Fine Art graduates from Liverpool Hope University have showcased their work at a prestigious London exhibition.
Nine students from Hope's School of Creative and Performing Arts were invited to present at the 2022 Graduate Art Show, an annual exhibition which has displayed the UK’s finest graduate art work for more than a decade.
Hundreds of students from across the country submitted work to the event, which took place at the Zari and Wolff galleries in London’s Fitzrovia between 12-26 October.
Kelly Irvine, Dawid Piwinski, Matilda Read, Casey Lauren Edwards, Emma Faulkner, Sophie Elsden, Sarah Kirk, Chloe Davidson and Danielle Patterson were among those to present at the Zari Gallery.
They will also benefit from a yearlong programme of mentoring and networking opportunities provided by the Zari to support them as they establish their professional careers and, for Casey Lauren Edwards, such a platform is invaluable as she seeks to break into the industry.
“I am truly grateful and appreciative to be selected to be able to exhibit my work in London,” she said.
“The mentoring programme will be incredibly valuable because it provides a platform to make connections that can lead to new opportunities.
“That keeps the momentum going and allows you to build your CV and portfolio which can be so easily lost after graduating.”
Casey, who displayed her X-Ray Painting, graduated in the summer of 2022 with a first class honours degree and also earned a nomination for the Freelands Painting Prize, which celebrates outstanding painting practice at undergraduate level.
Her work, along with the rest of her Hope peers, was selected for the Graduate Art Show after Zari Gallery founder Georgina Dhilon attended the University’s 2022 Visual Arts Degree Show, which Fine Art Lecturer Dr David Ogle says is a testament to the students’ talent.
“This exhibition demonstrates the standard of our graduate's respective works and their ability to succeed as independent practitioners,” said Dr David Ogle, Lecturer in Fine Art.
“Having the opportunity to exhibit in a west-end gallery so soon after graduation will be of tremendous benefit for each participating artist and we would like to thank Georgina Dhilon and the Zari gallery team for their ongoing support.”
Zari Gallery founder, Georgina Dhilon added: “I would like to thank the graduates of Liverpool Hope University for showcasing their artwork at Zari Gallery – The Graduate Art show.
“It has been an absolute pleasure working with the fine artists. For many this has been their first experience exhibiting in a professional gallery, exposing them to a wide audience, and providing them with that platform has been an honour.”