Valentina Valenzuela Cabrera

Portfolio




Submitted on hopefully a summer day, 2023.

I am Valentina Valenzuela, a MA: Applied Imagination applicant. With my prospective education from Central Saint Martins, I aspire to be a distinguished creative producer of my generation.

I was first intrigued by the Applied Imagination program because it sparked within me an unmatched level of curiosity. At first encounter, the program’s title is unorthodox, but beyond that, not very telling. What does it mean to study applied imagination? After reading the course outline, I realized that the MA: Applied Imagination program at Central Saint Martins encompasses everything I need for my next educational stepping stone: an environment offering unlimited access to develop my creativity, encouraging space for imaginative proactivity that turns dreams into tangible concepts, and an institution that inspires me to build my artistic sensibility while guiding me through the global art market. Central Saint Martins at the University of the Arts London can teach me how to participate in a cultural revolution that challenges social paradigms through artistic practice.

I am highly attracted to this course’s non-traditional method of pedagogy. In retrospect, one does not study “applied imagination” but rather practices imaginative thinking at a sophisticated intellectual level. The purpose is to expand creative ideas beyond the original content by applying innovative thought and execution.

All artists, such as oil painters, computer programmers, or thespians and writers like myself, need hands-on imaginative practice to grow and reach their maximum potential; creative possibility is a skill best understood through practiced execution. The MA: Applied Imagination would grant me space to move—to expand my mind creatively— and refine my creative practice at an elite level. The non-disciplinary nature of the program truly allows its students to go beyond imaginative possibility as a limited concept, explore beyond its framed parameters, and discover true artistic novelty as a collective or independent thinker.

As a second-generation immigrant from a bilingual household, I quickly understood that the best form of innovation comes from intercultural communication and collaboration. At the University of the Arts London, I am excited to join a student body rich in cultural diversity and passionate about positive global change accompanied by world-class creators and educators. I look forward to learning from my peers, sharing our perspectives, and uniting to help each other reach our aspirations as artists and worldly changemakers at the center of creative innovation.

London is an incubator for artistic metamorphosis. London is the only place for intercultural communication and collaboration with a major international influence of such high impact. As a global epicenter for creativity, history, enterprise, and entertainment, London is transformative. The students of Central Saint Martins mirror the developing nature of the city. They always strive for positive change, collaborative growth, and a search for what is new. The version of me alive today is very excited to meet the practicing artist I will transform into after my time at Central Saint Martins.

I aspire to develop a style and sensibility comparable to the greatness of my artistic inspirations. I admire the unapologetically bold who act as catalysts for cultural change. I am inspired by the visual and narrative style of Marina Abramovic, Salvador Dalí, Guillermo Lorca, Wes Anderson, Samuel Beckett, Martin Margiela, and others such as Peter Shaffer, the playwright of my favorite play, Equus, and CSM alumni Brenda Weischer.

I like the absurd, what is non-traditional, what forces you to do a double-take. I highly respect artists that pour pieces of themselves into their work, creating a safe space for the audience to reflect on and embrace their vulnerability. Great art is the art of great storytelling, and I love visual storytelling the most. At Central Saint Martins, I want to learn the many skills required to be a creative producer of the highest quality, executing what I imagine from start to finish.

I want to develop as a knowledgeable and skilled artist capable of navigating all future possibilities of the entertainment industry. The SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America strikes are demanding change toward a fair functioning business. They are changing global media. As a creative, I aspire to work as a practicing artist in an industry with what I believe can have a positive future.

I am resilient, creative, and passionate. I am meant to excel in the future global art market. Thank you for considering my profile for the MA: Applied Imagination program at Central Saint Martins University of the Arts London; I look forward to learning how to improve the world through the contemporary artistic lens.