Creative gongs for talented UCLan students

12 June 2017

Lancashire Arts Festival rewards top students with city exhibition curated by Turner Prize nominee

Some of the University of Central Lancashire’s (UCLan) most talented students have been recognised by Creative Lancashire and will see their work displayed in a city exhibition.

Chosen from the University’s annual Lancashire Arts Festival Degree Show, which showcases final year student work from the School of Arts and Media, 11 students from a final shortlist of 31 were awarded prizes to recognise the most outstanding work from each discipline of architecture, design, fashion, fine art, media and performance.

The Arts Festival awards are sponsored by Creative Lancashire, Lancashire County Council’s team dedicated to raising the profile of creative industries in the area, and the judging panel included sculpture, businessman and Chair of Creative Lancashire Charles Hadcock.

"The creative industries are starting to look outside of London for up and coming talent and the Lancashire Arts Festival Degree Show is a great example of the vibrant future we can expect."

He said: “It has been a pleasure to judge these awards and almost impossible to choose 11 overall winners because the quality was so high.  The creative industries are starting to look outside of London for up and coming talent and the Lancashire Arts Festival Degree Show is a great example of the vibrant future we can expect.”

The creative gongs were handed to Georgina Atkinson, Jemma Baldwin, Lauren Bugg, Charlie Bulmer, Ashley Collier, Suzi Derbyshire, Samuel Jackson, Amelia Robertson, Tomos Rogers, Heather Saunders and Jack Woodward.

Fashion design student Amelia Robertson said: “It’s lovely to be recognised in this way.  To come back from Graduate Fashion Week and be awarded for all of my hard work is a great honour.”

Central Lancashire Vice Chancellor Professor Mike Thomas congratulated all of the Lancashire Arts Festival nominees.  He said: “Although only eleven students can win an award, my message to all those nominated is that you should all be immensely proud of being nominated for your achievements. 

“You have already demonstrated the skills, the drive and the motivation to succeed, and in the years to come I’m sure your creative talent will shine through, just as it has done for so many of our graduates from the creative disciplines who have studied here over the years."

The Lancashire Arts Festival awards
The Lancashire Arts Festival awards

"These awards are now in the sixth year and I’m delighted that so many of our awards winners are now playing key roles in furthering the success story of the UK’s creative industries."

“These awards are now in the sixth year and I’m delighted that so many of our awards winners are now playing key roles in furthering the success story of the UK’s creative industries. Growing at almost twice the rate of the wider economy and, according to latest Government figures, worth a staggering £84 billion a year, our creative industries are well and truly thriving and here at the University of Central Lancashire we are determined to ensure its continued growth and success.”

The winners will be joined by the other 20 shortlisted nominees to display their work in an exhibition curated by Turner Prize nominee and UCLan Professor Lubaina Himid at the Harris Museum and Art Gallery from Thursday 22 June – Sunday 2 July. 

View photos from the event on the UCLan Flickr gallery.