Communities Newsletter - December Edition 2022

Sabbatical Officer Statement: UCU Strikes

Read our statement in support of UCU strike action.

Meet the 2023 Xhibit Cohort

Our artists for this year's Xhibit have been announced!

Period Poverty: Campaign Update

The latest from our campaign with CSM Changemakers and UAL.

No Cops on Campus: Where do we go from here?

Arts SU By-Elections 2022: The Results

See all the results of the Arts SU By-Elections 2022.

UCU Strike Action

UAL will experience industrial action later in November - read our short article to understand what this means and what the impact may be for students and study.

Arts SU Policy Digest: October 2022

Read about policy news and updates this month.

Black History Month Support

Resources for any student who needs support during BHM and beyond

Winter Break : Well-being Support & Guidance

We've put together information on wellbeing support, guidance and links to resources you can access over the winter break.

Officer Statement: Met Police Safety Workshops at UAL

We are deeply disappointed that UAL have invited the Metropolitan Police Service onto our campuses, and we strongly oppose their presence. Read our full statement.

Xhibit 2023; meet the selection panel - Minna Ellis

Xhibit 2023: meet the selection panel - Tim A Shaw

Over the next few weeks, we'll be taking the time to meet our 2023 Xhibit panel.

Sports and Societies Memberships: Now Free!

Great news: thanks to funding from UAL, sports and societies memberships are free!

Officer Tips: Outdoor Spaces

London is, of course, a huge city, but there are still many wonderful green spaces/ river walks that are easily accessible. You won’t need a car to feel like you’re out of the city!

Officer Tips: Transport

As a UAL student you will likely be spending several hours a week travelling and more so if you are a commuter student. It is not advised for students to drive around London for money, practical and climate issues.

Arts SU Policy Digest: September 2022

UAL, Higher Education, and Politics policy updates from Arts SU for September 2022.

Officer Tips: Health

This guide is to inform students of services outside of University that they can access. Some are UK-wide and some are specific to London.

Officer Tips: Cultural Spots

London is famous for its art and music scene. The following guide covers some tips on discounts to access these spaces for lower costs and some options for galleries and museums, cinemas, theatres and live music.

Arts SU Response to NSS Consultation

The Arts SU Policy and Sabbatical Officer teams have responded to a government consultation on proposed changes to the National Student Survey (NSS).

Welcome Week 2022: A London Guide

Below we’ve gathered some of the best student events in London that’ll blow your mind, help you make a friend or two, and leave you with memories that’ll put a smile on your face when you think back to them!

Officer Statement: Queen Elizabeth

Officer Statement: Roe v. Wade

In light of the overturning of Roe vs Wade in the United States, we want to make clear that we are strongly against this decision, and will support any student who may be affected by it.

Welcome 2022

We're excited to put on some great evening events and of course, the Welcome Fair once again this year!

Graduation Prints 2022

To celebrate this year’s graduation shows, we commissioned two student artists to create a celebratory piece of artwork to mark the occasion. Shop the pieces today!

Energy Crisis- Advice for Students

The cost of living crisis is hitting students particularly hard. The good news - the government have offered some rebate schemes to help households with their bills, and some of these apply to students, sometimes even if you're not directly paying energy bills.
Although the picture is a little muddy, we have put together some basic facts that may help you find out if you are eligible.

Officer Campaigns Round-Up 2021/2022

Your outgoing Officer team 2021-2022 reflect on the campaigns and work they have led this year to drive positive change to your student experience at UAL.

Arts Awards 2022: Winners & Nominees

Find out who won in this years Arts Awards 2022 .

The Net Gallery scans Xhibit 2022

We are pleased to announce for 2022 that Arts SU have collaborated with The Net Gallery to provide an exclusive 3D virtual scan of the exhibition.

Professor David Crow: our condolences

UAL-UCU Boycott Update

We are pleased to announce that UAL-UCU has agreed to end the Marking and Assessment Boycott after constructive talks with UAL, as announced in a joint statement to staff.

UCU Marking Boycott

UCU acknowledges that the current arrangement of Higher Education will have negative consequences for students, and wants to work with students in applying pressure to management to ensure that we can work together to resolve UCU’s dispute as swiftly as possible.

Introduction to Blender with Cécile Barouk

A write-up of our student initiated workshop as part of our Art + Tech series programmed by the Arts Programme team. This workshop was a collaboration with UAL's Creative Computing Institute.

Arts SU Responds to HE Reforms Consultation

We've addressed and responded to the government consultation on higher education reforms and hope that our comments to the consultation are taken into consideration.

Xhibit Professional Development Day 2022

The Xhibit Professional Development Day aims to bring together a collective of industry professionals to discuss their practice, troubleshoot and answer questions from students. Programmed as a response to requests made by Xhibit selected artists - the day utilises the students as a unique focus group to locate subjects, themes and ideas of relevance.

Sports Clubs End of Season Roundup

Campaigns Round Up: Term 2

It’s official – we’ve made it to the end of Term 2, and the sun has come out to celebrate!

Varsity Victory

UAL win the Arts Cup 2022 against Goldsmith's at the #ReturnOfTheGames!

Leadership Elections: The Results

After a week of campaigning for your votes, we were pleased to announce the winners of this year's Leadership Elections!

Metro Imaging Mentorship Experience

We caught up with Rosie Haynes, a 2020 Central Saint Martins graduate to hear about her experiences of the mentorship with Metro Imaging’s Creative Director Steve Macleod.

Ukraine Conflict

Arts SU are saddened by the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. We recognise that this situation may affect many in our community of students in different ways.

Xhibit 2022 artists announced

Arts SU is proud to announce the 2022 selection for Xhibit, our annual open call exhibition!

Arts Awards 2022

Crits and Inclusive Learning at UAL

Increase in Spiking Incidents in London

As your Students’ Union we wanted to reiterate that student welfare and safety is of the utmost importance to us and we aim to support you to have the best experiences at university, but also to ensure you feel safe and supported if things do go wrong.

Sarah Everard

Trigger Warning: Harassment & Death

Black History Month 2021

Through Black History Month and “Looking Forward”, we celebrate the culture, creativity and resilience of our Black students. Click to find out more on how you can get involved in our exhibitions and events as well our all-year-round work and student-led initiatives.

The Big Question

Share your thoughts on your student experience and you could win one of our 5 levels of prizes!

Blueprint Bar

That's right, on Tuesdays and Fridays, our Blueprint Café is becoming a Bar!

Creative Education Cuts Statement

"We firmly believe that creative arts education should not only be accessible to the elite class."

Officer Legacy: Yasmeen

Our outgoing Campaigns Officer, Yasmeen, shares the highlights of her year in office.

Officer Legacy: Eleanor

Our outgoing Activities Officer, Eleanor, shares the highlights of their year in office.

Officer Legacy: Dylan

Our outgoing Education Officer, Dylan, shares the highlights of his year in office.

Officer Legacy: Pinky

Our outgoing Welfare Officer, Pinky, shares the highlights of her year in office.

We Stand Proudly with Palestine

Arts SU stands in solidarity with Palestinian communities and condemns the violence carried out by the state of Israel.

An insight from a Student Arts Programmer at Arts SU

UAL's Race Equality Charter

This time of year, we see so many surveys, and we feel you - it is exhausting! BUT, this is one you should not let slide by!

Ramadan Mubarak to our Muslim Community at UAL!

We want to make sure our Muslim students feel supported during this holy month. In this article, you can find some information and resources which we hope will help students participating in Ramadan during this time.

Hate Speech is not Free Speech

If discrimination is #NEVEROK, UAL should demonstrate this instead of hiding behind performative activism and hashtags.

LGBTQ+ History Month 2021

Join Arts SU in celebrating LGBTQ+ History Month! We are committed to making sure that your experience at UAL as and LGBTQIA+ person is the best it can be, and to help our allies understand why we do this every year. You can find out more here. Around this year's theme of ‘Body, Mind, Spirit’, throughout February we will offer you a series of talks, workshops, artist showcases, and opportunities to have your voices heard and your work seen and celebrated.

Democracy Review

This year, we are conducting a review of our democratic processes to find out what you want democracy at Arts SU to look like, and to make it easier for you to get involved with our projects.

Annual Members Meeting 2020

All UAL students are invited to our Annual Members Meeting on the Monday 30th November, 4-5.30pm. Register your attendance now.

Creative Manifesto