One of our talented postgraduate students, Jordan Sterry, recently supported the Mela Festival, a celebration of South Asian art and culture held at the New Art Exchange (NAE) in Nottingham. It was a three-day festival event that ran from the 8 – 10 September 2023.
“Do It For Real” at the Mela Festival
The term ‘Mela’ comes from the Sanskrit word meaning ‘gathering’, a time where families come together and celebrate various art forms representing their culture. The Nottingham Mela Festival is the oldest Mela in the UK and runs every year over three days at NAE. It was a colourful South Asian festival weekend with families engaging in music, dance, poetry, storytelling and interactive workshops.
Jordan did an excellent job working alongside the event team and festival organisers at NAE. She made expert use her technical expertise to set up the audio equipment, and contributed to the event delivery, supporting the reception with ticketing. We had a chance to catch-up with Jordan at the event, here’s what she had to say about the experience:
“It was great to see all the families coming together along with the kids to enjoy this festival. There were dance classes for different age groups from young children to senior citizens. It was all so lovely and culturally enriching.” – Jordan Sterry, MA Event Management
Industry experience through Confetti
Jordan recently started our MA Event Management course, and already works freelance for our Confetti Technical team. Prior to this she completed a BSc (Hons) Event Production degree with us. Over the course of her three-year course, Jordan racked up some serious ‘Do It For Real’ hours with local businesses. These include one of the largest contemporary art galleries in the UK, Nottingham Contemporary, and Nottingham’s new canal-side entertainment destination, Binks Yard. Jordan is also a member of our award-winning NTU Events Society, which she co-founded earlier this year.
Postgraduate study
We offer an exciting range of postgraduate degrees to help students turn their BSc or BA qualifications into a full MSc or MA award. Postgraduate learners benefit from work experience opportunities in our commercial venues which support the student experience. This includes our live music and events venue, Metronome, our creative co-working and events space, Antenna, and our cross-media venue, Confetti X. The MA Event Management course is specifically designed to cultivate high quality, entrepreneurially adept graduates to work in all aspects of the event industry and to positively influence change in the event sector. Asked why she wanted to continue studying with us on the MA Event Management course, Jordan said:
“I really wanted to do the MA Event Management, following my BSc (Hons) Event Production course at Confetti. The event production course I studied at undergraduate level was more production and artist management and I wanted to build on those skills and explore the area of event management.
“Confetti has helped me to build my technical knowledge in lighting and sound and provided opportunities to get hands-on and learn by doing. Enrichment activities like Industry Week and Splendour Festival have provided me experience in event management and boosted my confidence to go out, meet new people, and work on different creative opportunities.” Jordan Sterry, MA Event Management student
New Art Exchange
New Art Exchange is an internationally recognised award-winning creative space in Nottingham, they promote excellence in culturally diverse contemporary arts through exhibitions and events. NAE provided the venue for the first two days (Friday 8 and Saturday 9 September) of this year’s Nottingham Mela Festival before it travelled to Wollaton Hall on Sunday 10 September. Jordan’s experience taught her a lot about NEA award-winning visual arts centre and their eclectic programme of events, she said:
“They do a lot of community-based work within the local area, and it also focuses on making art more accessible to a wider audience, especially works from the Global Ethnic Majority (GEM). I really wanted the opportunity to work on something that was raising awareness of different cultures and backgrounds and so I’m really grateful for the experience.
“The organisers were lovely, they always made sure that I was feeling okay, properly inducted me with health and safety training, and that I was happy with everything that I did, which is super nice. It was really great to work with a diverse range of people and it has given me really good experience that also support’s my master’s program which includes supporting community projects. So, I hope to do more of them in the future, hopefully.” Jordan Sterry, MA Event Management
We work closely with NAE to provide meaningful ‘Do it For Real’ work experiences for our students.
“The planning and the lead up to any event is one thing, the on-the-day delivery, however, is another. With the history and cultural considerations around an event such as Nottingham Mela, it would be easy to become overwhelmed with so much happening.
“We at New Art Exchange were fortunate to have Jordan with us this year, throughout her time with us she was consistently cool, calm and collected. Whether that be whilst helping to set up the spaces of tech on the many event changeovers, interacting with audiences or managing visitor feedback. She brought her own knowledge and experience with her and used it to her advantage, instantly slotting right in with the team and ready to throw herself in to the situation.” Kyle Futers, Executive Producer, New Art Exchange.
With a dedicated placement manager, we provide various opportunities across the city, that are available for the students to experience their chosen industry in real time, preparing them for their future.
“We are delighted that our students get to work with NAE, gaining hands-on practical work experience. Our Event Management and Content Creation students are looking forward to working on more events in the near future.” Lucy Greaves, Confetti Work Placement Manager
Are you interested in being part of events and getting hands-on experience as part of your studies? Book onto an Open Day to find out more about all the opportunities on offer here at Confetti.
