Arts University Plymouth Students’ Union is excited to announce that our members have made the longlist for several categories at The National Societies & Volunteering Awards. The NSVAs Longlist was announced on 16/05/2022 and we were over the moon to see our members had made it to not one but two categories.
Firstly, the Students' Union itself found success with one of the events hosted during LGBT History Month. The LGBTQ+ Student Work Fair, which was organised and run by the Student Union President Harriet and the LGBTQ+ Representative Fraizer made the longlist for The Event Award, which recognises brilliant, innovative events that make a difference to those who attend them.
Arts University Plymouth Students’ Union hosted an interdisciplinary student work fair, in collaboration with the LGBTQ+ Society, as part of LGBT History Month. Students from courses across the college were invited to sell their wares, in an event to help support queer artists and encourage students to support peers LGBTQ+ community. Staff, students and members of the public were invited to attend the event and purchase items to support the queer artists who hosted stalls, whilst encouraging queer artists to put themselves out there.
As well as having a huge positive impact on the LGBTQ+ community, this will now likely become a more regular event due to its popularity and the wealth of positive feedback from both those who attended and those who sold their work. Whilst there have been previous Student Work Fair events, these have not been themed, so it has an exciting opportunity to develop into a series to support various groups of students, e.g. Mature, Disabled, LGBTQ+, Ethnic Minorities, etc.
Further to this, the shortlist was announced on 25/05/2022., and we are excited to share that the LGBTQ+ Student Work Fair has made it to this alongside 4 other fantastic entries!
Photograph by Sarah Packer, Arts University Plymouth alumni
In addition to the success of the Students’ Union, two of the student-led societies also made it to the longlist of The Collaboration Award. This award recognises students of different groups or teams who worked together to collaborate and achieve something special.
The first of these longlisted societies is the Arts University Plymouth Cat Society who were nominated for their collaborative event with the University of York Cat Society. Their “Meowry Christmas” event was a collaboration between the two societies where they hosted an online film viewing, watching A Whisker Away, to bring together cat lovers from both institutions for a Christmas film screening. Both the Arts University Plymouth Cat Society and University of York Cat Society are only a couple years old and relatively small, so for them to think out of the box and collaborate with each other to bring together students from two different institutions, it is a great thing. This is the first time one of Arts University Plymouth’s student-led clubs and societies have collaborated with another club or society from another institution, so it was great for them to set this example and give other groups ideas of ways to branch out.
The second society longlisted for The Collaboration Award is the Upcycling Fashion Society, for their collaboration with local charities on the Mutley Plain Sustainable Fashion Show. Oxfam, Skekinah and Children’s Hospice South West worked together to showcase the best in sustainable fashion and raise the profile of Mutley Plain as a great second-hand shopping destination, supported by Arts University Plymouth’s Upcycling Fashion Society and Textiles students from Plymouth High School for Girls, as well as Mutley Plain Baptist Church. This event brought light to the importance of sustainable fashion and discouraged the community of Plymouth from fashion fashion, encouraging them instead to shop in the amazing charity shops on Mutley Plain. It also provided opportunities for the local community and students to get involved by volunteering to photograph the event, model or dress models, and much more. The Mayor of Plymouth, and Consort (Councillor Mrs Terri Beer and Mr Colin Beer) opened the event at Oxfam, Mutley Plain at 1pm, Saturday 26th March and then visited Shekinah and Children’s Hospice South West.
Photography by Molly Trudgeon, Journalism with Photography student at Plymouth Marjon University
Arts University Plymouth Upcycling Fashion Society members played a huge part in this event, working with the charity shops to create upcycling fashion pieces and help on the day, and other students helped by photographing the event and documenting it on social media. Volunteer models, dressers and runners all contributed their time to this sustainable fashion event. Outfits and designs were on sale after the shows in each shop, offering those who attended a chance to pick up unique fashion outfits.
Harriet Moore, Student Union President and Student Governor 2020-2022, said “I am so pleased to see three of our nominations reach the longlist of The National Societies & Volunteering Awards, beating the previous years record of two on the longlist! Our students do some amazing work both within the Arts University Plymouth community and the wider community of Plymouth, so it is always great to see this extraordinary effort recognised nationally! Good luck to everyone.”
About The National Societies & Volunteering Awards
The National Societies & Volunteering Awards celebrate societies and student volunteering in the UK. The National Societies & Volunteering Awards were created in 2020 by Organised Fun, the home for student opportunities in the UK. They are produced in partnership with the Student Volunteering Network.