RECAP: Our New Creatives Graduate Season 2022

Goldsmiths, University of London: Ephemerence, BSc Digital Arts Computing Degree Show | 6-8 May

Kicking off New Creatives 2022, Ephemerence brought a unique edge to this year’s New Creatives, being the only digital arts exhibition in the programme. 

Exhibiting in Bargehouse, the exhibition highlighted the work of BSc Digital Arts Computing graduates, introducing an arborescent trail of work, and spiralling through past, present and future. Ephemerence was a collection of artworks that explore the contradiction of permanent change.

Branching across video, live performance, sculpture and installation, Ephemerence reacted to its fleeting presence inside the building that held it to acknowledge a multidimensionality of velocities.

RCA2020 Part One | 20-29 May

RCA2020 was a two-part exhibition that took place across four weekends in Bargehouse, each show exhibiting the brilliant work of the graduates from four schools of the Royal College of Art (RCA). RCA2020 brought to life graduate work from its 2020 cohort, the “show that never happened” because of the global pandemic. 

Part One of the exhibition ran from 20–29 May, featuring the work of graduates from the School of Architecture and the School of Design. The School of Architecture graduates exhibited work from the Interior Design and Architecture programmes. The exhibition also featured work by graduates from Service Design, Textiles, Design Products, Fashion, Global Innovation Design, and Innovation Design Engineering from the School of Design.

RCA2020 was not just about putting art and design on display; the exhibition recaptured the energy and enthusiasm of a degree show in a normal year before the COVID-19 pandemic hit!

University of Gloucestershire: ‘Perspective’ | 25-30 May

‘Perspective’ was an exhilarating photography exhibition in gallery@oxo, showcasing the work of the graduating BA (Hons) Photojournalism and Documentary Photography students from the University of Gloucestershire.

This exhibition was the culmination of three years of challenging work for the students after a COVID-affected university experience. The stories on display varied between music performance, Social Documentary, sustainable fashion, the road trip, street photography and the effects of Brexit on the fishing industry. 

True to its name, the show displayed the different perspectives of the people who live and work in Gloucestershire. 

RCA2020 Part Two | 3-12 June

The second part of the RCA2020 exhibition, RCA2020 Part Two, took place in Bargehouse from 3-12 June. 

Part Two of RCA2020 featured the work of graduates from the School of Arts and Humanities and the School of Communication. From the School of Arts and Humanities, graduates from the Painting, Print and Contemporary Art Practice degree programmes showcased their work following three years of cultivating their skills at the RCA.

Graduates from the Visual Communication, Animation and Information Experience Design degree programmes from the School of Communication also took part in displaying their final graduate projects.

Made in Brunel: Blueprints | 16-19 June

Made in Brunel has now spent its 11th year exhibiting in New Creatives at gallery@oxo and Bargehouse! 2022 also marks its 17th year promoting the incredible work produced by the UK’s best and brightest Design graduates from the Brunel Design School.

This year’s exhibition, Blueprints, displayed a diverse range of graduate design projects. This included a home rehabilitation system for stroke patients, an interactive toy for children to learn to read independently at home, a recyclable lateral flow kit, and a kit to upcycle trainers. These are just four of 160 projects on display!

Blueprints presented an extraordinary variety of design ideas for solving everyday problems. Health, wellbeing, learning and the environment were at the core of many of the designs on show.

LSBU: End of Year Architecture Show | 23-26 June 

The Architecture graduates of London South Bank University held their End of Year Degree Show in Bargehouse this June, showcasing the best of architectural education. As one of our neighbours on London’s iconic South Bank, it was a brilliant opportunity for local graduates to get involved in this year’s New Creatives season.

The LSBU End of Year Show for Architecture graduates celebrated the excellence of LSBU students and staff in their Undergraduate and Postgraduate Architecture programmes.

RWCMD: BALANCE An Exhibition of Design for Performance | 1-3 July

The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama (RWCMD) returned to Bargehouse after two years following the pandemic, bringing with it the work of both the individual creative design practitioner and the collaborative artist.

Featuring designs from the last two years of productions, projects and films made at the RWCMD and as external collaborations, Balance presented the work of 40 graduating designers and stage management students. 

The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama is the National Conservatoire of Wales and a leading UK provider of specialist practical and performance-based training in music and drama.

University of Cambridge ARCSOC Summer Show | 8-10 July

ARCSOC is the University of Cambridge Architecture Society.

Exhibiting in Bargehouse this year, ARCSOC presented their annual exhibition of the work of 200 undergraduates and postgraduates at the Department of Architecture. Featuring drawings, models, installations, digital and written work, this is the culmination of another fantastic year of diverse design and research and marks ARCSOC’s return to London after three years away.

The exhibition was entirely student-organised, funded by a variety of talks and events run by ARCSOC throughout the year, as well as by their key sponsors.

re-Form: The Interior Educators Summer Show | 15-17 July 

Interior Educators (IE) is the national subject association which represents well-established Interior Design, Interior Architecture and Spatial Design degree programmes in the UK and Ireland. The Interior Educators Summer has been running for over 10 years and regularly attracts 1000+ visitors each year.

Last year’s exhibition adopted the theme ‘re-define’ for the summer show and awards system. This year, building on this theme in gallery@oxo and Bargehouse, they explored the idea of ‘re-form.’ Through this year’s awards system, parallel exhibition and talks programme, IE explored how design can help to form and reform society by addressing shared problems head on. 

Arts University Bournemouth: Evoke Collective Graduate Exhibition | 21-24 July

New Creatives 2022 concluded with its final show, Evoke Collective Graduate Exhibition by Arts University Bournemouth in Bargehouse. 

Evoke Collective is a group of emerging visual artists, the graduating class of 2022 from BA (Hons) Photography at the Arts University Bournemouth.

Showing work developed throughout their COVID-impacted experience, the exhibition was a testament to the resilience and creativity of the group. Recognising photography within a mix of media, the subjects covered were wide-ranging and include issues about relationships, grief, and introspection.