Leading out of home media owner pulls out all the stops to showcase local creative talent

March 7, 2024

The first stage of a new partnership between North East Scotland College and Clear Channel UK culminated in February when an image created by an HND Photography student was displayed on digital screens across Aberdeen.

Clear Channel works with Aberdeen City Council to provide bus stop shelters across the city, some of which have built-in digital screens. As part of its commitment to local communities, Clear Channel approached NESCol intending to offer students on creative courses the opportunity to showcase their work across their screens.

Students were encouraged to enter work they produced as part of their coursework for a range of units. The winning student, Wioleta Milczarska, submitted work she produced as part of a fashion photography unit on the HND Photography course. To complete this unit, students were encouraged to approach local businesses with a view to producing creative images showcasing their brand or product. After researching local brands that she was keen to work with, Wioleta approached Helen Greensmith from Helen Ruth Scarves, a luxury accessories brand producing items which are printed and hand-finished in Scotland.

Wioleta said: “The Helen Ruth designs are inspired by the wild Scottish landscape – the animal life, fairy tales and traditional folklore. My plan was to create something not only desirable but also consistent with the brand so I decided to show this wearable artwork in a simple but luxury way. To ensure the vivid, colourful scarf was the focus of the photos, I decided to create contrast by dressing the model in a beige mono-colour suit. My goal was to show a modern, powerful woman who puts one of Helen Ruth’s scarves on and confidently tells her own story to the world.”

When she found out her work had been selected to be shown on the screens, Wioleta was shocked. She said: “It was the first competition I had taken part in and it was incredible to find out I had won. I was extremely happy and grateful that the effort I put into that project had paid off.”

NESCol Curriculum Manager for Media Professions, Calum Swanson, said: “We are thrilled to be working with Clear Channel. The collaboration presents a fantastic opportunity for organisations who are both at the forefront of driving innovation within their communities. The students will not only gain invaluable exposure by having their work showcased across prominent digital displays in Aberdeen City, but this collaboration will also provide them with further real-world experience working within a professional creative environment.”

Will Ramage,  Clear Channel’s Managing Director, said: “The collaboration between Clear Channel and North East Scotland College showcases our commitment to nurturing local creative talent and fostering innovation within our communities. We are excited to provide a platform for students to showcase their work on our digital screens, offering invaluable exposure and real-world experience in the professional creative landscape.”

The next stage of the partnership will see the screens used to promote the College’s End of Year Show which takes place in June and allows students in the final year of a range of creative courses to showcase their best work.