Last week, our BA (Hons) Art & Design and BA (Hons) Graphic Design students held the opening night of the annual UCW Pop-up exhibition, Motion, in The Common Room, Weston-super-Mare, where students exhibited prints and original artwork to friends, family, and the public.
This exhibition celebrated a multidisciplinary approach from the students and was a fantastic opportunity for them to showcase their designs in a professional setting, discussing their themes and the decisions behind their work with the attendees.
This term, students have created a range of artwork using multiple disciplines and mediums, from hand-rendered and digital prints, to sculpting, ceramics and projecting. Students explored the theme of ‘Motion’ throughout their projects, responding with a variety of mediums and interpretations.
One student, Woods, created their work around communication and the motion of storytelling, exploring storytelling through a fictional world inspired by Dungeons & Dragons. Woods created their own fictional character, Nathaniel Notitia, who simulates being different in society and the need to be accepted. Nathaniel was projected onto the wall at the exhibition and reflected character journey reflects themes of difference, acceptance, and unity, emphasising communication and community in confronting societal injustices.
Woods adds, “To be able to display my work to the public feels immense, like something I never anticipated being offered the ability to do. Having grown up in a small town very far from here, I didn’t think publicly displaying what I created would ever be an option. The fact that I had never seen a piece of digital art or projected art on display, nor a transgender artist, it felt like a massive step to be able to put myself out there like that, to expand perspectives within art and to change that narrative of who can produce and present.”
This exhibition was organised by Year 2 Art and Design, and Graphic Design students as part of their Professional Practice module and was a fantastic opportunity for them to showcase their work publicly, outlining their themes, processes, and influences to visitors. This type of experience improves the students’ communication skills, confidence, and resilience, giving them the chance to adapt to unknown situations and overcome potential obstacles to create a seamless exhibition.
We’d like to say a huge well done to the students who organised this event, the professionalism displayed was fantastic and was a well-deserved celebration of the hard work and dedication you’ve put into your work.
Find out more about our Art and Design, and Graphic Design courses, here.
