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BA (HONS) FINE ART DEGREE SHOW 2022

There are times during the creative process when we encounter uncertainties, the need to adjust, to adapt to other ways of working and thinking. But as creative people we see this as a challenge rather than a hinderance and we are open to the new perspectives we discover along the way. Our final year students are no strangers to this given the troubles we have all faced over the past few years. They have rose to this challenge and their collaborative journey is a demonstration of their dedication, focus and willingness to embrace these new discoveries.

This is not the first time the group have shown work in a professional context. In 2021, after forming their collective Flux the group presented their first exhibition ‘Transmute’ in Bolton Market Place that received significant coverage in the local press and radio. The trajectory of the groups concepts, themes and engagement with materials can be traced back to this exhibition. ‘Transmute’ reflected the groups ingenuity and resilience in opening a show of exceptional professional standard so soon after a national lockdown.

The artworks in ‘Fusion ΦB’ show a level of confidence and maturity that one would expect to see in a final degree show but are also a testament to each student’s unique approach in how they engage with making art that interrogates the pressing social, cultural and environmental debates of today. The exhibition is truly thought provoking with investigations of the poetic nuances of space and form, issue driven responses of our current time and philosophical debates on how we see our world. The individual creative interpretations and material engagement invites a sense of wonder and intrigue that I’m sure you will find arresting and inspiring in equal measure.

It has been a privilege to be part of the student’s individual creative journeys and to see them flourish from year to year throughout the degree. The creative and conceptual dialogues that happen between tutor and student always presents new insights, new ways of thinking and seeing, and much is to be gained by all parties. This exchange of knowledge is the most rewarding aspect of teaching.

Ged Young

Programme Leader

BA (Hons) Fine Art

Awards

Graduate Residency Prize
A three month residency period with open access to the University studios during semester 1, to continue their own practice and support students with their practical studies.
Awarded to Sue Brown

Rogue Exhibition Prize
Rogue Artists Studios’ is the largest artists’ studios provider in the north of England. Rogue has a track record of supporting emerging artists, through its ‘Graduate Spaces’ scheme, its Residency Programme and now through the ‘Rogue Exhibition Award’. Rogue Project Space is a flexible exhibition venue of 290 square metres and the award enables emerging artists to plan and mount their first major exhibition in a critically informed and supportive environment.  The award recognises exceptional achievement in the visual arts at undergraduate level and Rogue is delighted to announce that Melissa Day and Alicja Ostrowska from the University of Bolton are its first recipients.
Awarded to Alicja Ostrowska and Melissa Day

OT Creative space Residency Prize
A two week Community based Residency shaped with the artist, the artist will make work for exhibition in The OT Creative Space window gallery. Studio Space will be provided.
Awarded to  Fran Duggan