Uni’s National Art & Design Saturday Club celebrity masterclasses
Artist Ashley Jackson coaches students at the Saturday Art Club which took place at the University's School of Art, Design and Architecture.
Fri, 13 Mar 2015 01:00:00 GMT
Artist Ashley Jackson and designer Assa Ashuach guide the next generation of artists and designers
A CELEBRATED artist and a world-renowned designer share the secrets of their trade to promising teenage artists this month at the University of Huddersfield.
Yorkshire artist Ashley Jackson and leading London designer Assa Ashuach will help local budding teenage artists to explore their creative side at the University’s National Art and Design Saturday Art Club, one of a network of Saturday Clubs set up around the UK by The Sorrell Foundation.
The Foundation, led by Sir John and Lady Frances Sorrell created the Saturday Clubs to teach and encourage art and design among teenagers. Lady Frances and Sir John both attended the original government-backed Saturday Clubs in their teens, inspiring them to study art and design and then launch what became one of Europe’s largest and most successful design agencies.
The University of Huddersfield’s Saturday Clubs have been running for the past three years and the six-month programme, which is supervised by University staff and students, also includes field trips to museums and galleries and welcomes masterclasses by leading artists and designers, like Assa Ashuach and Ashley Jackson.
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Celebrity masterclasses are an important part of the Saturday Art Club as Lady Frances Sorrell explained in an interview with the University of Huddersfield last year when she described how the clubs work with a diverse range of professional practitioners from artists to architects. Lady Sorrell referred to the benefits of the Saturday Club including how the students gain confidence and have the opportunity to discover what they are passionate about.
Huddersfield artist and Honorary Doctorate of the University of Huddersfield, Ashley Jackson ran his masterclass on Saturday 7 March. Since opening his first gallery in 1963, Ashley has become one of the country’s leading and most successful watercolourists.
During his masterclass, Ashley coached the students on life drawing and landscape skills and provided feedback on any of their own work that he had asked them to bring with them. “It has been a great privilege to share my experience as a professional artist through a masterclass at the Saturday Art Club,” said Ashley. “I hope that it will inspire the young members to grow in confidence and have the self-belief in their own creative abilities. The Saturday Art Club will provide lifelong foundations for them to become part of the next creative generation,” he added.
The next masterclass on Saturday 14 March is with Assa Ashuach who will share his work with advanced design and production technologies. Assa Ashuach’s Studio works with cutting-edge companies including Samsung, Nike and Panasonic on everything from industrial research and product design to lifestyle products such as footwear and mobile phones. 
During his masterclass, the young artists and designers will gain an insight into small batch manufacturing with first-hand product design experience, when Assa challenges them to turn a pre-prepared kit he has provided into a 3D music cover.
The Saturday Clubs have become a regular event at the University with over 30 schools taking part and welcoming over 100 14 to 16-year-olds.
Joint founder of the Saturday Club, Sir John Sorrell (pictured left), welcomed the lead taken by the University: “We are delighted that the University of Huddersfield is part of the National Art & Design Saturday Club network,” he said. “The Club is now in its sixth year and is running in 41 locations throughout the UK. The idea is to help young people gain new skills in art and design, to grow in confidence and self-esteem and to be able to make informed choices about further study and careers in the creative industries.
“Huddersfield joined the network three years ago and has brought great energy and enterprise to their Club, recruiting young people from very different backgrounds and introducing them to a huge range of art, craft and design disciplines that they can’t access at school. We hope that the Saturday Club at Huddersfield continues to go from strength to strength, providing inspiration for the next creative generation.”
