Students to benefit from Kent-ICA partnership

A new affiliate partnership between the University of Kent and the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London will provide extensive educational benefits and opportunities for Kent students and staff.

Held jointly between the ICA and the University's School of Arts and School of English, it is expected that it will lead to a range of opportunities such as a joint MA, internships, professional practice projects for PhD students, a student-curated film 'festival', and ICA practice-based talks and gallery visits.

A major component of the partnership will be, for the School of English, free membership of the ICA for one year for all incoming under- and post-graduates, while 500 students at the School of Arts will benefit from the same. The membership will enable Kent students to interact with students from other institutions, attend and network through private views for members, and use the members-only studio facilities.

The partnership was launched at the ICA on 21 June by Professor Dame Julia M Goodfellow, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kent, and Alison Myners, Chair of the ICA Council. Other speakers and guests included Executive Director of the ICA Gregor Muir and its Managing Director Karen Turner, alongside Kent's Sarah Turner, Senior Lecturer in Fine Art, Dr Paul Fretwell, Director of Music and Audio Arts, Dr Nicola Shaughnessy, Senior Lecturer in Drama and Theatre Studies, and Dr Caroline Rooney, Reader in English and American Literature.

Professor Peter Brown, Head of the University's School of English, said: 'I am pleased that the School has become part of such an exciting, creative and productive partnership. It is also one that will enable students to engage with one of the UK's flagship arts institutions at an important period in their lives.'

Dr Jonathan Friday, Head of its School of Arts, added: 'With a predominantly young audience and strong student representation, the ICA is in a unique position amongst other contemporary arts venues in London and as such is an ideal partner for Kent. It will provide our students with extensive learning and development opportunities, as well as further underlining the School's position as a leading educator in the contemporary arts. This is also an important development for the School that perfectly complements our existing programmes of study, and in particular provides a perfect partner for the expansion of music and fine art programmes on the University's Medway campus.'

Professor Karl Leydecker, Dean of Kent's Faculty of Humanities, commented: 'This new partnership reflects the levels of innovation and creativity associated with the Humanities at Kent. I look forward to an exciting programme of future events and the many benefits it will bring.'

Contact: pressoffice@kent.ac.uk

Story published at 11:11am 25 June 2012