On Thursday 26^th May at the Alexon Building on the Luton campus and on Friday 27^th May at the Polhill Theatre on the Bedford campus, students and staff will gather to celebrate and showcase the achievements of students.

These exhibitions are also open to the general public to come along and view the work of students from the University, with the School set to evidence the power of student creativity through a range of projects on display including creative writing, dance, fashion, photography and film – created by students from all years of study, from foundation year to postgraduate.

The exhibition on the Luton campus will focus on creative work from the art and design and media courses, while the Bedford campus showcase will include a performance by the University’s Dance and Acting students.

Head of the School of Arts & Creative Industries, Dr Carlota Larrea, said: “Covid has been a major disruption for our students, where regular work requires studio time as well as specialist spaces and equipment. During Covid, dance students had to rehearse in their bedrooms, radio students learned to broadcast with new equipment from their homes, and art and design students used their creativity to portray the challenges of lockdown as the subject of their projects. These are examples of their resilience.

“It is great to gather at the end of the first year of this newly established School. It feels good to return to our normal ways of working, and to celebrate this return during the show.”

Laura Hill, a final year Art & Design student, added: "We feel very privileged to have an in-person degree show this year and are so excited to showcase our best work. The University has provided us with a great three years given the circumstances, and we are thankful that we can now exhibit to the public.”

The School is also welcoming back students who graduated in both 2020 and 2021 to join in the celebrations and highlight their time at the University.

Tickets for the degree shows are free and open to the public to attend but you must reserve a space. To register for the Luton degree show, click here. If you are a performer at the Bedford degree show, reserve your tickets here, and for audience tickets to the Bedford show click here.