Postgraduate Showcase – Nina Stanger

She is one of 40 creatives from across Scotland who secured a place on Robert Gordon University’s Creative Entrepreneurship short course, which was launched earlier in the year to provide fully-funded business development support. 

Her work will be highlighted in the Gray’s School of Art Postgraduate Showcase which goes live on Friday, September 25, and will be featured within the innovative graysdegree.show site, which was created by local agency, Design and Code, for the undergraduate Gray’s Virtual Degree Show in July.

Nina was looking to take her business idea to the next level and became involved with the creative entrepreneurship course with the intent to develop this idea into something practical and sustainable.

Her business, ‘Pipe’, is a visual art and club night project focused on creating events, workshops and exhibitions.  Through working at the intersection of multiple creative cultures, Pipe promotes a diverse range of emerging artists, ideas and new conversations within the Aberdeen community

“I am interested in building collaborations between artists and makers that come from different backgrounds and specialisms. This interest was the inspiration for my business idea. 

“Pipe was in its initial development stage on applying to the course and has had to remain in this phase for the time being. Our first event was due to commence in April at the Anatomy Rooms project space but was cancelled with the introduction of the Covid lockdown. 

“While this was hugely disappointing, I will now use this time to develop ideas and communicate with future collaborators and perhaps even look towards making a virtual exhibition.”

Nina enjoyed many benefits from the Creative Entrepreneurship course and learned new skills which will help her to develop the business when the time comes to move forward. 

“I enjoyed the course content, especially the talks from self-employed designers. Their experience gave a lot of insight into what a creative business looks like in practice.

“The course gave me a greater insight into the practical side of making a business idea a reality. I learned about cost structures and many of the other organisational elements that go into a successful business. I left the course feeling more confident about selling my business idea to potential partners.”

She is now looking forward to the showcase, where she will be able to witness the evolution of her peers and will host a special DJ slot and performance from Pipe. 

“I am looking forward to the showcase. It will be a great opportunity to see how everyone's business proposals have developed since completing the course.

“My organisation will be  performing/DJing at the Club Core closing event within the showcase. With my DJ sets I play across styles to create a unique dancefloor energy. What connects each song is a bodily tone or sensory quality that's transmitted to the listener."