Reading Festival experience to be told by creative Classics student
22 August 2019
A Classics student at the University of Reading will get the chance to tell their Reading Festival experience using creative skills from their degree after being selected to be part of a unique initiative.
Tom Ashton, who studies Ancient History, has been given a weekend ticket and brief to produce a creative response to the festival, which runs from 23-25 August.
He and the other chosen students can represent the festival in any way they choose, from artwork to a piece of creative writing. Tom plans to explore the similarities and differences between modern day festivals and those from thousands of years ago in Ancient Greece.
Creative projects produced by the students will be submitted after the festival and exhibited a future date at the University of Reading.
"My studies in Ancient History have provided me with the foundation required to share this knowledge with a wider audience" - Tom Ashton
Tom said: “For me, this is the culmination of a decade’s worth of festival participation finally coming to fruition. I plan to produce a piece comparing festivals from Ancient Greece and Rome with Reading 2019, in the hopes of improving those yet to come. My studies in Ancient History have provided me with the foundation required to share this knowledge with a wider audience.”
The University of Reading has taken a team of students to Reading Festival every year for the last five years. In 2015 the University partnered with Kerrang magazine to allow students the chance to interview bands and write reviews, following this up with a similar initiative with NME magazine the following year.
Since 2017, a partnership with Festival Republic has allowed a team of students to work backstage and produce their own original content on all aspects of festival life, from festival fashion trends to food stall reviews.
Professor Roberta Gilchrist, Research Dean for Heritage & Creativity at the University of Reading, said: “Reading Festival is a major part of Reading’s cultural identity, so it’s a major coup to be able to offer our students a unique experience of this iconic event. Arts & Humanities degrees teach students to think critically and to articulate and communicate their thoughts creatively. This is a valuable opportunity for our students to demonstrate skills that will equip them for the rapidly changing workplace.
“We have been impressed with the range of creative ideas submitted in applications by our students, and it will be exciting to see how they apply what they have learned on their courses to their internships and projects.”