Hi! My name's Lauren, I'm in my final year of my BA (Hons) Photography course at UCA and I'm hoping to raise some extra funds to cover the costs of producing my graduate work.

Over the last 8 months I've been working intensively and closely with musicians to document any and all moments. Of these 8 months, 5 have been spent with one musician, who is the focus of my final piece.

My outcome will be a photobook, with additional text, scans and relevant information to build a narrative of my time with Tmdistant. Think artist features in magazines, but over a longer period of time and more access to the subject. I've spoken with Tmdistant and some of those closest to him for deeply personal accounts about life as a smaller musician, and balancing the dual identity of musician and normal life.

The intensive nature of the project has meant I have had less time to work outside of my studies, and had a significant increase in my monthly expenses. So far, the project has been entirely self-funded, with the exception of occasional help from friends to cover travel. Living in what feels like the middle of nowhere (Guildford) without a car means I've spent hundreds of pounds on Trainline and TFL alone for this project.

I've absolutely loved having the freedom to create something I'm so passionate about at university. The work will be exhibited in our UCA Farnham grad show (9th-20th June 2026) and at a London show (9th-12th July). These exhibitions come with costs, from venue hire to printing.

I will be exhibiting a large framed print alongside my book, which (time-permitting) will be hand-bound. My estimated costs are currently £300-400 for the printing/installing stages of the work.

Any donated funds would contribute directly to these costs, travel expenses and the cost to reprint the book for sale post-university.