Gray's Degree Show bursts with colour
Three years have passed since the last Gray’s Degree Show. Like many of us, this year’s graduates have spent a good deal of their studies working from home. They’ve had to self-motivate and have missed out on social interaction and mutual inspiration.
You may think this might affect some of the quality of work, but I’m here to tell you that the artwork on display is some of the most spectacular, fully realised in the show’s stellar history.
Over 100 graduating artists and designers have presented their projects at this year’s event. Among the disciplines on display are painting, contemporary art practice, fashion and textiles, communication design, photography, and 3D design, many of which are actually on sale.
A highlight of the Gray’s calendar each year, the Degree Show celebrates the talents and achievements of the final-year students. The work created by graduates at Gray’s Degree show is of really high quality. But that isn’t the whole story. It’s also very accessible and entertaining.
This show is probably the best way in the city to see such a huge range of art styles all in one place.
A testament to the graduates drive
Show producer Sally Moir was keen to praise the work of the graduates. She told us, “The effort, ambition, thoughtfulness, criticality throughout the graduating student shows across fine art and design is an absolute testament to their drive to put on a physical show after such a challenging art school journey.
“Be sure to come along over the next week to immerse yourself in an array of creative practices, we promise it will not disappoint.”
Speaking personally, I haven’t enjoyed viewing art in digital spaces through the pandemic years. It was an imperfect solution to a very real problem. It wasn’t great way to engage with the work, but it must also have been extremely challenging for pupils to recreate their vision in digital.
It’s clear that many of this year’s final-year students have also been keen to ditch digital. The vast majority of the work on display is right there in the real world…and it’s so much fun. As a result, the whole space has amazingly positive energy.
It’s no surprise that organisers chose “Welcome to the real world” as this year’s tagline. These artists are pushing forward to the future. There’s a positivity and ambition on display that’s infectious. Despite a busy schedule, I actually left feeling refreshed and inspired.
The Grays Degree Shows are always brilliant in their own ways, but this year’s iteration was one of my favourites. I’ll definitely be taking the time to visit again. You should get down to see it before it ends on Saturday 18 June 2022.
It’s free and it’s fun so take a friend along with you. You might find it gives you a lot to talk about.
Aberdeen Events
Check out Gray’s Degree Show 2022 on Aberdeen EventsFind more events and activities in the Aberdeen Events Calendar
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