Our new Spring term course timetable is now out!

Download our course programme: Courses Spring 2012

Or go to our Course page and book online

As part of The Future Jobs Trainee scheme coordinated by Weatsheaf Trust the Media Workshop have been very proud to have the assistance
of Sam Baxter. Sam has been working alongside workshop co-ordinator Martin Reid and members of Southampton’s Black Heritage group on a project for Black History week. Local residents have been meeting in a series of workshops designed to explore and commemorate their cultural history. Sam has been interviewing
members of the group about their past. Participants have been Getting Creative for Black History Month telling Sam stories about their lives before coming to England and taking up residence in Southampton. Martin has then been working with the group to explore their histories through pictures. The majority of participants are over 50 and from Caribbean descent. The pictures which they have brought with them are currently being turned into photo boxes. The boxes will consist of both words and pictures to tell each person’s individual story. The inside of the boxes will be lit up on the night of the exhibition as a glowing tribute to their pasts and future.We can’t wait to see the exhibition and would love you to come down and take a look too.

The exhibition will be on show from October at the The Workshop Gallery, Mount Pleasant Junior School.

There’s a new project going on this Summer and Autumn for the volunteers.

MW volunteers have started on what sets to be one of the workshop’s biggest exhibitions for Community workers across Southampton this September.We all know that voluntary work is out there and those of you in the charity sector know just how valuable those special people who give their time freely are. Many people may not realise how diverse voluntary opportunities are in the community and just how rewarding the experience can be. The volunteers at the workshop have spent the summer contacting many organisations
in the local area then going out into the community and taking photographs of voluntary work in action, from
hospitals to hospices, festivals to fundraising. The project has offered the volunteers invaluable experience
in the workings of a large scale project. Project Management skills are a valuable asset not to mention the experiences gained from working with so many people in the community. The photographs will then be digitally developed or hand printed in the darkroom using equipment down at the workshop, ready for their
gallery debut. The exhibition will be on show at the Media Workshop this autumn.

WANT TO GET INVOLVED?
If you would like to be showcased as part of the exhibition get in touch. There are plenty of ways The Media Workshop can help you promote your volunteers and voluntary practices. Email general@mpmw.co.uk

Amy Lyons Lead on the Volunteer Project.
Volunteer of the month Amy Lyons has been volunteering at the Media Workshop for the past 12 months.
With a background in Arts, and an undergraduate degree in Architecture underway, the Media Workshop
seemed like the ideal place to meet like minded people and become involved in the community while fulfilling
her artistic passion. Amy is currently at the forefront of the Media Workshops Volunteer Project. Read on to find out more!

The Media Workshop has held a series of art and design courses this summer including a Documentary Photography Course with Photography lecturer Paul Allen

We were pleased to welcome some familiar and unfamiliar faces to a series of photography and design courses held at the workshop this summer. This summer has boasted courses such as WordPress, glass printing, t-shirt print design, and basic digital SLR skills. Photography Lecturer Paul Allen also travelled east from his normal home of Arts University College Bournemouth to come down to the workshop to give a talk about Documentary Photography. Covering the work of many British photographers, including Martin Parr, Paul spoke creatively about the way in which photography can be used to capture everyday life, from creating the right environment, to positioning the camera for the perfect shot.

“The courses were recommended to me by a friend who’d completed a few projects at the workshop. Documentary photography has definitely been my favourite and I’ve already put some of Paul’s advice into practice!”

The question and answer session at the end of the talk was particularly helpful, giving individual inspiration
to attendees on how they could further their own photography in the community, Media Workshop newcomer Siham Hamadoui has been working voluntarily in the community with Leukaemia charity Clic Sargant. After receiving a digital SLR as a birthday present she found out about the workshop and came on down to improve her skills.

If you’re interested in improving your skills watch this space. A listing of our autumn courses will be announced very soon so why not get in touch and make sure your place is booked ready for some festive photography.