Night Czar Amy Lamé marks New Year with Morley

London Night Czar, BBC Radio 6 Music DJ and Morley alum Amy Lamé spoke about the importance of adult learning to London’s economy as part of Morley’s New Year celebration, held last night at the Chelsea Centre for Creative Industries.

Lamé – who studied fashion at Morley in the 90s – cited adult learning provision as one of the pillars of the nighttime economy in the capital, as well as a key contributor to the Mayor’s skills strategy.

The speech came as part of the college’s annual New Year’s reception for stakeholders: a thank you to partners past and present, and a call to arms for future collaborations.

Guided tours and a review of the year

Visitors were taken on guided tours of the refurbished centre on Chelsea’s Hortensia Road; along the way, they had the opportunity to take part in activities that a typical Chelsea student might do, including drawing, 3D scanning, esports, fashion, pattern cutting, and learning English as a second language.

College Principal Dr Andrew Gower led a series of speeches that also included a review of 2023, featuring highlights such as:

• the release of “Waterloo: the Movie” as part of a focus on the Waterloo Centre for Adult Education in January
• our celebration of Women’s History Month in March
• the launch of the North Kensington Centre for Skills in May
• the Artists of Morley exhibition series in June
• the Morley Awards celebrated in July
• achieving the TEF Gold standard for our Higher Education provision in September
• celebrating the winners of the Morley Prize for Unpublished Writers of Colour as part of Black History Month in October
• completing the refurbishment of the Chelsea Centre for Creative Industries in November

A feast for the senses

Guests were entertained by Morley’s Waterloo-based Big Band, directed by Head of Jazz Flavio li Vigni, and the college unveiled a new art installation by graphic design student Danny, which is now on permanent display in the windows at the front of the Hortensia Building.