Young Brummies to craft creative futures

University News Last updated 01 February 2023

BCU will be hosting a 16 week Craft & Making Saturday Club

Birmingham City University (BCU) in partnership with the National Saturday Club (NSC) is launching a Craft & Making Saturday Club - Re:Run - offering young Brummies' opportunities to develop their creativity and explore the world of craft and craftsmanship.

School of Fashion & Textiles

Birmingham City University

The 16-week programme, tailored to 13-16 year-olds from schools in Birmingham, begins on Saturday 4 February and will be hosted at both the Parkside Building on BCU’s City Centre campus and the renowned BCU School of Jewellery, located in the heart of the city’s historic Jewellery Quarter.

Each week, Club members will understand how craft and making-based skills can lead to rewarding careers, with the Club providing an insight into the future possibilities and professional opportunities open to them within the craft, fashion and design industries.

I am delighted that BCU has joined the National Saturday Club (NSC) initiative. We will be providing young aspiring creatives access to our amazing facilities to inspire them as future artists and designers.

I have hosted several NSC Masterclasses and have seen first-hand how the Club unlocks opportunities and can be life-changing. The Club targets young people who have had little access to the arts or never thought that their interest or hobby could be turned into a rewarding career.

Our staff from the School of Jewellery, Fashion & Textiles have happily volunteered their expertise in craft skills and digital outcomes. Our NSC 16-week course is bespoke and brings together a multidisciplinary approach to creative expression, the results will be showcased at London’s Somerset House in the National Saturday Club Summer Show in July 2023.

Lee Lapthorne, Head of the Birmingham Institute of Jewellery, Fashion & Textiles (BIJFT).

Every Saturday for the duration of the programme, participants will enjoy 3-hour sessions working alongside special technicians, staff, and students from BCU as they develop their own t-shirt and re-constructed trainer art, a self-portrait and digital magazine (‘zine’) that is relevant and unique to them.

I feel very fortunate to be leading this project for BCU and to have the opportunity to use the skills of fantastic staff and the facilities here to fuel these young people’s imaginations and enable trust in simple skills and community through craft and making.

By using fashion, textile, jewellery making and visual communication skills to utilise waste materials we can touch on important aspects of sustainable practice throughout the sessions.

Our aim is to inspire creativity, a powerful tool that they can use to find their voice, instill self-belief, ignite exploration, passion and self-expression through collaborative and active sessions that are supportive, enriching and ultimately fun.

Victoria Coutts, BA Fashion Branding & Communication Lecturer at BCU and Re:Run programme lead.

The programme will culminate in a special exhibition for friends and families of each Re:Run participant at BCU’s Parkside building on Saturday 1 July, as their work is showcased and celebrated at an intimate reception.

Participants will also be invited to attend the National Saturday Club’s, Summer Show exhibition at Somerset House, London on Saturday 15 July, bringing together self-portraits and other creative work from Club members up and down the country and celebrating them together.

All materials and resources along with snacks and refreshments are available free of charge for Club members as well as transport available for those wishing to attend the final exhibition at Somerset House, London.

BCU’s School of Fashion & Textiles is inspired by self-expression that enriches the development of individuals and the industry, while its School of Jewellery is the largest in Europe, internationally renowned for its specialist courses led by tutors with extensive industry experience.

BCU offers a range of interactive higher education activities and workshops, designed to enhance careers and progression education for primary and secondary-level students.

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