Shetland College UHI fine art students showcase opens

The work of two graduating fine art degree students studying at Shetland College UHI will feature in an innovative end of year virtual exhibition opens today, Friday 11 June at 6pm, and is on public display until Friday 9 July 2021.

The University of the Highlands and Islands annual final year art degree students showcase will display the work of fourteen artists, studying at Lews Castle College UHI, Moray School of Art part of Moray College UHI, Orkney College UHI and Shetland College UHI. 

Helen Taylor, Lerwick has been studying at Shetland College UHI since 2017.  Originally from Edinburgh, she is a painter specialising in organic forms with a specific interest in flora and hyper-visualised colour and has found Shetland’s natural surroundings an invaluable source of her inspiration.

Kirsty Smith from Aith has been studying at Shetland College UHI since 2017.  Kirsty uses concrete sculpture, lead castings, graphite drawing and installation to depict home and land. Her artworks suggest imagined possibilities within the present reality.

Talking about the showcase, Paul Bloomer, Fine Art Lecturer at Shetland College UHI said:

“Like our students we have had to adapt the graduate showcase due to the pandemic.  We have adapted the studio at the college to transform it into an exhibition space which is bookable for family and friends of our students and in an exciting collaboration with Art North Magazine their work will be showcased to the public under one virtual roof online.

Both Helen and Kirsty have responded to this unique environment in different ways, one through paint in response to the flora and fauna set in the context of COVID-19, the other through sculpture and installation exploring imagined possibilities within the present reality around ideas of home and land.”

The BA (Hons) Fine Art Degree Course is a four-year full time or eight years part time programme. It starts with a foundation of painting, drawing, lens based media, printmaking, spatial practice and contextual studies, and as the course progresses students start to specialise in a discipline of their choice. The course is taught by practising artists who are experts in their field as well as academics who can navigate students through the contextual landscape of art and culture.

The course runs in conjunction with the University of the Highlands and Islands fine art courses at Moray College UHI, Orkney College UHI and Lews Castle College UHI. The arts course is delivered using a blended teaching approach using a mixture of face to face and online teaching to enable student group discussions and expertise to be shared across the university partnership. Embedded in the course is an exciting programme of visiting speakers as well as the chance to go on a study trip to a major city to look at art.

To find out how to visit the exhibition and find out more about the artists visit www.artnorth-magazine.com now.