Kelly Graves wins Lancashire Arts Festival award!

BA (Hons) Theatre and Performance, 2018

BA (Hons) Theatre and Performance graduate, Kelly Graves, couldn’t have signed off her time at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) any better than by winning an award at the Lancashire Arts Festival.

Her research project titled ‘A Body of Knowledge’ picked up the prize in the Performance category, mixing martial arts with a theatrical display. The Lancashire Arts Festival is run by UCLan annually and allows students to present work from their final year projects featuring architecture, design, fashion, fine art, media and performance.

Kelly was delighted with her achievement prior to graduating, and paid tribute to the University for helping her reach the level that she has. She said: “The project utilised my pre-existing knowledge and training in Shotokan Karate and used the physical movements derived from Katas within a theatrical performance, using visual platforms and elements to valorise the intricate detail of the martial art.”

She continued: “My performance is about culture, identity and the love I have for performance and martial art. Nothing feels better than an artist having the potential and flexibility to create their own work.

“I’d like to thank all those at the University who helped me to achieve my award, my time at UCLan will certainly not be forgotten.”

The BA (Hons) Theatre student’s work has since resulted in a variety of openings for her, and Kelly puts that down to the course structure and networking to the professional industry. Kelly commented: “Finishing this project has opened many opportunities for me. One includes attending an exciting collaboration between UCLan and PANTHEATRE and I will be participating in many conferences and workshops hosted by Enrique Pardo and other academics.

“The conference and collaboration has been organised by Dr Amy Rome, who I had the pleasure of working closely with on my project.

“For me, UCLan has given me more than just a first-class honours degree, it’s given me experience, connections and countless opportunities!”

29 August 2018