Chantelle is a Fine Art student.
As a prospective student, did you have a walk around the building?
Oh yeah, they took us on a massive tour. I loved the fine art spaces – they’re the right size for you to do your work. You’re not limited to doing small, you can do big if you want to. The building is good for that. And the spaces change each year because these walls and boards are moveable.
What was your first impression of the building in general?
I liked it, it felt spacious. I’d been to other universities and they felt quite isolated. Whereas here, if you get fed up, you just go for a walk. You’re not trapped in one little space.
Do you do that quite often, just go for a walk?
Yeah. If my work gets too much for me, I’ll just go and make a cup of tea or I’ll go to someone else’s space and look at their work. That’s good, the building sort of forces you to go and look at other people’s work and you get more ideas.
How do you feel when you come into the building?
As soon as I walk in here, it’s just like being at home. You can be yourself. You can make stupid noises, play whatever music you want, and you’re just accepted for who you are. I’ll miss it when I’m gone.
Do you spend a lot of time here?
I spend hours here. I can come in at nine in the morning and I won’t leave until about eight/nine o’clock. I’m not just a little hobbit, you’ve constantly got to be making, there’s so much to do.
And is any of that time spent socialising?
Our year is like a little family. There are older ones, younger ones, and we all get on. You can just walk around and go, ‘Hiya, are you alright? Do you want a cup of tea? I’m putting the kettle on’. We usually have a certain time every day when we move the table and get the chairs around to have a chat or have dinner.
Do you feel like you’ve got good access to your tutors here?
Oh yeah, we see the tutors a lot. You can usually hear them about, they’re always there if you need them. I came here because of the tutor support.