Financial Times: Alternative degree shows

The “degree show”. The exhibition of work at the end of every art student’s course. For thousands at Britain’s art colleges, it’s the highlight of their years of study, the goal towards which they work. It’s their first big chance to display their work, make some sales, possibly attract the attention of one of the commercial galleries who regularly go talent-spotting at these shows with an eye to signing up promising newcomers. Immense care, imagination and high-spirited attention go into the curating of the shows, which are often very entertaining in themselves, drawing large crowds far beyond the artists’ family and friends, a magnet for enthusiasts interested in new art. This year, however, the colleges are closed and the shows abandoned, postponed or gone virtual. Most students are miserably disappointed, and some of their tutors are equally unhappy. One professor describes the final show as “an important rite of passage”; and as it’s also the main assessment tool for awarding degrees there are complicated practical implications for teachers as well as their pupils.