13 May 2013

Degree Show 2013 set to enthral thousands

Top industry professionals, talent spotters and graduates who enrolled in art school 60 years ago are among those who will help mark the 125th anniversary of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design during this year's DJCAD Degree Show.

The 2013 Degree Show, taking place from 17th to 26th May, holds extra significance coming in the year of the institution's quasquicentennial and a series of events have been arranged in celebration.

The first of these will see hundreds of alumni from around the globe welcomed back to their alma mater at a special reunion event on Friday, 17th May ahead of the traditional Preview Evening for the students, their families and invited guests.

"We are excited to announce a programme of events that really captures the mood of DJCAD in this very special year," said Professor Tom Inns, Dean of DJCAD. "Being able to welcome back alumni from the four corners of the world is a real privilege and I'm sure they will be very impressed by the standard of work at this year's Degree Show," he said.

"Meeting with so many of our alumni who have gone on to achieve so much in their respective fields will be inspiring for the class of 2013, who have collectively created a quite wonderful exhibition of which they should be proud."

The alumni reception and a studio tour will see DJCAD graduates relive old times at the institution that helped launch their careers. Professor Inns will then officially open the city's largest annual exhibition of art and design with words of congratulation for the 290 graduating students whose work features in the show.

Oliver King, co-founder of service design pioneers Engine, will deliver the V&A at Dundee and University of Dundee Annual Degree Show Lecture in the Dalhousie Building at 6pm the following day. Tours of the exhibition for gallery owners, employers and other industry professionals will take place on Monday 20th and Tuesday 21st May.

Members of staff who have taken up their posts in the past 12 months will deliver the DJCAD Discovery Day on the Wednesday. They will each give a presentation about their practice, research and teaching interests, allowing staff and students from across the University to learn more about the work taking place at DJCAD and provide a forum for people to discuss ideas in line with its commitment to interdisciplinarity.

Claire MacDonald, Innovation Manager for IDEA Scotland, will visit DJCAD on Thursday, 23rd to outline the aims of the project and investigate areas where it could provide a support for graduate and research talent from the University. A series of presentations from Claire, academics and industry partners will take place during the day.

Professor Inns continued, "We are delighted to be welcoming a guest as prestigious as Oliver King to celebrate this year's Degree Show and all the exciting things that are happening in Dundee, such as the V&A at Dundee, who are co-organisers of this lecture.

"Some of the most renowned galleries in the UK will be represented at the Degree Show, which always attracts talent spotters from top employers and other industry organisations looking to uncover the best in art and design talent. Our students are certainly up their with the best young artists and designers to be found anywhere in the UK and their work will no doubt persuade many applicants that their future lies here."

The exhibition will be open to the public from Saturday, 18th May until Sunday, May 25th. Admission is free and the exhibition is open from 10am until 8pm (Monday - Friday) and 10am to 4pm (Saturday - Sunday).

The DJCAD Degree Show is one of the highlights of the city's cultural calendar, attracting some 10,000 visitors each year and generating in excess of £1million for the local economy in the process.

Notes to editors:

DJCAD Degree Show 2013
18th - 25th May (Preview May 17th)

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 18th (10am-4pm)
Sunday, May 19th (10am-4pm)
Monday, May 20th (10am-8pm)
Tuesday, May 21st (10am-8pm)
Wednesday, May 22nd (10am-8pm)
Thursday, May 23rd (10am-8pm)
Friday, May 24th (10am-8pm)
Saturday, May 25th (10am-4pm)
Sunday, May 26th (10am-4pm)

Graduate work on display:

• Animation
• Art, Philosophy & Contemporary Practices
• Fine Art
• Graphic Design
• Illustration
• Interior Environmental Design
• Interactive Media Design
• Jewellery & Metal Design
• Product Design
• Textile Design
• Time Based Art & Digital Film

About DJCAD 125:
In 2013 DJCAD is celebrating 125 years of transforming lives through art and design education. That's both the lives of our students but also the lives of those that they go on to work with. The 2013 Degree Show is a moment of real celebration in the year when 290 new artists and designers join the professional world.

Across all our teaching, research and engagement activity, DJCAD is becoming recognised internationally as the art and design institution where students and staff work across disciplinary boundaries, developing new forms of creative practice and using creative practice to transform thinking in other areas.

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