From Monday 6 to Saturday 11 June, the free exhibition will showcase the final year projects of more than 300 students from across Art, Design, Media and Performance courses.
The show includes BA (Hons) Photography student Stephen Lawson who decided to pursue his passion for photography as a mature student after working as a Risk Manager around the world. The 50-year-old from Forsbrook collaborated with UK charity Missing People for his project Those Left Behind which documents the lives of families whose loved ones have disappeared. The series of photographs and videos feature the parents of Andrew Gosden, Quentin Godwin, Cian Langelaan and Charles Horvath-Allan.
Stephen explained: “When I was living in Paris in my 20s a friend went missing and it struck me at the time how alone the families of people who are missing must feel. I felt it was necessary to document, to help this organisation and these people to tell their stories.”
In the Fine Art gallery, student Eve Travis is paying homage to her mum who studied the same subject at North Staffordshire Polytechnic in the 1970s. She has recreated a painting that her mother produced, whilst pregnant with her, and has restaged a piece of performance art made during the same period.
The 30-year-old from Newcastle-Under-Lyme explained: “I was seeking connection with this mum that I didn’t know before she became a mum. I feel that she gave up art to be a mother, so I wanted to remake one of her performances and gift it to her.”
Also on display is BA (Hons) Industrial Design student Emily Pugh’s Sweet Dreams Sensory Bed which provides an immersive sleep experience for children with autism. It integrates an enclosed sensory den into a lofted bed to help prepare children for a calm bedtime and uninterrupted night’s sleep.
Emily, 22 from Greater Manchester, explained: “Children with autism tend to have an imbalance in their melatonin levels and this causes them not to know when to fall asleep, how long to sleep, and then also when to wake up. I discovered there are not many products to help so I designed this bed to be part of a child’s bedtime routine.
“Autistic children are often hypersensitive to external stimuli and inside the den there are projectors with coloured lights and sensory mats to provide a calming environment where they could read a book or relax before sleep.”
The show will also include exhibits from Architecture, Art and Design Foundation, Cartoon and Comic Arts, Fine Art, Fashion, 3D Designer Maker, Animation, Graphic Design, Illustration, Photography, Surface Pattern and Textile Design, Industrial Design: Product and Transport, Ceramics, Film and Media plus Acting for Stage and Screen.
The Degree Show 2022 is open to the public from Monday 6 June to Saturday 11 June. Car parking is available on our Leek Road site and parking charges have been lifted for the duration of the degree show.
Opening times:
- Monday 6 June, 10am – 5pm
- Tuesday 7 June, 10am – 5pm
- Wednesday 8 June, 10am – 8pm
- Thursday 9 June, 10am – 5pm
- Friday 10 June, 10am – 9pm
Celebration Evening 6.30 - 9.00pm
- Saturday 11 June, 9am – 3pm