UCM Art, Design & Music Students Selected for UK National Exhibition

Three students from University College Isle of Man’s (UCM) Art, Design and Music department have been selected for a national exhibition in the UK.

The Origins Creatives is an annual exhibition organised by the University of the Arts London (UAL) which celebrated student creativity and hard work across Art, Design, Fashion, Creative Media and Music.   

The exhibition includes around 150 pieces of work from students from across the Unites Kingdom, three of which, this year, will be from UCM.

The three selected pieces of work are from Ewan Travers and Belle Kewley, who study Level 3 Music Performance and Production, and Iryna Semenenko who studies the Level 3 Diploma in Art and Design.

Liza Nicholson, acting Head for the Creative and Leisure Industries faculty, said: ‘We are incredibly proud to have three of our students selected for this year’s Origins Creatives Exhibition in London. Their success is a testament to the exceptional talent and dedication of our learners here at UCM. A huge congratulations to them for their hard work and achievement.’

Iryna, who is originally from the Ukraine, featured elements from the Ukrainian culture in Samchykivka painting style (a Ukrainian technique) to portray her memories of a bright and happy childhood. As they look further into the piece, exhibition visitors will see thought provoking quotes which represent her thoughts and concerns about the war.

Ewan created an EP (Extended Play) of deeply personal 5 tracks which he wrote, recorded and produced. Ewan is also a performer who, having been able to ‘…just play a little guitar’ at the start of the Level 3 course, has already been invited to play internationally as the lead singer and guitarist of his band ‘Smoking Fingers’ and is working hard to continue this success into the future.

Finally, Belle’s work showcases a sample of their Final Major Project portfolio which included a western, a nightclub scene and music for a video game that were commissioned by various media and theatre professionals. Belle has been developing their compositional skills over the course of the Level 3 Music Performance and Production qualification and has been accepted onto a University Degree course in September to continue their composition and production studies.

Last year the exhibition was attended by more than 2,500.

Iryna Semenenko

Iryna Semenenko

Ewan Travers.

Ewan Travers

Belle Kewley

Belle Kewley