Kipenzi Thomas is a recipient of the Norman Sayle Bursary for Visual Art and Literature which was awarded to her by the Isle of Man Arts Council in 2019. Awarded to students moving into or currently in further or higher education, the award is worth £10,000 over the duration of a course. Kipenzi has used her award to attend the Manchester Metropolitan University to study for a BA (Hons) degree in Fashion and Technology (Menswear).
Now in her second year, it is fair to say that, like so many other students, Kipenzi's studies have been disrupted by the pandemic. Students across the globe have had to face multiple challenges as well as had to adapt to huge changes in the way their courses are being taught. What follows is an update in Kipenzi's own words about how her second year has been going amidst pandemic and all the associated challenges it has presented.
Lockdown was quite a worrying time however our teachers were very swift when it came to moving our learning online. Although this meant taking out important aspects such as patterns and Gerber, our teachers made sure we had access to suitable software and resources to aid us in our learning.
So far the second year has been really good. Now that we have switched to online learning, the teachers have been very supportive and helpful in terms of our professional development. Focusing on how we can enter the industry and sell ourselves as potential candidates for jobs within the industry that we will go on to embark on in our sandwich year. Although studying an art based course has been difficult, my university has still found ways to keep us engaged and fully up to date with changes within on-campus based learning as well as support, preparation and advice for venturing off into the industry as well as introducing to the software Clo3d - A 3D design software that help produce virtual garments and at the same time eliminating waste.
This has probably been the highlight of the course so far. Being on campus is something that many art students around the UK have been looking forward as there are so many limitations on what we can produce, learn and build on away from this setting. After completing my first unit, which got us to engage more with our aspirations and ideas about our future, we really got a feel for the interview process and what areas we must focus on in order to get our foot in the industry. We discovered that there are many paths available to us post-graduation which has been really eye opening, especially in a time where many opportunities may seem unavailable.
In January, we embarked on our second project. Although it has been taught and must be submitted online, our teachers have encouraged us to go down the traditional route of producing a physical garment. This has been challenging when we are also being encouraged to make the most out of the online learning through Clo3d sessions to get us up to scratch with the latest technologies being incorporated in fashion. For my theme, I didn't want to focus on current events. Instead I chose to focus on nostalgia as I believed this would be uplifting so my project has been based on ‘Cool Britannia’, a brief period within the 90s that saw British take pride in the culture of the time. Looking back at the 90s has been a really engaging journey as it has allowed us to explore films and music of the time to take forth and finally develop into a final garment. Although this year has been completely chaotic (to say the least!) I will say that spending time with family and friends whilst working from the comfort of my home has really helped me become more appreciative of life on the island.
