Canon, VCCP and Alight Media partner to champion Stoke-on-Trent students’ photography work

Canon, VCCP and Alight Media partnered to celebrate the talent of students from creative arts students currently studying at Stoke on Trent College and Stoke Sixth Form.

Five stunning images produced by students from Stoke on Trent College and Stoke Sixth Form College have been chosen to feature in a “virtual photography exhibition” on eight digital billboards around Stoke-on-Trent.

The images were chosen following four workshops which were hosted as part of a collaboration between Canon’s Young People Programme and VCCP Stoke Academy. The images will be seen by thousands of people across the city everyday thanks to the generous donation of media space by Alight Media.

The workshops, led by professional photographer and Canon Ambassador Clive Booth and facilitated by 10 senior creative experts from VCCP, the UK’s largest creative agency by billings, were run with more than 100 students pursuing courses in photography and the creative arts.

Award-winning fashion photographer Ben Farr, who is based in the Acava Studios on the same Spode Factory site as VCCP Stoke Academy’s office, was also one of the group leaders.

Over four days, students were taught essential craft skills such as lighting and framing, whilst working to a one day creative brief set by VCCP, to give students a flavour of the typical projects they would expect to work on in a creative industry career.

The five images are all related to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and were the winning entries chosen from an exceptionally high standard of work produced in a matter of hours by the teams of sixth form students who conceived, shot and edited the images themselves with guidance and support from VCCP and Canon professionals.

The images can be seen on rotation for two weeks at Alight Media-owned outdoor locations across Stoke-on-Trent.

Adam Pensotti, Head of the Canon Young People Programme & Social Initiatives at Canon EMEA said: “We were all incredibly impressed with the standard of creative work. Through our collaboration with VCCP, the Canon Young People Programme gave students the opportunity to work with and learn from Canon Ambassador Clive Booth and VCCP Executive Creative Director Jim Thornton and his team. In Stoke there is an abundance of talent amongst these students and our responsibility is to give them the confidence, skills and valuable work experience, massively helping them improve their prospects and self-belief to secure a career in the creative industries.”

Jim Thornton, Executive Creative Director at VCCP, said: “The winning ideas stood out because they were distinct, memorable and brilliantly crafted. The partnership we delivered with Canon is great proof of how we can transform the confidence and progress of creative students even in the space of one day. We very much look forward to continuing our Canon partnership and working closely with Stoke on Trent College and Stoke Sixth Form College.”

Ged Glover, Chief Revenue Officer of Alight Media, said: “We’re delighted once again to be able to support the work of VCCP Stoke Academy by showcasing through our digital billboards the incredible creative talent of young people in Stoke-on-Trent. We are on a mission to build positive connections with communities out-of-home and I hope the teams will feel extremely proud when seeing their winning entries across the city.”