Image by Hamish Kale
Mayn Creative has recently collaborated with FalWriting, a collective of English and Creative Writing students at Falmouth University. The collaboration project seeks to showcase the stunning photography being produced at Mayn Creative, alongside the stories and non-fiction works the team at FalWriting are crafting. Six pairs of writers and photographers have been given their first brief - the topic of which is ‘Home’ - and this month their projects will be published on Mayn Creative and FalWriting. To get a better picture of the project, writer, Tillie Holmes spoke to Sophie Twining, the Photo Producer at Mayn Creative and one of the minds behind the project.
Tillie: Can you give a little introduction about yourself and your role at Mayn Creative?
Sophie: Hi, I’m Sophie, and I’m the Photo Producer at Mayn Creative and a Marine and Natural History Photography graduate! I have a range of roles, such as recruiting students from Falmouth University, organising photo shoots, running our social media channels and website, liaising with clients, and setting up collaborations between courses, like this one!
Image by Liz Tollemache
Tillie: How did you come up with the idea for a collaboration project?
Sophie: Myself and my manager, Adrianne, were approached by Chelsey, a lecturer in English and Creative Writing, last year. Chelsey wanted to add a visual component to the written pieces published on the FalWriting page, and was aware of the array of talented photographers we have on our books. We met a few times via Teams to discuss logistics and different ideas and worked together to recruit a team of photographers and writers.
Image by Julia Wrzesinska
Tillie: Can you explain the project?
Sophie: The aim of this project was to produce a series of expressive stories that could be published on the Mayn Creative and FalWriting websites, whilst also creating an opportunity for students from different courses to collaborate. We paired up six writers from The School of Communication with six of our volunteer photographers. The theme of our first brief, ‘Home’, developed from our own feelings towards what is, now more than ever, a very prominent subject. We were aware that students would be living many different experiences of ‘Home’, and as is often the case, conveying those experiences through art could be a way to contemplate and process them. Home isn’t just a place; it can also be a feeling. It can be somewhere you go, or something you carry with you. It can be something you find, or something you lose. You can create your own home, as well as live in one that has been created for you or by somebody else. Home has a different meaning for everyone.
The brief we set was there to provide a framework for the students to work from. However, they were encouraged to explore the notion of ‘Home’ in their own individual ways, whether they looked at it in a broader sense, or through the eyes of someone else. The writers could submit a poem, a short story, or an interview, either in fiction or non-fiction, and the photographers could use an array of photographic techniques to produce the visuals that would work alongside. The only major rule we set was that the pairs had to work together, and the imagery and words needed to be cohesive.
Image by Paris Naik-Neenan
Tillie: After seeing the results of the first brief, what are your thoughts/ambitions going forward?
Sophie: Chelsey, Adrianne and I are all so encouraged by the enthusiasm each student had towards this project, which is definitely reflected in the results! During a time where students are physically separated from one another and from the campus experience, Mayn Creative is looking for ways to create a bridge between that divide. The success of this collaboration project has and will continue to push us to create more opportunities like this, alongside our client-based briefs. As we reflect on the stories from the first brief, we are already thinking about other themes and topics we could explore within this collaboration, and how we can incorporate other art mediums.
Image by Amber Phipps
Tillie: If any other Falmouth students were interested in taking part, is there any way for them to get involved?
Sophie: Moving forward, we would love to have students from other courses contribute to this collaboration. Photography is definitely not the only way to visually express a story, and contributions by students of other departments are absolutely encouraged! Our email (photo@mayn-creative.com) is always open for those looking to learn more about what we do and our upcoming projects, including our collaboration with FalWriting. We have also recently transformed what was previously a zine into a collective, called intro. and are currently accepting submissions! intro. is a collaboration between Mayn Creative and the students and graduates of Falmouth University. We aim to develop an inclusive and innovative collective with the hopes of connecting, inspiring and promoting the work of students and graduates. We are welcoming submissions from creatives with all kinds of mediums and practises, such as photography, videography, illustration, fine art, painting, sculpture, graphic design, interior design, architecture and much more. To get involved, students and graduates can email us at intro.collective@gmail.com with a body of work and a synopsis explaining their thoughts, feelings and intentions behind it.
To read more on this collaborative project, visit: www.falwriting.com
Image by Duncan Petrie