Students exhibit with W1 Curates on London's Oxford Street

Our BA (Hons) Motion Graphics students have collaborated with W1 Curates to display their work on the most iconic street in London. Their designs will be screened on the exterior walls of Flannels’ flagship store from 15 June. 

With the mantra, ‘art not ads’, W1 Curates utilises the enormous screens on the exterior of the Flannels department store to repurpose prime advertising space on London’s Oxford Street. The world of traditional art exhibitions can feel exclusive, old fashioned and far removed for a lot of people, so W1 Curates makes powerful art accessible to all.

In the absence of a degree show this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, our graduating Motion Graphics students were keen to explore other avenues to promote their work and reached out to W1 Curates to initiate this collaboration.

The students involved explained what bringing the project together has meant to them. Student Aoife Magennis commented on the project, ‘I originally approached W1 Curates as I heard about what they offer through other designers and I thought it would be worth chancing my arm to see if we could get a spot to supplement our degree show. Since the lockdown, the project has become even more of an amazing opportunity with it acting as our alternative degree show!’

Fellow student, Muhammed Ubaidah said, ‘“I think it’s an amazing opportunity for us as third years to have secured this collaboration with W1 Curates. It makes me feel very accomplished that this project was purely student led. It’s hard to believe that just two students went to their studio and set up these dates. I think it’s an amazing way to showcase our work, especially with our degree show being cancelled. It’s not every day that you see student work lit up on Oxford Street!’

The work on display will be a mixture of projects from a range of Motion Graphics students, including 2D animation, film, infographics, titles sequences and typography experiments. The projects will be illuminated on Oxford Street for almost two weeks, with viewing recommended at nightfall.

The founder of W1 Curates, Mark Dale, commented on the organisations mission, ‘For me, when shoppers rest their bags down and stare at the incredible art, it’s the best feeling in the world…we bring art to the people, we open those doors, and who knows where that could take them?’

We’re incredibly proud of these students who have used their initiative to present their work on one of the most prestigious locations in the capital. We hope our creative community will be inspired by their hard work and ingenuity in the face of a national lockdown. 

You can view their final year work on the exterior walls of Flannels from Monday 15 June – Thursday 25 June 2020. You can find out more about W1 Curates here.