20 May 2011

Dean hails 'vintage year' at Degree Show

Photo opportunity: 6-9pm on Friday, 20th May at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design. Students will be joined by thousands of family, friends and guests at the 2011 Dundee Degree Show.

Visitors to this year’s Dundee Degree Show will be treated to a ‘vintage year’ for the city’s largest annual art exhibition, according to the newly appointed Dean of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design.

Professor Tom Inns will be overseeing his first Degree Show as Dean of DJCAD, having officially taken up the role last month. The exhibition of works from almost 300 graduating students will open to the public tomorrow, and around 10,000 visitors are expected over the course of its nine-day run.

Graduands from 11 undergraduate programmes will be showing their work throughout the two buildings and fourteen floors that comprise DJCAD, with every spare space exhibiting art and design. Professor Inns said the event was one of the highlights in Dundee’s cultural calendar and urged everybody to visit who can do so.

'The 2011 Degree Show is a vintage year for Duncan of Jordanstone - those aren’t my words but those of our external examiners who visited earlier this week and were hugely impressed by what they saw,' he said.

'Visitors to this year’s Degree Show will be viewing work from some of the UK’s top art and design graduates, and I would urge as many people as possible to come and see the immense talent we are producing for themselves.

'I am immensely proud to be Dean of the creative hub at the heart of the University of Dundee and proud of our students who have created wonderful and innovative work.'

His word were echoed by Susan Philipsz, winner of last year’s Turner Prize, a DJCAD graduate and one of the VIP guests attending a special preview event last night, who said, 'I knew the show would be great, and I wasn’t disappointed. I was really looking forward to seeing the place again, reliving good memories and meeting up with people who I’ve known since my time here.'

Thousands of students, family members, friends and other guests will tonight throng the labyrinth-like art college during the annual Preview Evening before heading out to restaurants, bars and clubs across the city as the celebrations continue beyond the doors of DJCAD.

Each year’s show generates around £1.5million for the local economy. The Preview Evening creates a very special atmosphere around Dundee and is firmly established as one of the most exciting and bustling nights in the city.

The exhibition will be open to the public from Saturday, May 21st until Sunday, May 29th. Admission is free and the exhibition is open from 10am until 8pm (Monday - Friday) and 10am to 4pm (Saturday - Sunday).

Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design has been rated as the top art school in Scotland and in the top four in the UK according to the latest Research Assessment Exercise (RAE).

DJCAD is at the forefront of the 'V&A at Dundee' project that will create a statement building on Dundee’s newly developing waterfront. This will house contemporary collections from the world-famous Victoria & Albert Museum alongside other major exhibitions, as well as showcasing design practice and research.

Notes to editors:

Dundee Degree Show
21st - 29th May 2011 (Preview May 20th)

Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design
University of Dundee
13 Perth Road
Dundee DD1 4HT
T 01382 385330
E exhibitions@dundee.ac.uk
www.dundee.ac.uk/djcad/degreeshow

Exhibition open:
Saturday, May 21st (10am-4pm)
Sunday, May 22nd (10am-4pm)
Monday, May 23rd (10am-8pm)
Tuesday, May 24th (10am-8pm)
Wednesday, May 25th (10am-8pm)
Thursday, May 26th (10am-8pm)
Friday, May 27th (10am-8pm)
Saturday, May 28th (10am-4pm)
Sunday, May 29th (10am-4pm)

Graduate work on display:
Animation
Art, Philosophy, Contemporary Practices
Digital Interaction Design
Fine Art
Graphic Design
Illustration
Interior Environmental Design
Jewellery & Metal Design
Product Design
Textile Design
Time Based Art & Digital Film

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277