University of Incidental Knowledge

University of Incidental Knowledge Staff Profiles (part 1):

Alice Bradshaw

Alice Bradshaw is an artist and curator based in West Yorkshire, UK. Her practice involves a wide range of media and processes involving the manipulation of everyday objects and materials. Mass-produced, anonymous objects are often rendered dysfunctional caricatures of themselves, addressing concepts of purpose and futility and blurring distinctions between the absurd and the mundane. Alice curates collaboratively and is co-founding director of Fundada Artists’ Film Festival, founding director of the Museum of Contemporary Rubbish, co-curator in residence at Westgate Studios, Wakefield and co-curator for Holmfirth Arts Festival.

http://www.alicebradshaw.co.uk

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Louise Atkinson

Louise Atkinson is a Leeds-based artist, curator and gallery educator. She works in a variety of media, relating the process to the concept. Her interests lie in the relationship between art, language and ritual, and particularly in the impact of social media on communication. She has exhibited nationally and internationally and worked on projects organised by Tate Britain, Leeds University, LAB Gallery, New York and Whitechapel Gallery, London, among others.

Currently, she curates for Shine Leeds and is founder of the online international group Artist Book Collective, from which she produces exhibitions alongside Leeds International Artist Book Fair.

http://louiseatkinsonblog.blogspot.com

Courses: BA (Hons) Comedy & Bsc Social Media

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Fundada

Fundada is an artist collective of Alice Bradshaw, Nancy Porter and Wolfie. Wolfie is really the mastermind behind the operation. He was rescued from a brewery in North Yorkshire and has since been championing the humourous and surreal with Alice and Nancy doing all the hard work. Alice and Nancy met whilst working at Temporary Art Space in Halifax in 2009 where cheap cava sealed their collaborative fate. Fundada is best known for Fundada Artists’ Film Festival (FAFF) which inaugurated at Halifax Festival 2010 and has shown some of the best artists’ short films from across the world. In 2011 FAFF moved to Wakefield and will tour in 2012. Fundada has always been interested the foreign and exotic, with the collective name found on a Havana Club rum bottle.

fundadaartistsfilmfestival.blogspot.com
vimeo.com/fundada

Courses: BA (Hons) Foreign Language

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Vanessa Haley

Vanessa Haley is a person with a somewhat varied art practice. The biggest piece of which is her ongoing diaries that began in 1983 with the immortal words; this diary belongs to Vanessa Haley. This tomb of the emotional and professional rollercoaster which records her life, is intended to be her legacy to her son, because for damned sure she won’t be leaving him any money, chattels or property.

You can find examples of her work in many places, but feels that for the purposes of this it would be better if she didn’t tell you where they were, but that it might be quite nice if you just happened, by chance to find some of it.

Courses: BA (Hons) Film

Bsc Social Media

1 year part time

Description: 1 year self-directed, part-time course available via distance-learning. A varied programme of study which develops incidental knowledge at the highest level.

Unlike other courses, the title doesn’t refer to the subject to be studied, but the means of acquiring incidental knowledge. All information must be collected from facebook posts and/or twitter status updates and can be on any subject.

Students can choose to collate knowledge on particular themes or produce extended written works for extra credits.

Entry Requirements: Students must have a valid email account.

Application Process: Completion of the enrollment form.

Assessment Process: Students are required to evidence Incidental Knowledge in a digital format at least 3 times each term, with the source cited, to be published on the University website. Evidence may be provided in the form of text, drawing, photographs or any other appropriate format.

Course Leader: Louise Atkinson

Fee: None

See also UIK’s social media profiles:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/University-of-Incide…

http://twitter.com/incidentalknow

NVQ Pedantics

1 year part time

(Let me begin by saying this; diplomas are fine, a framed NVQ certificate looks just as good on the wall as any degree certificate so don’t be put off by what your more intelligent friends may say.)

Description: What’s wrong with people these days? They have opinions coming out of their arses and what should be coming out of their arses is, instead, coming out of their mouths. Catalogue it, challenge it, draw a picture of it. Clear? NO? Ok try this, for a variety of reasons people say stupid things, right? Listen out for them; they are your raw material, a sort of INCIDENTAL LACK OF KNOWLEDGE if you will. Find it, learn from it, share it, work with it.

EXAMPLE [from a pub quiz]
Q. What sea can be found to the North of Turkey?
A. I know this, it’s Chechnya…. I mean FFS!

Good places to begin your research include:

* Pub quiz’s (obviously) especially when then question masters can’t read out the questions properly (dyslexia is no excuse).

* Prime Minister’s Question (the PM is a ‘given’, it is the attention seeking nob-heads who ask the questions I’m thinking of).

* The Jeremy Vine show. If you don’t listen to Radio 2 try the Daily Mail instead.

* Old People.

* Young People.

That should help get you started so bugger off and do some work.

Entry Requirements: A cheerful personality. Email course tutor for further details.

Application Process: We do not choose Pedantry, it chooses us, (but complete the enrollment form just to be sure).

Assessment Process: A team based discussion… Peer evaluated nitpicking! (1)

Progression: Many who complete this course may want to follow an academic path at under-graduate or post-graduate level. This will be unnecessary as, upon satisfactory completion of the course, it may be possible to immediately convert your Diploma into a First Class honours or Masters degree, or even a Doctorate (cash and correction fluid are wonderful things, see course leader for further details).

Should you instead wish to use your new qualification to pursue a career we strongly recommend Politics or working in a call centre.

Fees: None… but if you want to buy me a pint…

(1) No, ‘nitpicking’ should not be hyphenated! (2)
(2) Yes, the use of an exclamation mark is unnecessary.

MPhil Mistakes

1 year part time

Description: MPhil Mistakes is a course geared towards the incidental knowledge gained through the process of erring, and maximising blunders within creative practice.

Entry Requirements: Between zero and three legs.

Application Process: Drop us a line. (Do the form)

Assessment Process: Email or postal submission of works, constant liaison with course leaders and endless discussion. Note that if this is not completed it will be considered a mistake, and ultimately the highest echelon of course understanding.

Course Leader: Sparrow+Castice

Fee: None

BA (Hons) Foreign Language

1 year part time

Description: 1 year self-directed, part-time course available via distance-learning. A varied programme of study which develops foreign language incidental knowledge at the highest level. Incidental Foreign Language is acquired not necessarily abroad but perhaps on imported consumer items such as rum bottles, electronic goods user guides and subtitled films. Foreign visitors and tourists may also provide excellent incidental foreign language. Incidental Foreign Language can be in any language each student does not know fluently. Students are required to provide a form of translation to evidence knowledge.

Entry Requirements: Students must have a valid email account.

Application Process: Completion of the enrollment form

Assessment Process: Students are required to evidence incidentally learnt foreign language in a digital format at least 3 times each term, with a translation, to be published on the University website. Evidence may be provided in the form of text, image, audio or film or any other appropriate format.

Course Leader: Fundada

Fee: None