UNIVERSITY NEWS LAST UPDATED : 13 OCTOBER 2023
‘Lights’, a 12-minute single-screen film with music by BMus student Kinna Whitehead, was selected by judges to feature in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. Watch ‘Lights’ here.
The harbour lights, which were slightly out of sync at Littlehampton Beach, inspired Kinna’s two-part minimalistic composition. ‘Lights’ captures gradual rhythmic change, where the timing between the two musical parts slowly shifts, with the lights, alongside the gradual darkening of the harbour.
As part of a longstanding relationship with Royal Academy of Arts, The Arts Club also recognised Kenna’s emerging talent with a cash prize of £2,500.
The recording
‘Lights’ was recorded in RBC with performances from students Samantha Atkinson, Alastair Legg, Anna Thirkettle and Emily Watson.
The violin and cello are present throughout the entire film. The other instruments, including the alto saxophone, guitar, xylophone, piano, trombone and bass clarinet, are introduced at different points during the film to create textural change.
Kinna said: “I’m happy and grateful to have received this award, and to have been part of the Summer Exhibition. Both the opening and prize-giving ceremonies offered a brilliant space to connect with the current art world and meet other artists. Moving forward, this academic year I will be curating an exhibition of my films, shown in Birmingham, for my final project.”
Professor of Composition Joe Cutler commented: “On behalf of RBC's composition Department, huge congratulations to Kinna on this fantastic achievement, which reflects her limitless creativity. She is an artist who can navigate seamlessly between songwriting, filmmaking, photography and orchestral composition. This really chimes with the department's ethos of looking beyond perceived boundaries of genre and medium. Kinna makes beautiful, thought-provoking work, and it's wonderful to see her recognised with this award.”