One of the most varied and exciting events in the North
East’s cultural calendar is set to return this year, as Northumbria University
announces details of its 2024 Degree Shows.
The annual REVEAL showcase provides final year students
across a wide variety of courses with the opportunity to share their talents
with the public, in a series of exhibitions and events.
This year’s REVEAL is set to be the biggest yet, with the
addition of work by History and Creative Writing students being included
alongside that of Music, Fine Arts, Theatre and Performance, Film, Fashion, 3D and
Product Design, Architecture, Animation, Graphic Design, Interior Design and
Computer and Information Sciences students.
Stephen McGowan is a student on Northumbria’s Creative
Writing Masters programme, having graduated from the University’s English
Literature and Creative Writing BA (Hons) course last year. During the Creative
Writing showcase he will be performing a piece of prose fiction he has written
entitled The Three Witches.
Explaining the benefit to students taking part in this
year’s REVEAL showcase, Stephen said: “I always jump at the chance to read my
work in public. Performing your writing is always a different experience from
reading it. All writers at every level should read their work aloud or hear it
read aloud. It helps with the craft and as a lot of book marketing is based on
readings and public appearances, getting as much practice in as you can is
important.”
Speaking about his plans following graduation, Stephen said:
“I started freelancing both as a developmental editor and as a workshop
facilitator during my time at Northumbria, so I plan to continue and expand on
this as well as get my current work in progress ready for submission to
publishers and agents. I don’t think I would have made it this far, this fast
without the support and commitment of the creative writing staff at
Northumbria. There's a huge amount of creativity in the university and it’s
wonderful to see it growing.”
Tony Williams is a Professor in English and Creative Writing
at Northumbria and said: “We’re really pleased that Creative Writing is joining
the Reveal programme this year, giving our students an opportunity to showcase
their work, from poetry and prose to non-fiction and script. Reading your work
in front of other people is a necessary part of the writer’s skillset, so this
will give our students the perfect opportunity to build their skills in this
area and prepare for their future careers, as well as celebrating everything
they have achieved during their time at Northumbria.”
Also taking part in REVEAL for the first time this year are
final-year History students, who will be showcasing their work through a
dissertation conference, during which they will present the findings of their
final year projects in the style of an academic conference.
The conference has been held annually since 2016, and since
then, over 100 History students have shared their findings in this way. This is
the first year it has been included as part of REVEAL. Winner of the “Best
Paper” award at last year’s conference was Jackson Taylor-Smith, whose paper
examined religious diversity and medieval martyrdom in Muslim Spain.
Now pursuing an MA in History at Northumbria University,
Jackson said: “The main reason I chose to take part in the dissertation
conference was to have the chance to go through and explain my work with my
voice rather than through text. The part I really enjoyed was seeing all my
friends’ work and how much they had put into it. I was really lucky to have
friends there to see me too which is always nice. Even if a student doesn't
want to present, I would recommend going just to support friends and peers.”
Daniel Laqua is an Associate Professor in History at
Northumbria University and organises the dissertation conference. He believes
it provides students with a valuable opportunity which helps prepare them for
postgraduate study or a career in research.
He explained: “By giving our students the opportunity to
present their findings at the conference we are not only teaching them to work
in a rigorous, research-informed manner, but also allowing them to develop
their communication skills, which are crucial for any researcher. We’re very
pleased that the conference is included in this year’s REVEAL showcase as it
allows us to celebrate and mark the culmination of the students’ hard work over
the last three years.”
This year’s REVEAL event begins on Tuesday 14 May,
with recitals by final year Music students taking place at St James’
Church, located in Northumberland Road on Northumbria’s city centre campus.
This will be followed by exhibitions of work by Fine Art students opening on Wednesday 22 May, with work on display at a number
of locations including the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art and Northumbria’s
Gallery North.
On Wednesday 29 May, Computer and Information Sciences students will showcase their work in the foyer area of Northumbria’s Computer
and Information Sciences building. And the following day, Thursday 30 May,
Undergraduate Theatre and Performance students will stage their final
year show in the Northumbria University Students’ Union.
The events continue throughout June, with the History dissertation conference taking place on Monday 3 June and the Creative
Writing showcase on Wednesday 5 June. Film students will show
their work to family and friends during a private screening at Cineworld in The
Gate on Monday 17 June, while designs by Fashion students will be
revealed during a live catwalk show taking place at the Northumbria School of
Design on Wednesday 19 June.
On Thursday 20 June a number of exhibitions will open
on Northumbria’s campus, with work from 3D Design, Product Design, Interior
Design, Animation, Fashion, Architecture and Graphic Design students
going on show.
Information about all the shows open to the public is
available through the Northumbria University REVEAL webpages. And for those unable to attend an event in
person, there is still the opportunity to view the students work, with online exhibition launching online from 20 June.
