Degree Show to start off in the best of fashions
A live Fashion Show and Acting Showcase will be among the highlights on the opening night of our York College University Centre Degree Show.
The three-day event will highlight the talent of our creative Higher Education students and, after Friday’s invitation-only evening at Spurriergate Centre, the former church, regarded as one of the oldest buildings in York, will throw its doors open for members of the public to view some of the best examples of the work produced this year on our BA (Hons) 3D Creative Practice, BA (Hons) Fashion Design and Garment Technology, BA (Hons) Graphic and Communication Design and BA (Hons) Media Make-up, Special Effects and Hair Design courses.
Clothes from the Fashion Show will then be displayed on mannequins and rails for visitors to the exhibition between 9am and 4pm on Saturday and Sunday when admission will be free.
It is also planned that a video of the opening night’s activities will be shown for those who attend the Degree Show over the weekend.
Among the ranges from our Level Six Fashion Design and Garment Technology students will be Hannah Miller’s women’s wear collection, which reimagines a kinder fashion industry, as she embraces adaptable fashion to produce multi-seasonal, transitional garments that take the wearer from day to night across the seasons of the year.
Elenor Houlgate’s collection, meanwhile, will take a deep dive into the complex world of mental health, using the psychology of colour.
The colour palette of her range experiments with scale in embroidered self-portraits on oversized organza pocket bags.
Her semi-opaque materials also expose the inner workings of tailored pieces, serving as a representation of the true, inner self.
Friday night’s Acting Showcase will be a recreation of some elements of the Graduate Showcase, performed last month by our BA (Hons) Acting for Stage and Screen students at the York Theatre Royal.
That event was a culmination of two years of professional actor training and gave our first cohort of actors an opportunity to present their work to the industry.
Scenes that will be revived from the Showcase include extracts from Closer by Patrick Marber, The Effect by playwright Lucy Prebble, Sixty Five Miles by playwright Matt Hartley, Eigengrau by Penelope Skinner, Consensual by Evan Placey, and Bird by Katherine Chandler.
Our Media Make-up, Special Effects and Hair Design students, meanwhile, will be presenting work from a year-long project that focussed on a plethora of thought-provoking subjects, ranging from the use of mobile phones to mental health topics and even serial killers!
The students have produced four images to represent their respective topics, making their own bespoke wigs and working on prosthetics along the way.
Our 3D Creative Practice student Hatty Fleetham will also be showcasing her large-scale sculptural books.
Hatty gained a love for handmade books at a simple bookmaking session two years ago and, since then, has expanded and developed her skills to deliver complex pieces of work.
For this final major project, she wrote her own brief, which incorporated researching and experimenting with classic bookbinding techniques, taking inspiration from geometry and including bright colours.
Her current practice is focussed on redefining books by creating sculptural forms, using recycled materials in the form of structural paperclay.
Ahead of the Degree Show's opening night, Deputy Head of Higher Education & Professional Sharon Barrington said: "The York College University Centre Degree Show celebrates the work of students studying a variety of creative programmes. It is a time to reflect on the hard work and dedication the students have demonstrated throughout the year to showcase this finale.
"The teaching team and I are so proud and excited to unveil the imaginative and talented works from Graphics, Fashion, 3D Crafts, Media Make-up and Acting students. Many of the students have collaborated across the various creative programmes to produce their final Major Projects which you will see on display over the three days. We look forward to welcoming you and to talk about the degrees we have on offer at the show and, of course, take you around the exhibit."
We will also be running two further Creative Shows on campus to exhibit the body of work our Art and Design students have produced during the academic year.
The Foundation and UAL Art and Design (Levels 1 to 3) Creative Show will run from Thursday, June 15 to Wednesday, June 21 (excluding June 17 and 18) and the A Level Access Art and Design Creative Show will run from Friday, June 30 to Wednesday, July 5 (excluding July 2).
Work will be displayed on the above dates from 10am to 5pm.
