Graduates

Jonathan Glazer and Paul Kaye

Jonathan Glazer and Paul Kaye both graduated from the School of Art & Design in 1987, in BA 3D Design - Theatre.

Jonathan was the director of the famous surfer advert for Guinness, ground-breaking music videos for bands Radiohead and Jamiroquai, Birth (starring Nicole Kidman, 2004) and BAFTA nominated film Sexy Beast.

Paul was the star of the BBC's Two Thousand Acres of Sky and Perfect World, and the 2004 film It's all gone Pete Tong. He was also the host of the television show Liar and creator of comedy reporter Dennis Pennis.

Jonathan and Paul returned to NTU to celebrate 20 years of success  since graduating, and to officially open the Art and Design degree show exhibitions on the City site in June 2007.

Jon Burgerman

Jon Burgerman graduated in 2001 from our BA (Hons) Fine Art course.

Jon's unique style of squiggly lined character illustrations began in a sketchbook when he studied Fine Art. They've been used in Levi's ad campaigns and MTV animation spots. Jon has become internationally acclaimed for his cult sketchbook style across the globe. He's had exhibitions in the UK and Europe, as well as in Australia, the USA and Japan.

Visit Jon Burgerman's website.

Julian Finney

Julian Finney graduated from our BA (Hons) Photography course in 2004.  Julian has gone on to establish himself as one of the UK's leading sports photographers. In 2007 he won the Picture Editor's Award for Young Photographer of the Year and the 30th Sports Journalism Award for Young Sports Photographer of the Year.

Simon Taylor

Simon Taylor is a member of British band The Klaxons, and graduated from our BA (Hons) Fine Art course in 2004. The Klaxons won the Best New Group at the NME Awards in March 2007 and the Mercury Music Prize in September 2007.

Noble and Webster

Tim Noble and Sue Webster met whilst studying BA Fine Art at NTU in the late 1980's. Known as Noble and Webster their work is included in The Saatchi Collection, London and The Guggenheim Museum, New York. They are widely known for transforming rubbish into art and representations of life, with shadows of themselves often incorporated into the final work. Since their first solo show in London in 1996 British Rubbish, Noble and Webster have enjoyed international recognition.

Ria Thomas

Ria Thomas graduated from our BA (Hons) Fashion Knitwear Design and Knitted Textiles in 2008. She was the winner of the Pringle of Scotland Visionary Knitwear Award at the 2008 Graduate Fashion Week event. Ria was quoted as one to watch by The Independent’s June 2008 Fashion Style section. During her course work placement, she produced a number of innovative garment concepts for the high fashion market, selling her designs to global clients Calvin Klein and Louis Vuitton. As a reult of her success, Ria was contacted by international designer Julien MacDonald for possible future collaborations. She has since been recruited by the internationally acclaimed designer.

Gang Zhao

Gang Zhao graduated from our MA Photography in 2003. He was a Photo Manager for the Chinese national stadium, the iconic 'Bird’s Nest' venue which hosted the Beijing Olympic Games in August 2008. After completing his Masters at NTU, he returned to China and became Head of Photography at the one million circulation Qianjiang Evening News.

"I really miss the days I spent in the library and the colour darkroom. I must also say thanks to my tutor, Hugh Hamilton, who gave me so much help and built my confidence. I benefited a lot from my time at NTU."

Rory Longdon

Rory graduated from our BA Knitwear Design and Knitted Textiles course in 2011.  He was the winner of the prestigious Gold Award at Graduate Fashion Week 2011, and at the end of the year launched his very first high street collection with George at Asda.

Rory won the opportunity to create a capsule Christmas knitwear collection for George alongside a £20,000 cash prize, a four week placement at George and mentoring sessions from Brand Directory Fiona Lambert. Rory's designs were brought to life in an exclusive, limited, knitwear collection inspired by his winning catwalk designs.

David Baird

David graduated from our BA Photography in 2007 and spent several years working for the University as Student Communications Officer, before leaving to pursue a career as a freelance photographer.

In 2011 he won the NME's Music Photography Award with Nikon in their professional category for a group of five photographs he submitted for the competition.

Find out more about David Baird's work, visit his website.

Toni Lake

Toni graduated from our BA Textile Design course in 2011, and was selected for support by Texprint which has led to an exciting collaboration with Marks & Spencer.

Toni's prints are now being used in the high-street brand's Autograph and Limited Collection ranges, as well as its bedding collections, under the banner 'Patterns of the Future'.

Whilst studying at NTU Toni also won the Clothworkers Company Associate Prize and the Christy Carpets Associate Prize at New Designers 2011.

Anna Hunt

Anna, who graduated with a first-class honours degree in Decorative Arts in 2009, won the opportunity to exhibit her work in a solo show, at the Nottingham Castle Annual Open.

Her exhibition, Stirring the Swarm, tells the dark tale of an ancient collection of taxidermy insects from the natural history collections at Wollaton Hall. Visitors to Nottingham Castle were invited to follow the enchanted swarm along the South Hall staircase, where Anna had installed 10,000 handmade ceramic insects.

Anna spent almost seven months creating all the insects for her exhibition. Around 50 people contributed by helping to make the beetles, including six current Decorative Arts students from NTU. Anna also used the School of Art & Design’s facilities to help prepare the ceramics in time.

Find out more about Anna's work on her website.

Image courtesy of the BBC.

Donna Bramhall

Donna graduated from our BA Fashion Knitwear Design and Knitted Textiles course in 2007 and has gone on to establish her own vintage fabric and yarns business.

With support from NTU's enterprise development unit, The Hive, Donna launched Spinster's Emporium in 2009.  The company specialises in sourcing and supplying the very best in vintage fabrics, fancy yarns, haberdashery, wallpapers and unique craft kits. 

In 2010 Spinster's got its first retail order from luxury London department store, Liberty, for a range of 'Haberdasher me' DIY fashion kits.  These included one-off vintage materials and step-by-step instructions on how to customise clothes.

Visit the Spinster's Emporium website.

Biennale International Showcase 2008

With backing from the British Arts Council, four Art and Design graduates were selected to represent NTU at the highly prestigious 2008 International Biennale of Young Artists in Puglia, Italy.

Terri Cohen (BA Fashion Design, 2007), Rosie Pickles (BA Fine Art 2007), Laura McCafferty (BA Decorative Arts, 2003) and Michael Pinchbeck (MA Fine Art, 2006) have all made significant impact in their respective fields since graduating.