The Create Exhibition kicked off with an open evening in June, which brought together the final major projects produced by learners studying performing arts, art and design, image making, photography, commercial design, fashion and interiors, digital arts and games design, Esports, and film and television studies.
A range of artwork in the form of paintings, collages, photography and digitally created images, interactive stalls and feature films were all showcased to proud family members, friends and staff from the college, covering two floors of the Derby Road campus.
Matipa Munyaradzi, 18, a student on the National Extended Diploma in Art and Design, Practice Image Making course, was joined by members of her family to view her work and others. Her final project was a self-portrait of mixed media digital artwork.
Matipa said: “I really wanted to explore colour, so the red, green and blue relate to my African culture. This represents how I feel as a black woman in Britain.
“I get asked a lot ‘where are you really from?’, so this is a piece of emotional artwork exploring my heritage and breaking down the barriers of being a woman of colour in this country.
“My favourite part of being at this college has been meeting other young creatives and exploring different artistic techniques and being simply inspired by the teachers. This has really helped me as an artist and I’m looking forward to moving to study a level 4 foundation course at Nottingham College”
Digital arts and games design students created video games which visitors could explore, enabling them to see the work and techniques which go into creating a digital game, while others created static art using digital software packages.
Advanced Creative Media Practice (Digital Arts and Games Design) student Michelle Carr, 42, was at the exhibition with her teacher Paul Allen. Michelle’s final project was a board game which she had made from scratch, with an Alice in Wonderland theme.
Michelle, who is looking for a job in games design, following a career in the Royal Navy, said: “I've always been very creative and I've always loved to draw and make things. After leaving the military I realised that I wanted to go down the graphic design road. I saw this course at the college and thought I would give it a go as it ticked all the boxes, and I’ve really enjoyed it.”
Her Alice in Wonderland-themed board game was meticulously hand-drawn and wholly supported by teacher Paul, who is a games designer himself. He said: “Michelle’s work is very impressive Such a lot of hard work has gone into this project, and I think the balance of how it looks and how it feels is really good.”
Michelle, who seeks to become a tabletop games designer, added: “I came across a game called Plus and Minus which was released in 1930. I loved it that much that I thought as a final project I would reinvent it and also bring it up to date with something that would interest more of a modern audience and families.
“I’ve played it so many times and love it and people are asking me to make them one!”
Advanced Creative Media Practice student Aaliya Smith, 17, and boyfriend Elliott Thacker, a former public services student came along to the exhibition which featured a number of pieces of Aaliya’s work. One particular piece was designed with Elliott in mind.
Aaliya said: “Elliott is obsessed with anime so I asked him If he were to be in a game, what kind of character would he like to be. He wanted to be a little bit of a demon and really likes armoury, so he wanted it to be based on something to do with that.
“I sketched this character to begin with and I turned it into a digital creation. His name is Dante and Elliott absolutely loves it – says it’s his “dream come true!”
“I’m coming back to college to do my second year in September and I want to concentrate on animation and strengthening those skills. I'm really good with static work and graphic design but want to refine the animation side of things.”
Kyra Sewell, 17, a student on the National Extended Diploma in Art and Design Practice Commercial Design, contributed to the fashion element of the exhibition, featuring Edwardian-themed items of clothing inspired by the area’s visit to Southwell’s Workhouse earlier in the academic year.
Kyra, who is going to Nottingham Trent University to study costume design and construction, said: “These garments are based on a real lady who I looked up in the 1921 census and worked as a seamstress before going to The Workhouse.
“My work is to do with the deconstruction and reconstruction of how garments of that time were made. So all of the corsetry and boning is highlighted in the clothing. I gathered my portfolio work from old books that had Victorian and Edwardian patterns in them and imagery of seamstresses pinning material to a pre-made jacket.
“The trousers show all the dramatic seam work and pockets in a deconstructed way and I also created a bustle to go under one of the pieces, to show the structure of what it would have felt like to wear one.
“After university my dream job would be to work in film, theatre or television on period wardrobe design.”
Head of the creative and digital department Kerry Pilcher said: “Every year I am astounded by the talents, the diversity and also the uniqueness of work that our students bring to their final major projects. This year saw such a broad range of skills brought to life at the exhibition and I was delighted that so many family members and friends were able to enjoy this showcase.
“I’ve seen a lot of emotion and personal experience poured into the students’ work this year and it really stands out. Everyone should feel really proud of the sheer quality that’s been displayed in these projects and that means students, their teachers and the families who have supported them through college.”