Graduate Show unleashes future creative talent

The vision and verve of more than 400 Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) students will be on show from Saturday 4 June to Sunday 12 June. 

The Graduate Show features thousands of pieces of work from 22 programmes, including paintings and drawings, architectural plans and models, animations and digital visualisations, musical compositions and performances, film, photography, textiles, jewellery and interior design.

Entry is free and booking is encouraged. Visitors  can book a slot on the Edinburgh College of Art website.

Creative mix

The dynamic student portfolios – from Architecture, Art, Design, Landscape Architecture and Music – draw on a range of influences and themes, including climate change, humanity’s impact on the planet, the digital world, cities of the future, identity and belonging and myth and fantasy.

As part of the University of Edinburgh, ECA students are able to develop a diverse spectrum of design skills, including in emerging disciplines such as artificial intelligence, digital art and immersive experiences.

Organisers say the celebrated show – which has launched the careers of winners of the Turner Prize and Baftas – is a shop window to the creative minds of the future and an awe-inspiring glimpse into how they are adapting to a rapidly changing world.

It is also a testament to the students’ vitality, energy and enthusiasm in response to the constraints and opportunities of the last two years, course leaders say. 

Graduate Show website

A virtual graduate show will also share the students’ artworks and portfolios with a global audience.

The Graduate Show website builds on the success of last year’s online show which attracted more than 120,000 views from more than 127 countries and complimented a small, ticketed on-campus exhibition.

Artworks on show include architect Jeanita Gambier’s design for a teaching facility for the active reduction of food waste constructed from reclaimed timber. The proposed centre in Edinburgh would encourage communities to grow their own food and create meals from surplus food.

Architect Coll Drury’s portfolio has reimagined the site of the Old Tynecastle School in Edinburgh city centre. The proposal unveils ideas for deconstructing and reusing peripheral buildings that currently isolate the central plaza.

Jonathan Payne’s film and TV project, Small, is a short film about a shy, young boy who comes across a mysterious village in the forest, composed of buildings no larger than the size of his hands. The film takes inspiration from the coming-of-age genre, cosmic horror, and magical realism.

Ophelie Napoli’s Fine Art project spotlights humanity’s place in ecosystems. The artist’s dramatic works explore the concepts of humans bearing the wounds of our collective experience and acting like parasites towards nature, as well as the themes of invasiveness and self-destruction.

Hana Khan’s eye-catching graphics project creates an exhibition and branding for Edinburgh’s first art exhibition for dogs. The House of Dogs: Contempawrary (sic) is filled with the sensory, taste and colour experiences which might appeal to the much loved animals.

Millie Player’s intermedia project is inspired by the concept of time as an empty vessel open to people’s perception. The ethereal works feature sketches influenced by the time the artist spent living with their grandmother and memories evoked by documents, schoolbooks and fabrics. 

Guy Howe Conners striking jewellery collection takes inspiration from how human’s can leave nature unrecognisable. The designer distilled the shapes of natural bulbous shapes into a collection of bold, unnatural fluorescent pieces with circles and curves.

Larry Huo’s Landscape Architecture portfolio aims to educate people about soil and how it can address the climate crisis. Her portfolio includes intricate site plans which she chose to embroider rather than create digitally.

Tom Sterling’s landscape architecture designs propose an ecological and economic model for rewilding the Portuguese island of São Miguel. The design looks at re-claiming disused architectural, industrial, and infrastructural landscapes to grow native and endemic Azorean flora. 

Artistic inspirations

Anne Stoner’s sound installation includes a bathroom sink and interactive elements such as a toothbrush and bar of soap. The items trigger mesmerising sounds in the users’ headphones when used in their ordinary manner. 

Camila Jimenez Pol’s product designs challenge the idea that most products end up in landfill. The designer took inspiration from nature to create Biolum, a biodegradable bacterial cellulose lamp grown from local fruit and vegetable waste.

Lucy Mulholland’s sculptures are a playful investigation into the connections between humans and nature. The artist’s work features pieces about the relationships humans have with pets including Care and Confusion, a wooden wheelbarrow telling the story of a kitten and piano.

Lucia Hijazi’s textile collection strives to take forgotten and unused polyester and give it new life and value. This revaluing process uses deconstruction, material manipulation and print visuals – from other undesired objects such as household waste – to transform these once ignored items into a luxury fashion prospect.

The on-campus exhibition runs from Saturday 4 June to Sunday 12 June at the Edinburgh College of Art at Lauriston Place. This year, for the first time, the students from all the Schools will exhibit together in the Main Building.

Book a visiting slot  

View the virtual Graduate Show