One of the things that I like about Higher Education is the potential for creativity and collaboration. This post is not going to be about something I’ve done, rather it is about something Mark has been doing recently that encapsulates just that creativity and collaboration and shows him for the kind of teacher he is – the type that goes the extra mile for his students, giving them opportunities they wouldn’t necessarily get from someone else, all whilst spending lots of time – and far more than he’s paid for – training them in how to work as part of a photography collective and in immersing himself in the world of NFTs (non-fungible-tokens); yes there is an explanation in the linked article.

Mark established this tutor-student photography collective a little while ago. It is known as the 1434 Collective after the name of the module he teaches them on at Edge Hill University. This gave his students an opportunity to learn what it is like to be part of an artistic collective but also it gave them a positive outlet for their work in what has been a difficult pandemic year for them. Rather than displaying their work in an end of year exhibition, however, he’s putting them up for auction, hopefully showing his students that their work does have real world value in the process. You can read more about it here: https://www.edgehill.ac.uk/news/2021/05/emerging-artists-hope-to-make-history-with-first-of-its-kind-university-auction/

The auction is now live. We do not yet know at this point whether anyone will bid for their work. Even if you don’t want to bid but you want to see some the work of some emerging artists, please do go along and take a look – the skill and artistry on display is stunning. The image file is large so will take a moment or two to load but it is more than worth the wait. https://opensea.io/assets/0x495f947276749ce646f68ac8c248420045cb7b5e/30524212113050889117618938554643665356990473716214534880882936564825909624833

Whatever happens, congratulations to all at the 1434 Collective for their excellent work.