst has continually promoted contemporary art practices in Belfast, and serves as a training ground for artists, curators and arts administrators.

Catalyst Arts is a non-profit organisation supported by a large members base and holds an annual member’s show, giving all its members a chance to showcase their work in the gallery.

Upcoming exhibitions:

Vicinity
22nd March – 13th April 2012
Vicinity is a group exhibition investigating temporary, adaptable and
transitory methods for exploring Belfast city. Artists will work in an
engaged manner, using the mile radius of the gallery as a starting
point to make new work in the gallery and at off-site locations.

The gallery is situated at 5 College Court, Belfast BT1 6BS and opens Tuesday to Saturday, 11am – 5pm.

For more details about past, present and future exhibitions and opportunities, or to become a member, please visit Catalyst website or visit the gallery on Facebook.

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From time to time we feature galleries and spaces that showcase & encourage grassroots artists. Brows through more of our Featured Venues.
Contact us to talk about a feature on your venue.