Art, design and media students will show their work to the public at the Isle of Man College of Further and Higher Education’s annual exhibition.
More than 100 full and part-time students, from GCSE to degree level, will have work featured in Figuratively Speaking, the traditional end-of-year display.
The exhibition is this year split over two venues – the College in Homefield Road, Douglas, and the Market Hall, Douglas, an arts hub run in partnership with Douglas Corporation.
Helen Fox, Programme Manager for Art, Design and Media, said: ‘Our degree programmes are now based at the Market Hall, which has undergone a slow transformation over the year since we moved in. It is now fully kitted out with display walls and a range of traditional and high-tech equipment.
‘Visitors to the exhibition will see a mixture of two and three-dimensional art, fashion, photography, sculpture, print-making, jewellery, ceramics, graphics, architecture, design, video and animation.
‘The exhibition will hopefully attract potential students as well as the wider public.’
Helen said: ‘Each year taking students through a personal journey, seeing them overcome personal challenges, grow in confidence, mature their outlook and approach to work is so rewarding.’
She continued: ‘The creative community on the Isle of Man is strong. Over the last couple of years there has evolved a real buzz, an energy, with more creative people coming back to the Island to work. It is important that we recognise this and join together the dots. We have the potential to build this into a strong economic sector.’
Helen thanked Citywing, which sponsors the College’s ‘Artist on a Plane’ initiative to fly artists to the Island to give public lectures and work with students.
The two-week exhibition also starts the College’s participation as a creative champion in the BBC’s Get Creative initiative.
The exhibition’s opening hours are:
College – opens on Thursday 18th June. Opening hours are 10am to 8pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 4pm on Fridays; Market Hall – opens on Saturday 20th June. Opening hours are 9am-5pm Monday to Saturday. Admission is free. The exhibition closes on Wednesday 1st July.
[Photo- Harley Redford Art Foundation Student]
