Students prepare to REVEAL graduating exhibitions

Graduating artists from Northumbria University’s Fine Art programmes are preparing to showcase their work in a multi-site exhibition which includes Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art and spaces across the University’s Newcastle City Campus.

Street art displayed on scaffolding, colourful installations and live performances inspired by street theatre will all form part of a collection of work by almost 50 students completing Undergraduate and Postgraduate degree programmes in Fine Art at Northumbria this summer.

The five-day exhibition running Wednesday 24 May to Sunday 28 May is called Refracted Panorama: molecular scenes from beyond the horizon and will occupy spaces at Northumbria’s own Gallery North, Lipman and Squires Buildings, as well as Level 1 at Baltic in Gateshead, as part of a longstanding cultural partnership between the two organisations.

For more than a decade, Baltic and Northumbria have worked together with a shared vision to support creative talent development, nurture public engagement and enhance the region’s reputation for artistic excellence. At the core of the dynamic partnership is the Baltic x Northumbria University Institute, a base for world-class teaching and mentorship in contemporary art practice and research.

Andrea Phillips, Baltic Professor and Director of the Baltic x Northumbria University Institute said: “Contemporary art is very interdisciplinary so visitors can expect to see paintings and sculpture together with films, photography and artworks that combine these together. The exhibition is all-encompassing, and looks to these students’ futures, which is in part where the exhibition title of Refracted Panorama comes from.

“Across the region, as members of such a creative community, we work together with Baltic, teach together, and we celebrate art in the North East together. Baltic curators and producers have inspired our collaboration. Of course, at the heart of that are our fantastic students, and I really feel that this exhibition is a great showcase of talent and hard work.”  

The exhibition will be officially launched on Wednesday 24 May with a joint Baltic and Northumbria event. Full details are available here.

Among those preparing for the launch are Sophie Bass, Seymour Mace, Georgia Angel and Rina Santos, who are all coming to the end of the Fine Art BA (Hons) programme at Northumbria.

Sophie’s art explores interpretations of life and death using sculpture and installations. Speaking about the opportunity to showcase her work, she said: “Our degree show will be an amazing opportunity to see the culmination of three years of work within one exhibition. It gives us a real-world insight into preparing to exhibit in a high-traffic space. To have Baltic involved is fantastic and I’m looking forward to friends and family being able to see our artwork for themselves.”

William Collett, Amy Walton and Victoria Franka Marcelino are all Masters students preparing to install their final work at Baltic.

Victoria’s craft-based sculptures take inspiration from woodland walks across the North East and use macrame, knitting, crochet and weaving to bring the forest to life using sustainable methods which have as little environmental impact as possible.

The Film and TV Production graduate explained: “I’ve used my skills to make a film to accompany my work which I hope will make it an immersive experience for visitors. For me, I’d love to continue working in the creative industries in the future, so it’s really exciting and rewarding to be preparing for such a big public facing event.”

Sarah Munro, Baltic Director said: “The strength of our ongoing partnership with Northumbria University means we can jointly support and develop artistic practice at critical stages in the lives of artists.

“We’re delighted to give a platform to the work created by a bright young generation of artists embarking on their careers, and excited to present it with the same technical care and attention as Baltic’s exhibitions by established international artists.”

Professor Katy Shaw, Director of Cultural Partnerships at Northumbria University, said: “Our relationship with Baltic is one of our most established cultural partnerships and one the rest of the sector looks to as an example of how cultural institutions can work with universities.

“The role of our students in the partnership is vital: our UK creative industries are the fourth biggest sector in the economy and are growing at twice the rate of any other area. Our students are the next generation of creative talent that will tackle not only the challenges that face society today but also the opportunities. Through our partnership we are training and retaining talent in the North, for the world, and providing young people with the flexible skillsets they need to take their learning into life.

“The graduate degree shows are the culmination of a remarkable journey and an expression of the true value of our partnership activity.”

Each year, industry professionals, friends and family, staff, students and Northumbria alumni are invited to view up and coming creative talent at the graduate degree shows held throughout May and June, known collectively as REVEAL. 

Northumbria’s graduate degree shows have become a major highlight in the North East’s cultural calendar, showcasing the work of graduating students from across Fine Art, Architecture, Design, Fashion, Film and TV, and Computer and Information Sciences. Graduating students from Humanities, Social Sciences and Music will also be involved in REVEAL for the first time this year.

As well as the chance to see work up close and in-person on campus, many of the programmes also participate in an online REVEAL show, available to view here.

See below for full REVEAL event details on Northumbria University’s Newcastle City Campus.

May

• Tuesday 16 May – Final year Music students held afternoon performances in the Great Hall, Sutherland Building. More here.

• Wednesday 24 May – Projects from graduating Computer and Information Science (CIS) students will be available to view in the foyer of the CIS building. More here.

• Wednesday 24 May – Fine Art exhibitions open as detailed above. More here.

• Thursday 25 May – Theatre and Performance students begin showcasing their work at Northumbria Students’ Union. More here.
  
  
• Friday 26 May - Final year History students will showcase an afternoon of findings from their dissertation research in Lipman Building 121.

June

• Monday 12 June – An invitation only gala will take place for Film and TV Production students.

• Thursday 15 June – The Architecture Studios in Sutherland Building will become exhibition space for final year Undergraduate and Postgraduate Architecture students. More here.

• Wednesday 21 June – An invitation only fashion show will be held for final year Fashion students.

• Thursday 22 June – An exhibition of work from those graduating from the Fashion programmes at Northumbria will take place in the foyer at the School of Design (CCE2). More here.

• Thursday 22 June – Work from graduating students of the Design programmes at Northumbria will be on display at the School of Design (CCE2) and Squires Workshop. More here.

• Thursday 22 June – The foyer of Student Central will become exhibition space for Social Sciences students. More here.