FOR the first time in its history Hereford College of Arts has named a performer to its residency scheme.

‘Aerial dance’ specialist Gillian Hipp is one of four 2014 Creatives in Residence at the college, and will join Grand Designs Home of the Year finalist, architect Jessica Barker, in the role.

Illustrator Hannah Rees, and jewellery artist Elizabeth Terzza will also be in residency at the college and all four former HCA students, will use the college’s facilities, as well as working with staff and students, to develop their own projects.

“We are incredibly excited to welcome our four new residents onto the scheme,” said Clair Hodgson, a Lecturer at the College who is in charge of the residency programme – formerly Artist in Residence.

“There are already partnerships developing between the residents and courses, which will benefit and provide our students with some really exciting opportunities.”

Ms Hipp has already recruited twenty Performing Arts students to form Aerial Dance Company Hereford, and for her project will develop a performance based on a Herefordshire folk tale from the 6th Century.

After completing a foundation diploma in Art and Design at the college, Ms Barker has built a reputation as a successful architect, building her own home in London and winning the Green Dot Awards.

Her idea centres around product design, using malleable objects that change over time to create individual touches to designs of things like door knobs.

A 2013 graduate with a BA in Illustration, Ms Rees will be writing and illustrating her first children’s book during her residency, and aims to work closely with students who are interested in moving into children’s illustration.

Ms Terzza can count Vogue Magazine among her admirers, with the fashion bible calling her jewellery “the perfect mix of subtle and statement”.

The jeweller will turn her hand to large-scale head pieces for her residency project this year.