Snapshot 2023: Postgraduate shows open on AUB Campus
Arts University Bournemouth (AUB)’s Summer Shows are a celebration of the achievements of our 2023 graduating students, with the MA and MRes Shows ending the season.
Postgraduate students delve deeply into their subjects, frequently challenging conventions, and provoking thought and debate. The MA and MRes Shows celebrate this enquiry, providing a platform for new and wide-ranging work that’s at the respective boundaries of the disciplines involved.
This is an opportunity to witness an exciting waypoint in the careers of a new contingent of creative practitioners presenting their ideas and concerns for perhaps the first time.
The formal opening and private view was held on Thursday 5 September, with speeches from Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Paul Gough; Executive Director of Academic Innovation, Lisa Mann; TheGallery Manager and Exhibitions Curator, Violet McClean; and Acting Associate Directors of the Graduate School, Dr Emma Shercliff and Associate Professor Rebecca Pride.
Sharing the leadership of the Graduate School between research and academics respectively, Emma and Rebecca help organise the two annual Snapshot events.
“As the name suggests, the work you can see at the exhibition is only a snapshot of what our students produce on their postgraduate degrees. Behind all the final, physical displays is a huge amount of research and experimentation.
“To recognise the Graduate School community achievement and the students’ outstanding creativity across our 11 on-campus disciplines, this year we announced 25 award prizes. The winners were selected for sheer academic endeavour, research, studentship, and innovation.”
Alex White, Scenic Co-ordinator for Theatre and Film at AUB’s Elliott Road Studios, assisted with the development of Snapshot.
“My role was co-ordinator for Snapshot, so I was involved in working with the courses to build and develop the exhibition and make it more cohesive.
“One of the biggest strengths of AUB is the variety of approaches across courses and students. I helped to job to bring these together into a unified vision for the exhibition.”
One of the prize-winners for MA Photography, Fin McMillan, further developed the work he produced on BA (Hons) Commercial Photography.
“I found the MA gave me a bit more space to try some new creative things and allowed me to re-evaluate my practice, bringing in more of my other interests outside of Photography.
“I’ve always been an avid climber and wanted to make a documentary series around the boulderers in Dorset. I wanted to explore the motivations of these climbers through lens, bringing in my studio-based techniques and stylistic approach I developed on the BA – You don’t see many photographers shooting climbing in remote location with large format cameras and flash.”
MA Historical Costume graduate Natasha Williams was another prize-winner for her work exploring 17th Century menswear, inspired by The Three Musketeers.
“I was originally interested in fashion but found myself increasingly drawn towards history and more traditional methods of costume making. My final work was made using entirely historical techniques and the resources available to me at AUB meant I could really develop my practice.”
Snapshot is open to the public from 8 September until 7 October 2023 at TheGallery on AUB campus.
Students from the following courses will be displaying their work:
Online shows
This collection of Graduate School work is now available to view as part of AUB's online shows.
Planning your visit
The Summer Shows are free to everyone – check our opening times and public access before planning your visit.
Please note: Saturday 23 September and 7 October are formal university Open Days, which are only open to students interested in studying at AUB. Public access will be limited on these days, and you're advised to visit on another day (or come to our formal opening and private view – further details below).
How to find us
Group visits
We welcome educational groups, art clubs, companies, businesses and interested parties of all ages.
For schools interested in visits and workshops, please visit our Schools page or email us for more information.
Parking
Parking on campus is available for people who are visiting TheGallery and MoDiP, as well as campus-based events such as our Summer Shows. Pre-booking is not required.
