Latest from Staffordshire's newest exhibition space

You may walk past it every day, but do you ever stop to look at the latest talent on display in the Flaxman building foyer on College Road?

The ground floor space opposite the Film Theatre on the Stoke campus is host to a variety of creative talent from students and tutors alike. Every few weeks the exhibition space transforms to showcase art installations, exhibitions, or simply creative design work.

This week (28th March-1st April 2011) the work of animation lecturer, Laura Weston, is on show: limited editions of her brightly coloured hand prints on specialist paper. For subject matter, Laura draws on the ‘domestic, nostalgic and emotionally resonant world of her sketchbook’. (Pictured above: "Festival Bunting Blue" by Laura Weston)

The last display was by MA Philosophy student, Rebecca Huxley, whose bright display took up the windows of the foyer (Pictured right). She used striking red window lithographs, light boxes and geometric forms produced from paint and lengths of red thread.

Dr David Heap, Senior Lecturer in History of Art and Design, is in charge of the exhibition space and has high aspirations for its future.

“At the moment the space is very ad hoc and we want to redesign it so that we can use it much more efficiently.

We’re only in the discussion stages at the moment, but I’d like to create a professional environment with a great design and lighting that we can promote and even get other institutions involved in using. Stoke-on-Trent College have already expressed interest in using the space for the work of their design students.

Also not many people know that we have a design archive based in the library and a university art collection – it would be great if we could have a more efficient gallery space to display them.”

The next artist exhibiting will be Vicky Shields who is preparing an installation titled “Illusion and Reality”.

Anyone with proposals for work they want showcased can contact David Heap at D.Heap@staffs.ac.uk.