UAL Showcase Platform Policy

Overview

We’re delighted that you are submitting your work to UAL Showcase. We want to celebrate your work, whilst also creating an experience for the users of the platform that is not offensive. The guidelines below outline what should be identified on the platform as sensitive content.

This policy provides guidance on use of UAL Showcase (hereafter Showcase). The platform is viewable at ualshowcase.arts.ac.uk.

Purpose

• Creating a shared Showcase where content is sensitively, and sensibly, uploaded and presented;
• Preventing, where possible, offence caused by any of our creative work, while understanding and respecting that different viewing groups may have different reasons for taking offence;
• To protect children and vulnerable adults from potentially harmful or otherwise unsuitable content;
• To empower online visitors, particularly those with responsibility for children, to make an informed decision prior to entering a virtual space;
• Upholding UAL values including equality, diversity, inclusivity and sustainability.

Submission

Showcase is an always-on platform for creativity. Your Showcase project will remain live for a year after your course ends. During this time, we will promote Showcase through partnerships with industry and marketing. We’ll launch regular themed guest-curated collections and run communications campaigns throughout the 12 months to generate as much exposure and opportunity for you as possible. 

All of UAL’s graduating students are eligible to upload a selection of original work in a digital format, which is presented in a single space for the student. Individual works may be selected for thematic curations.

The upload process is undertaken through each student’s existing login to UAL’s Portfolio tool.

You can find guidance on how to submit digital work on Portfolio.

Quality assurance of uploads

Work that is uploaded to the site will undergo a quality assurance process (including quick proofing and technical review) to ensure that content is not displayed on the public pages of Showcase which might infringe the use of the platform or cause offence.

The quality assurance process will be undertaken by a different group of people depending on your College of study and includes course leaders, technicians, creative directors and programme directors.

You will be updated by your College quality assurance team if they encounter a possible issue with any uploaded works, and you will have the opportunity to discuss this with them.

Display of works and curation

While all appropriate student work can be presented, the platform will also include specifically curated collections around certain critical themes and agendas. Students’ work will be selected for these by staff and guest curators according to the following criteria:

1. Strength, originality and relevance of concept.
2. What is realistic and achievable in the context of the collection.
3. Suitability for display in a public space. Please note, there is no age restriction for viewing collections so please ensure that your submission is tagged as sensitive content if it is not suitable for under-18s.

Content guide and restrictions for uploading to UAL Showcase

Sensitive content

When you upload your work, your quality assurance and course teams will check it for sensitive content. This means anything that may cause offence, including on the grounds of sexual content, religious persecution, political statements, violence and cultural appropriation.

Where there is nudity in your work, please tag the work as ‘sensitive content’ so that users of the site can make an informed decision about whether to view it. Remember, the explanation of your work and inspiration can be important factors in this.

Within the Showcase, at no point should the public be able to view such materials without prior warning to ensure an informed decision can be made before viewing the work. This is why we have a sensitive content box that you can tick. It is important that you do so even if you think there is only a chance this work may cause offence, because we can always discuss this with you after you have submitted your work.

You can also talk to your course teams or creative director at any point about this for advice.

Considerations for uploaded works

Please consider the following in selecting and contextualising work you upload to Showcase. This section contains examples of works that we may not be able to present on  Showcase. If you are in doubt after reading this, please contact your course team or leader to discuss the work and its context.

Context

How is the material presented? Factors such as the medium, forum, genre and style  used may determine on the classification. For example, an abstract or fanciful painting may be less impactful compared to a realistic photograph or film.

Consider the way it’s presented. Is it aggressive or  humorous, for example? In a film piece, bad language might be used aggressively or it might be used casually in conversation. Similarly, a weapon could be shown with intent to harm or it could be  an object within a picture.

Theme

The treatment and the sensitivity of the theme should be taken into account. For example, drug misuse, sexual violence, pornography, paedophilia, racial hatred or violence are unlikely to be appropriate for under 18s but the way is it presented should be considered.

Tone and impact

The presentation of issues such as sex and violence may not be seen as over 18 but a dark or unsettling tone may increase the impact for the individual. Harmful behaviour, which is glorified, condoned or seen to appear normal, should also be considered as sensitive.

Review of uploaded content

Taking into account the above general considerations, the following subjects will be further considered by the assurance team and course leaders.

Discrimination

Work that discriminates on the basis of race, gender, religion, disability or sexuality.

Drugs

Work that normalises or glamorises the portrayal of drug taking or misuse.

Imitable behaviour

Work which promotes criminal activity or anti-social behaviour such as bullying without criticism. Work which portray potentially dangerous activity such as hanging, suicide and self-harm which could be copied by a young person or vulnerable adult.

Language

The extent of the offence can vary depending on the visitors background and own beliefs. Therefore it is mostly about how it used in conjunction with the general considerations above.

Nudity

With no sexual context, nudity itself is not seen as indecent or explicit. It should not however, be viewable by the public outside of the event and so will not be selected for trailers and advertisements on social media.

Sex

Clear images of real sex, strong fetish material and/or sexual explicit images are classed as over 18. In some cases, such as in film or photography, if the sexual content is viewed as for the purpose of sexual arousal or stimulation then the content cannot be presented on Showcase.

Threat and violence

If the work is viewed as unsettling or frightening for a younger or vulnerable visitor with no positive outcome then warnings – not necessarily over 18 – must be given. If the work depicts a violent or threatening act in a glorified or normalised manner then it may be considered over 18.

Indecent Displays (Control) Act 1981

If viewership of work should be restricted to over 18s only then a clear advisory will be presented at the access point to that curated experience, or student or course portfolio.

‘The work you are about to view contains content which some viewers may find challenging or offensive, and is not recommended for those under 18 years of age.’

UAL Showcase will create a digital version of this information, so that all content that has been ticked as ‘sensitive’ will have a warning on the screen for visitors. We understand that some creative work uses sensitive content to explore a theme or human experience, so we will be more detailed so that platform users understand this, for example an on-screen message may say:

Further information on this act can be found here:

www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1981/42/section/1

Takedown procedure

If UAL receives a complaint about a piece of work it may be necessary to remove it from a specific curation, or altogether from Showcase. If this should happen the student will be kept informed as to the rationale and the nature of the complaint, and why the work has to be removed.

To avoid this eventuality, students submitting work to the platform should first speak to their course leader, where they anticipate that the work could cause complaint from the public.

Conflict with Terms and Conditions, Acceptable Use

If at any point a conflict is identified between this policy and the user Terms and Conditions or Acceptable Use policies for Showcase, then those policies will have precedent. This policy is provided for optional advice and guidance for students and staff.