Humanity Hallows Issue 5 Out Now
Pick up your copy on campus or read online

By Bethany Turner

At some point during your time at uni, there will be a moment when you need to solve a problem, hear a supportive voice or want to be involved in something bigger. The question is how?  A group of Textiles in Practice students have recently found an answer to this: The Underground University.

The Underground University is an informal society, set up by five current Textiles students, with the aim to unite the students on their course and create a supportive community hub alive with connections, ideas and creative direction. Founding member Jack McGarrigle said, “We share spaces, collaborate, learn together. We cry together when things go wrong, and be each other’s cheerleaders when things actually turn out well.”

For each founding member The Underground University means more than meeting up to do a drawing class; it is a sense of kinship in a world that is too busy to stop and chat.

In his theory on ‘good education’ Gert Biesta claims that, in order to have a successful educational setting, we must consider qualification, socialisation, becoming an individual in your field and truly knowing your practice. Using these ideas as a base for all they seek to achieve, The Underground University’s ambition is to add something more exciting into the mix at the School of Art. Supported by Senior Lecturer in Textiles Julie Haslam, the group hopes to utilise these ideals into a society that is both useful and exciting.

Talking about what her expectations of the group, Julie said, “In terms of immediate change, I hope to see an enriched university student experience both in terms of the development of specialist knowledge and the student’s own holistic development. It will form a concealed but welcoming community, one that illustrates empathy, one that celebrates each other’s success and one that is supportive during difficult times.”

The group aims to build a greater sense of community and fun within the Manchester School of Art. Jess Gilbert, one of the founding members of The Underground University said, “The Underground University is going to aid in uniting Textiles in Practice students as a collective, for us to celebrate one another.”

She added, “I think in recent years, with university fees sky-rocketing, bursaries and funding cuts, students are left feeling disenfranchised and terrified of future job prospects. Art school has become something far more serious than what our tutors would have experienced.”

Tutor-led interactions is what The Underground University don’t do. By running the society on their own terms, the group offer opportunities to develop and grow, ensuring that each student member benefits from one of the open sessions, workshops and pub meetings. As Jess continued, “The Underground University is made up of five current students, so all the information, plans and ideas come from our own experiences and other students when they feed back to us.

“I want to make a difference to the way TIP students interact with each other, for it to be normal to meet regularly and to know who your peers are. To create a collective that encourages social interaction both academic and social, for students to connect and keep connected during and after their degree.”

With plans on the horizon to meet regularly in a social setting as well as providing workshops such as life drawing, styling and critique sessions, The Underground University has big plans and hopes to continue to develop the programme as something that is integral to the workings of the Textiles in Practice programme.

Member Ayan Hirsi hopes it won’t stop there: “In the future I imagine The Underground University helping the textiles students connect and network with other textiles student in different cities.”

With the intention of passing down details and connections and the leadership of the group to new Textiles undergraduates, the group hope to see the society flourish as the years pass and inspire other School of Art courses to establish communities on their terms. Julie Haslam said of the group’s future, “Long term, I see The Underground University as an extra layer, a layer that is concealed but that often raises itself, a layer that is unregulated but is carefully considered, a layer that is unmeasured yet very much effective.”

This community spirit can only be established with the support of the Textiles in Practice students, so come along to the next event and get involved with building a stronger community. For more information, see the posters in the Manchester School of Art or you can find The Underground University on Facebook.