Launch of our online art and design degree show
This is a first for the Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries – an online degree show with an online launch! The show was launched on 11th June through an online Microsoft Teams gathering – people were dressed up, had a drink to hand, and were there to celebrate. Over 120 students and university staff attended the private view.
Richard Wood spoke from Create Britain, a new independent platform which has been used to host this online degree show. They want to make it really easy to find and promote artists in the creative industries. Richard praised our students who clearly have so many different skills they can use in their careers and encouraged them to celebrate their creativity. The web site will help drive traffic to the right places – he encouraged our students to make sure they can be found in how they want to describe themselves, to engage themselves in social media and make contacts in the industry.
Gareth Pugh spoke next – he is an internationally renowned fashion designer, from Grangetown, Sunderland, and was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2018 from the University of Sunderland. He was really enthusiastic and told students that as they claim their space in the creative industry, they should try and surround themselves by those who keep you grounded, by those who support you, by your family if they are your biological family or the family you choose. Create Britain enables you to go beyond a physical show – it is the opportunity to connect with a wider audience is super important.
What will the future look like? Lockdown has provided an enforced break – opportunity to press the re-set button. All our students graduating this year can help us to change the way we look at the world – possibilities are endless. There are two distinct languages – words can divide but the visual, everyone can understanding. Art is vital, change is necessary.
Megan Lunn, from our Marketing department, gave us a tour of the Sunderland Creatives web site, which features not only this year’s degree show, but features our artists, their artist statement and for some for them, offering work for sale. The site features:
- The Class of 2020
- Our art and design courses
- Media and performance will be added later in the year
- Opportunity to purchase work
- Search facility to find a particular student or course
it shows how students have had to think out of the box during lockdown. The layout of the site has allowed students to choose their layout according to their creative preferences.
What are you waiting for? Go and explore the web site now!
