21 January 2013

School pupil art ACES to exhibit at DJCAD

Photo opportunity: 6-8pm on Thursday, 24th January at Bradshaw Art Space, Crawford Building, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design.

'Mail art' created by school pupils from Tayside and Fife will go on display at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (DJCAD) later this week.

The exhibition is of work that the pupils undertook as part of the Access to Creative Education in Scotland (ACES) project - a national initiative involving Scotland's four major art colleges that seeks to widen participation in art and design and architecture degrees.

The University of Dundee's ACES Project works with 30 schools in Dundee, Angus, Perth & Kinross and Fife to identify and support senior pupils who have expressed an interest in studying a creative degree at University.

Twenty pupils from eight of these schools will be exhibiting work they carried out as part of the project at the Bradshaw Art Space from Friday, 25th January until Friday, 1st February. An opening event for pupils, their families and teachers will take place this Thursday.

"The pupils were asked to send a piece of artwork through the post on a monthly basis," explained Julie Murray, Widening Participation Officer (ACES). "We received a very good number of pieces showing a variety of subject matter and techniques.

"The rationale of this mail art project is to allow the pupils, who are prospective students, to establish a link with the art school and to encourage them to undertake creative projects in their own time which may be valuable for the portfolio aspect of their application to University."

The artworks were on the theme of 'Multiples' which pupils could interpret as freely as they wanted. The only limitation on what they could submit was what it remained possible to send through the post.

ACES is funded primarily by the Scottish Funding Council. The project supports pupils through a range of events and activities, for example, practical 'taster' sessions on campus, portfolio guidance workshops in schools and one-to-one advice on applications.

Pupils from the following schools will be exhibiting at the mail art exhibition: Arbroath Academy, Auchmuty High School (Glenrothes), Brechin High School, Morgan Academy (Dundee), St Paul's Academy (Dundee), St John's High School (Dundee), St John's Academy (Perth) and St Columba's High School (Dunfermline).

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
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