Acclaimed Graduate Show moves online for 2020

The show, which is one of the university’s most important events, would usually be held across gallery spaces, catwalks and London design shows. This year, because of the coronavirus pandemic, students will be given an opportunity to exhibit their work in virtual exhibition spaces from midday on Friday 12 June.

To make it all possible, a website was built from scratch with over 50 staff working hard behind the scenes to upload all of the student exhibitions. The show will also feature live online events including interactive workshops, student discussions and live research focused on art and wellbeing.

Laura Williams, Event Services Manager at Southcoast Conferences & Events (part of the University of Brighton), said: “It’s kind of like the physical build of the show would be, but rather than hammers and nails, it’s all weblinks and documents!

Eyesdown by Sophie Walker

“There is so much to be excited about in this year’s show. It will be the first digital show, and there will be new opportunities to hear from the students themselves talking about their work, their creative processes, and their personal journeys.”

Work by art, design and media students will be online when the show goes live on 12 June. MA graduates will launch their show on 17 July, with the School of Architecture and Design’s undergraduate and postgraduate students displaying their work on a separate website from 3 July.

Sophie Walker, Illustration BA(Hons) student, has been working on a project called Inside, Looking Out, which asked people from all over the world to send images of their windows and an accompanying quote to describe lockdown. She also created an album Concept Project for Bonobo’s ‘Black Sands’.

Sophie said: “The online Graduate Show is a great opportunity to showcase our degree work during the COVID 19 pandemic. It is also a powerful tool that can be used in networking in the arts industries.

“The link can simply be emailed to potential employers, uploaded to LinkedIn profiles or shared around social media so family and friends in all corners of the world can have access. The internet is one of the most important ways to communicate, especially in the lockdown climate of 2020 so I'm very pleased that the university is taking advantage of it.”

Visual Culture BA(Hons) student Sarahlouise Newman is a research Historian who focuses mainly on the 20th century and specialises in war history. She said: "Having an online show in these unprecedented times is not only something that the students need to showcase their work, but also gives the work a wide audience to those who may not have been able to see a live graduate show, thus broadcasting the work further."

Joshua Bell, Digital Music and Sound Arts BA(Hons), created an 18-track album called Elephant In The Room, which started off as an exploration into climate anxiety but was shaped by COVID-19 lockdown. He said: “The entire showcase being in this format has been shaped by our current pandemic and makes it oddly appropriate, or at least contextualises it, that the showcase is online. I feel this adds a certain timeless quality to the show, compared to other academic years, which sits online with the timeless feeling we have  been experiencing during lockdown."

Sarah-Louise Koessler

Donald Watson

Amanda Bright, Head of the School of Art, said: “The show is a celebration of this year’s graduates’ ideas, creativity and originality – as all graduate shows are, but this year it is also a celebration of their resilience, their tenacity and determination to keep going, despite the extraordinary and world-changing impact of the pandemic.”

Irmi Karl, Head of the School of Media, added: “This show is therefore as much about the stories behind the work, our students’ professionalism and how they have responded to the challenge of completing their degrees in lockdown, as it is about the work itself.

“They have all been extraordinary, as have all the members of staff that have supported them.”

Bookmark the Graduate Show page for links to the exhibitions and events when they go live.

Watch or listen to the Graduate Show podcast from 12 July.

Graduate Show 2020 dates

12 June onwards
The Brighton Graduate Show 2020 website goes live.

3 July onwards
The School of Architecture and Design Graduate Show 2020 website goes live.

17 July onwards
Our MA graduates launch their digital show on the Brighton Graduate Show 2020 website.

Events
During the show our students and staff will be running a series of events – check back for updates.

Bronte Simpson-Little