SAMPLE – UCA Pre-Degree Student Exhibition 2nd -27th July 2022

This exhibition aimed to provide an opportunity to sample the work of current Further Education students and Staff from the University of Creative Arts at Rochester, celebrating the breadth and depth of skills, creativity and thinking that had been encouraged during their studies.

SAMPLE – a small part or quantity intended to show what the whole is like. A portion drawn from a group, the study of which is intended to lead to an understanding of the whole.

The first iteration of this exhibition saw the archiving of work produced on a format of 30cm x 10cm each piece being a “sample” of the students creative practice – which were then brought together, scanned and inserted into a herringbone pattern.

HERRINGBONE – A pattern dating back to the Roman Empire, an interlocking system creating an extremely stable and durable surface.

To mark the importance of the ‘college’ and it’s history in Rochester (dating back to the 1850s and prior to its immanent closure in 2023) the collective designs had been printed as a number of textile works. In addition work selected from a number of students were displayed through our exhibition space, spanning the disciplines of fine art, 3D design, moving image, photography, graphic design, illustration, fashion design and textiles. The work was diverse in its approach and perspective, sampling the very nature of Further Education as a community of artists and designers working together to express often important and pertinent themes.