I was reading the Shutteritis blog the other day and I noticed a link to an article by the British Journal of Photography. The gist being - How important are final year shows (for degree students)?
They make some valid points; with students spending up to £1000 on their final exhibitions, are they worth it? and does anyone of note even bother to turn up?
When students at University College of Falmouth were asked if they wanted an exhibition or a professional portfolio review instead, 80% opted for the review. I think that's fine, why can't student's have more say in what they get, after all, they are paying for the damn thing (my personal student debt is in excess of 20 grand!).
If I had the chance to vote at the time of my graduation, I would have gone for the exhibition. I think there is something immensely satisfying about putting on your end of year show. And as for it costing up to £1000? Well, welcome to the real world. Very rarely do exhibitions come for free, especially on the scale of degree shows. You can pay as little as £7.50 for a portfolio review here, and anyway, shouldn't your university be giving you portfolio advice as part of the extortionate tuition fees?
Anyway, long live the degree show. I personally love going to them and seeing what the next group of creatives have to offer.
Glinka
I have just completed the first year of my degree and having been around a selection of year end shows I am surprised by the variation in quality as well as the diversity in what is being presented.
ReplyDeleteAs for is it worth it. Hell yeah - I want to see my work in lights!!! And I agree I can get a portfolio review in a number of places.
That's the beauty of degree shows... the sheer variety is intriguing and often inspiring (in style, subject and quality). I remember when I was a degree student, it was very interesting for me to see what other degree students were doing, it certainly made me raise my game!
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