Thousands of people are expected to visit the De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) campus over the next six days as students showcase their talents with end-of-year degree shows in what could be one of the city's biggest free exhibitions.
"Footprints" by Shilpa Sehdev
Students from the schools of Art and Design and the Faculty of Technology have worked with their academics to put together a six day festival of their finest work which celebrates their creativity and the culmination of years of hard study at DMU.
There are close to 700 different art works, designs and pieces of tech, including work on the next generation of computer games, to view at the show which starts tonight (Friday 12 June from 5.30pm) with a special preview show. The free exhibition is then open to the public through the weekend and up to Thursday 18 June. Open Days for prospective students to see the impressive scale of work will be this Saturday.
Exhibitions for Art and Design will be in Heritage House, the home of Fashion Design, Contour Design, Fashion Buying and Footwear Design, the Campus Centre, where there will be a display by the School of Architecture, the Art Factory and Mill Studios, which includes Fine Art, Sculpture, Photography, Design Craft and Interior Design, and the Fletcher Low Rise, which includes Product and Furniture Design.
Fine Art students Rebecca Cole, Holly Pickersgill and Melissa Marsden said they were looking forward to the public seeing their work as they take their first steps to working as professional artists.
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Rebecca, who has created a series of brightly coloured wooden 3D shapes called Natural Occurrence, said: “I am excited and nervous, but people coming to see your work is excellent. It is a really great degree show this year incorporating paintings, sculptures and performance. It is varied, diverse...and free!”
Melissa Marsden with her 9m painting "Movement of Paint"
Holly has created an installation called June, which involved her turning a sheep’s fleece into wool yarn, all by hand, and knitting a chunky fabric. She has incorporated wiring into it and, during her performance piece about sleep, Holly will be able to make the textiles “sing”.
She said: “This is the climax of a three year degree. People have the chance to see the students’ best work. We have all put so much effort into it. It is exciting putting on an exhibition as it is our first steps towards becoming a professional artist.”
Game Art Design and Animation students are showcasing their work at Bede Island, Western Boulevard.
Among them is Rajesh Parmar, who has created his own online floating castle, Volatious, which visitors can tour. It uses influences from Roman, Moroccan and Egyptian architecture. “I love the course because you can be a world builder,” he said. “You can create your own fantasy environment. I am going to develop this into an entire city over the summer.”
Holly Pickersgill with "June", her own wool creation which can play electronic music
Meanwhile in Queens Building visitors can see the work by Computer Games Programming, Media Production and Graphic Design and Illustration final year students.
Graphic Design student Sophie Clark said the course had given her confidence. She said: “I have gained more confidence in my own work and my own ideas, gaining more digital designing skills.”
During his time at DMU, Graphic Design student George Alborn interned at Big Communications, working on live briefs for companies such as Cadbury’s and Quorn.
Computer Games Programming student Derry Hall has set up his own company, Stormburst Studios, while at DMU. The firm hopes to have its first mobile game out by Christmas. “The investment DMU had put into these facilities – for the exclusive use of students – show they care deeply about the course and the success of those on it,” he said.
Interior Design students Zoe Lee and Georgina Trivett have created a display showcasing the Fletcher building past and present, which illustrates the history of the landmark building in the heart of the DMU campus. It also shows how the campus will look once the £42 million refurbishment has been completed in summer 2016.
It includes a large steel structure incorporating the DMU logo as well as a 3D printed sculpture of the completed development.
Zoe said: “We had to work to a budget and a two week deadline and it was great fun. It was good getting some hands-on experience and it is great for our portfolio.”
Georgina added: “I really enjoyed myself and applying what I have learned on the course into a live project. We used steel frames as it fits in with the look of the site at the moment with all the scaffolding. And it gives an industrial feel.”
Interior Design students Zoe Lee and Georgina Trivett
Posted on Friday 12 June 2015