A group of our Creative Media students had the  opportunity to meet popular & innovative Visual & Digital artist Jose Campos (Studio Lenca) in his working studio (Tracey Emin TKE studios) in Margate. 

This trip was a valuable opportunity for our Creative Media students to have first hand experience meeting a popular & successful artist in his working environment & start to think about career options within the Creative Media industry.

Studio Lenca (Jose) was born in El Salvador. He travelled to the US crossing the border illegally with his mother. Jose uses painting, sculpture, mixed media, photography and video in his artwork. The main themes in his work are belonging, immigration and identity.

During the studio tour, Jose talked to students about his career in the Media industry, discussing the various shows that he has done across the world. He discussed the importance of representation & identity in his work and how through his pieces he is creating a space for his community (Latinx) and other marginalized groups to see themselves in his work & feel welcome in art spaces.

Jose recently designed the award for the Latin American Fashion Awards, the students had the privilege to see the award & learn about the process of design, creation & presenting the award at the ceremony. Jose talked about the selling of his work & spoke about his commissioned pieces for various actors such as America Ferrera & Pedro Pascal.

The students started a digital activity in which they had to create a 1 minute video (reel style) that could be shared on social media about Jose’s work & his new exhibition. They filmed around the studio, the gallery & also interviewed Jose.

Jose led the students around his new exhibition at The Carl Friedman gallery. The four rooms consisted of paintings, mix media pieces & artwork that encouraged viewers to move and interact with. Jose walked the students through each room, explaining the meaning and creation of each piece.

After the exhibition tour, Jose led the students to Counter Press studios. Jose showed the students his collection of posters, tote bags and invitations that he designed and had created for his show in Margate. The students were able to take part in a screen printing workshop, where an artist showed the process of how screen printing works. 

The next Creative Media Trips…

• Ravensbourne University visit/workshop & Tour of the Design district.
• Print Publishing Workshop with  Editorial Director & Writer Mirelle Harper.