Crowds flocks to 2024 Salford Degree Show

Three floors of the building were taken up entirely by eye-catching collections from 13 of the University's leading creative arts programmes. 

The displays included dozens of pillars showcasing BA Graphic Design work, encapsulating spaces to view pieces from our BA Fine Art and BA Photography students, an immersive setting to promote the talents of our BA Fashion Image Making and Styling cohort and a signature viewing area for the BA Interior Design students' final designs. 

BA Fashion Business and Promotion students took over the building's atrium with a rich display of their work and their own cinema whilst the BA Fashion Design students provided their stunning collection on a runway on the sixth floor next to seats where guests guests could watch the stunning film 'RAK', a fashion film featuring work from our MA Fashion Design students that was shot in the desert of Marrakesh, Morocco. 

Guests were treated throughout the night to live DJ performances from students on our Music programmes, refreshments were served from Atmosphere Bar, Lark Hill Brewery and Salfood and there were food stall offerings from Fratellis and Archchi's. 

The BA Film, TV and Stage Design exhibition on the fifth floor was very popular throughout the evening as guests filtered around the students' work, which showcased a wide range of set designs, from proposed props for film adaptations to scale models of sets for TV shows.

Course student Ellie Taylor's final project consisted of set designs and props for a film adaptation of Takashi Hiraide's novel The Guest Cat.  Ellie's props included a number of wooden items to closely resemble the Japanese culture in which the book is set. Her main set design was for a tearoom that would be the central shooting set for the adaptation. 

On the course, she said: "It's been really good! Our lecturer, Emma Dibb, is an industry professional so we've been able to see and understand from her exactly how it actually is in industry and she's given us great advice. We've all had opportunities for lots of work experience as well and the skills we've learnt will allow us to go in any direction for our career."

Ellie added that she would be keen to make props for television shows after graduation and would also be interested in working in the film industry long-term. 

Fellow course student, Lucy Hodgkinson, said: "I feel like [all the prep] for today has all come together really well, I've been working on my display for quite a while so it's quite nice to see it on show now."

Grace Mason Holmes, a BA Fine Art student, presented a stunning sound installation that consisted of scrap metal, strings and scrap wood all held together with guitar tuning pegs and hooked up to contact microphones. Guests could interact with the exhibit to create their own sounds by stepping on a microphone (placed within an acoustic box) or using sticks on the wider installation. 

On her exhibit, Grace said: "It's all about emphasising that sound and noise are never private matters. They always escape rooms but then you can contain it. [The project shows that] it depends on the person playing or listening to that makes the interpretation on whether it's sound or noise."

Grace's project was inspired by the work of Susan Phillipsz OBE, one of the first sound artists to win the Turner Prize. 

The BA Costume Design programme presented their work via models standing on plinths in the centre of the fifth floor and drew large crowds throughout the evening.

Phoebe Niemira, a course student, said: "It feels very exciting to have my work displayed in this way. It's been an emotional day getting everything organised but it also feels really nice as it's almost like the end of an era for me. 

"Doing a creative course at Salford for three years, you only see dribs and drabs of what other people are doing, so getting the chance to see everybody's final projects and realised ideas on display tonight is really cool."

Michael Adlen, was one of the BA Animation students present for a showreel of his and other classmates' work in a mini-cinema set-up on the fifth floor. 

He said: "This is something we have been working on all year for, from initial ideas on pieces of paper to the big screen. It's a massive relief to have our work out there for all to see and feels like a big first step in unveiling it to a wider audience." 

His film 'Orbits' explores gravity by taking an audience on a journey through how planets engage with gravity to how humans also engage with the force. 

The exhibition is now open to the general public from today (Friday 24 May) until Saturday 1 June, excluding Sunday 26 May and Monday 27 May. 

All images below are courtesy of Sam Michael Wood.