Catalina Herrera Acuña, MA Cultural and Creative Industries
Catalina Herrera Acuña is the Cultural Attaché at the Embassy of Chile in the UK
Choosing to study the MA in Cultural and Creative Industries has been a wonderful, pivotal decision in my life. Not only because of the brilliant lecturers and the diverse and international body of students; but because it allowed me to understand a multitude of different viewpoints through which to understand the concept of creativity, culture and how they are intertwined. The CCIs involve many layers and disciplines, and this MA effectively presented the wider spectrum. It also prepared students to shape our own focussed professional goals, tailoring the academic experience through an extensive range of courses. I now work as the Cultural Attaché at the Embassy of Chile in the UK. Every day I need to apply and rethink topics that were part of my studies, such as definitions of cultural diplomacy, challenges around audience engagement and strategies to tackle inclusiveness and representation in the arts.
Suzanne Alleyne, MA Arts & Cultural Management
Suzanne Alleyne studied as a mature student with over 25 years of experience working in the arts sector. She is an Arts Council England Change Maker and currently the Commercial & Brand Director for Apples and Snakes.
What attracted me to King’s was the international perspective. I wanted to develop an international work portfolio and so it was important to choose a university that had a strong international reputation and hosts international students. Secondly, I chose to study at King’s because of the King's Cultural Institute which is a leader in connecting academic research and the arts. All my work is around collaboration and partnerships so it was amazing to be at KCL and have access to this team. Finally, I chose King’s because of the specialisms of lecturers. As a student, having lecturers who are passionate and experienced both in academia and the business world gave me access to a 360 degrees expertise that both teaches and challenges.
Stella Toonen, MA Arts & Cultural Management
Stella Toonen won the King's Cultural Challenge with the Cultural Institute in 2013. She is currently the Director at Young People in the Arts and returns to CMCI as a PhD student working on co-creation with the Tate.
Each year, the Cultural Institute at King's offers four students the chance to win a paid internship with a leading cultural institution, including the likes of the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Southbank Centre, the Royal Opera House and the V&A. In 2013, Stella Toonen won the Challenge and undertook a paid internship with the V&A, which “was number one on my list of most desired workplaces”.
During the Challenge process, Stella learnt skills in event management, networking, writing the proposal, and the preparation and execution of her pitch. During her internship at the V&A she “got to see how the museum works as an institution, how exhibitions are being prepared and curated, what issues museums face in their current economic environment and what museum professionals are actually like”.
Her winning pitch was to curate an exhibition at the V&A on designing the future city, making strong use of digital technologies and interdisciplinary media.