University of Aberdeen students will gain the skills to develop and fund their own start-ups in the arts and cultural industries through a new initiative.
An Entrepreneur in Residence scheme specifically for culture and the arts will see Nuno Sacramento, Director of Peacock & the worm (a.k.a. Peacock Visual Arts, Ltd), join the University for one day per week to help students through the process of getting their own creative projects off the ground.
Nuno has over twenty-five years’ experience as a curator, leader, and fundraiser in the arts. He is a graduate of DeAppel Foundation, Amsterdam, and has a PhD by practice in Visual Arts from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design (DJCAD).
Between 2010 and 2016 he was Director of the Scottish Sculpture Workshop, Lumsden and has expertise in the areas of research, project curation, fundraising, writing, and lecturing.
Nuno will be based in the Schools of Divinity, History, Philosophy and Art History (DHPA) and Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture (LLMVC) and will work with students from across the University to think creatively and entrepreneurially.
Between February and May he will run a series of workshops to enable students to develop their own ideas for arts-based projects and build the skills, contacts, and funding to make them a reality.
The University’s Entrepreneur in Residence scheme has been running for STEM subjects (funded by the Royal Society) for three years, bringing innovators to the University, including Steve Aitken of Intelligent Plant and Christine Reynet, a drug discovery consultant.
“The EiR scheme has so far focused on start-ups in science and technology,” said Dr Heather May Morgan, Dean for Enterprise and Innovation. “In welcoming Nuno to the team, we are delighted to open the scheme up to the arts, cultural, and heritage sectors, and aim to engage a diverse cohort of students in entrepreneurial activities.”
Nuno Sacramento said:“I am delighted to be the University of Aberdeen’s first Cultural Entrepreneur. The word entrepreneur, like the Opera impresario, means ‘a manager or producer of a theatrical production’.
“I am a firm believer that exciting ideas and robust organisation and planning go hand in hand, so I look forward to working with the students to unleash their potential.
“Imagine what an impassioned cohort of young people can do for the city of Aberdeen. It can turn it into a cultural hot spot, while generating jobs and paid work for everyone involved.”
Professor Peter Edwards, Vice-Principal Regional Engagement at the University of Aberdeen, said:
“The University is committed to making an effective contribution to our region's economy, and it is through initiatives such as our expanding network of Entrepreneurs in Residence - encouraging commercialisation and entrepreneurship among our students and staff - that we aim to create new business opportunities and equip the students of today with the skills to become the entrepreneurs of the future.”