I am an Anthropological Future Designer. Studying contemporary and historical behaviors to design future scenarios, products, and systems. Solving problems, starting with us. I specialize in creating future narratives from a spectrum of viewpoints, with a large focus on class and education.My discipline of Anthropological Futures was one I forged myself throughout my less than conventional MA. When told by a leading postgraduate institution that I needed £40,000 to fund my way through a Masters course, I - like thousands of other students in the UK - was priced out of education. So, I decided to design my own. I contacted leading designers; Thomas Thwaites, Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg, Seetal Solanki, and Room Y, with a request for briefs, whilst simultaneously growing a support network of mentors and peers to help me along the way. As the founder of M.Y.O.M., I am currently in the process of making this learning system a viable alternative for others, alongside developing my own practice as an Anthropological Future Designer.
Work history
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Artist in ResidenceSelfridges creative
7 Picton Pl, Marylebone, London W1U 1BN, UKFreelance
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FounderMake Your Own Masters
London, United KingdomFreelance
Make Your Own Masters is an alternative art and design education experiment. An independent learning system sourced and hosted by industry that aims to tackle the lack of access to postgraduate education in the UK.
Art education in the UK is still a luxury. With a price tag of around £40,000 to attend and live in London (as quoted by leading London institutions). This level of education is vital for many careers in the arts, with most industry leaders holding claim to it, yet only 10% of the population can afford an MA education. These financial and albeit bias restrictions actively deny some of our brightest potential, and in the year of 2019 why are we still having conversations about institutional education being a privilege.
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Education
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Anthropological Future DesignMYOM
- London, United Kingdom
I decided to apply for an MA, but found the reality was I couldn’t afford one. It is evident that very real barriers still exist and that the issue is growing greater.I needed to live in London, have significant financial family support and/or £40,000 in savings (as quoted by a leading London institution).
So, I simply did not get that opportunity. There’s a lot of people like me.
So I decided that if I couldn’t afford to buy an education - and my pathway to work - I would MAKE one for myself.
I began by approaching industry leaders whose work I loved and proposed the idea of MYOM. I asked them to set me briefs from which I could learn from and specialise in - and to what is still probably my greatest surprise - every one of them replied with a resounding yes. It was clear they too felt art education was due a shake up.
I knew that I could not depend solely on these briefers to give me month's worth of tutoring around their busy schedules, so I decided to develop a network of mentors that ran alongside. These mentors were industry professionals that I could lean on for general support and advice.
Finally, I knew that the biggest missing piece in my unique MA would be my peers. So I worked to build a network of young professionals, of a similar age to myself, from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds, to help me structure the course and be my first port of call throughout the year.
In conclusion, I wanted to learn and better understand the industry I was trying to break into. I wanted to specialise in a particular field with a portfolio that I’d be excited to share. But most importantly, I wanted to create opportunities for myself that I wouldn’t have had access to in a conventional way.
BA Graphic DesignKingston School of Art
- Kingston upon Thames, United Kingdom
1st Class BA Hons
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