Western Australia sends ten young creatives to the D&AD New Blood Workshop in Sydney
The Western Australian creative community has rallied together in a collective show of support for new talent, sending no fewer than ten young creatives to attend the inaugural D&AD New Blood Workshop in Sydney, taking place this November.
Upon launch earlier this month, the Perth Advertising & Design Club came forward with an offer to pay travel expenses for one lucky WA creative with the best submission, in order to make the 5,000km-plus round trip.
Since that news broke, Curtin University, the Communications Council and creative shops The Brand Agency and Meerkats, have all pledged funding towards travel and accommodation costs, enabling an additional nine rising stars to take their place at the New Blood Workshop.
Says Paul Lowndes, Advertising Design lecturer at Curtin: “This is a fantastic opportunity for the Western Australian creative industry to have ten young WA creatives selected, and for nine of these to be Curtin students or graduates is overwhelming. D&AD has shown that WA really is a part of the national industry. This result has inspired many other Curtin students to enter future programmes. Thank you Paula Taylor of D&AD for making this all possible. I am proud to say that the new Curtin, PADC, D&AD alliance is proving its worth for new talent.”
Meanwhile, Curtin and AWARD School graduate, Kat Neaves was selected as the recipient of the PADC prize, personally chosen by Glue Society’s Jonathan Kneebone as his standout submission. Neaves’ video, which can be viewed here, sees her with a unique take on the Workshop’s theme of ‘get your hands dirty’, using her hands to deliver a message entirely through the medium of sign language.
Says Kneebone: “There has been some real interest in the workshop from across the country with many students going to some lengths to create something unique and compelling from scratch. While many took the idea of getting their hands dirty a little too literally perhaps, Kat demonstrated a desire to push herself into unchartered territory. And in addition to having a powerful idea, she filmed it in an appropriately and well thought through way. For that reason, we chose hers as the top entry. We look forward to hosting all of the young creatives at our studios in a fortnight. It will be a learning experience for all of us.”
Says Mark Braddock, president of the Perth Advertising & Design Club: “The PADC is proud to be able to give Kat the chance to take up this great opportunity presented by D&AD. Her entry was smart, simple and charming – we couldn’t have asked for a more deserving winner. Having ten of the thirty places in the workshop offered to Western Australians is testament to both the quality of young, local talent and to The Skull’s Education Partner, Curtin University, whose renewed commitment to industry engagement has been led and championed by Paul.”
The full list of WA creatives attending the New Blood Workshop is as follows (sponsor in parentheses): Ali Watson & Paul Donnelly (The Brand Agency & Communications Council), Emil Cholich (Meerkats), Kat Neaves (PADC), Adriene Gray (Curtin), Alice Coglin (Curtin), Belinda Bonomelli (Curtin), Marina Vasileva (Curtin), Michael May (Curtin), Skipper Van Peer (Curtin).
Developed in partnership with the Glue Society and Google Australia, the New Blood Workshop offers a frenetic, fast-paced industry crash-course, taking a project from brief to broadcast in one day.
In total, thirty new creatives have won places on the New Blood Workshop, with attendees set to travel from as far as Melbourne and New Zealand, as well as Western Australia, making for a truly diverse mix of talent from the continent. Taking place on Friday 7 November, the packed schedule of masterclasses and guest speakers has now been finalised, including:
· Creative & Strategy – Hosted by Jonathan Kneebone and Richard Bullock
· Directorial – Hosted by Matt Devine, James Dive, Pete Baker & Paul Bruty
· Production – Hosted by Ian Iveson
· Cinematography – Hosted by Russell Boyd
· Photography – Hosted by Derek Henderson
· Casting – Hosted by Allison Meadows Mullinars
· Design & Typography – Hosted by Jim Parry
· 1st Assistant Directorial – Hosted by Nikki Long
· Editing – Hosted by Dan Lee, the Butchery & Luke Crethar
7 Comments
The future of advertising is looking sexy.
Another admirable initiative aimed at entrants to the industry to add to the long list of other admirable initiatives aimed at entrants to the industry. But when is someone going to do something at the other end for older creatives? How many 50+ are still working full-time in WA agencies for example? Two, maybe three. When the age range for almost every other occupation stretches to 64, why are smart people considered past it when they get to 40 and dead in the water a decade later?
Advertising is peopled with youngsters simply because they haven’t yet worked out that it’s a pretty pointless career path.
The hours are long, in some cases possibly unlawful, and the renumeration is way below what would be considered a reasonable standard, given that we live in one of the most expensive countries in the world.
Someone working 15 years in the industry as a copywriter with half a dozen awards would be lucky to be on 80K+, whereas a project manager in the construction industry could foreseeably claim a package double that size with that much experience (with possibly an even smaller skill set and a less complex job than the average UX designer, art director or graphic designer).
Sure there is an oligarchy of wealthy agency owners that are long in the tooth – you know what I mean, the CD Inner-Circle that everyone aspires to join.
But after a while, the poor agency serfs work out that they’ll never get into that clique simply by banging their heads on the glass ceiling.
It’s a rigged game. The only way to win is to get out.
I feel sorry for these poor young people who have worked so hard, and, in the end, will receive so little. I just hope they realise it before its too late!
You make a very good point
@cheif Taylor – This industry is clearly not your forte. Lucky you got out.
As a very successful person in the industry with 7 years experience (half your experience on more than double your quoted maximum wage) I’m very excited about the opportunity this adventure presents. The advertising course at Curtin is a leading course world wide with ex students working for major brands, in leading agencies and freelancing at successful levels.
I am sorry you could not make a career of it, as with anything, it’s not always for everyone!
Hey Chief Taylor, money is not everything, some people have a passion for what they do, being creative can be a lifestyle and fun, Fine artists don’t necessarily create art for money, a sad attitude toward young enthusiastic creative blood, maybe you were not particularly good at your job. Don’t put off our new young creative talent just because it didn’t suit you 🙁
If you love what you do, money shouldn’t be a deciding factor in your happiness – especially not how much money someone in a completely different industry is earning. If you are passionate about what you do, keep doing it! Why do you need to know how much the next CD is earning or whether you’re part of the “in crowd” or not?
I don’t think that young creatives need to feel as if they shouldn’t step into the industry due to concerns of cliques and dollar signs – we don’t have enough people who are passionate about their careers and life choices.
Honestly, more power to them for stepping in with a drive to do well for themselves.