Final preparations under way for Gray’s School of Art Degree Show

PREPARATIONS for Gray's Degree Show 23: Neon Futures are in full swing with excitement mounting as the degree show prepares to open on Saturday, June 10.

Friends and family will come together for a welcome event today (Friday), with presentations of Gray's and RGU Art and Heritage Principal's awards, Four Pillar and industry awards and a special stakeholder event for industry figures.

As part of degree show week, networking events are planned including Gray's Alumni and City Creatives event, teacher networking event and Aberdeen Cultural Summit leading two sessions to explore the vitality of the North East's cultural economy.

A total of 150 students across Painting, Contemporary Art Practice, Fashion and Textiles, Communication Design, Three-Dimensional Design and Photography, are exhibiting, as part of the degree show which centres around the theme Neon Futures and celebrates the graduates ‘new’ and bold futures.

One of those displaying her work is Communication Design student, Jessica Reid, from Irvine in North Ayrshire is showcasing two projects at the degree show including a virtual reality experience for the Community of Arran Seabed Trust (COAST) and a picture book called Fred Loves Sock's about a washing machine that eats socks.

For her virtual reality experience, Jessica worked with COAST to create an engaging and educational experience that tells the story of the amazing marine life in Arran which will also be on show at the COAST discovery Centre in Lamlash in July. Jessica says she owes a huge thank you to the Ayrshire Community Trust's digital department (TACT Digital), who let her use their virtual reality software to create her project.

Jessica said: "For the COAST virtual reality experience, I would love people to really appreciate the natural world we have right at our doorstep and consider this when making everyday choices that affect our environment.

"The inspiration behind my picture book Fred Loves Socks, comes from family as I am the eldest of 10. My siblings were a constant inspiration for stories for me. They actually helped me through my design process for the book and my story about greed and consequences in a fun and light-hearted way!

"Gray's has been such an amazing chapter in my life. It has such a great community of creative people. The Communication Design staff at Gray's are so supportive and have really pushed me to get to where I am now with my work. There are so many amazing opportunities for workshops and guest speakers to take inspiration from.

"I’ve honestly had the best time and I’m so proud of all of my classmates, everyone has worked so hard and their work is unbelievable. The visitors of the Gray's Degree Show this year are definitely in for a treat."

Find out more at https://www.rgu.ac.uk