Art Wednesday

Tonight sees the preview of Free Range, the enormous graduate art & design exhibition down at the Truman Brewery, and we’d suggest it’s in your interests to pop along. Not only is it a fantastic chance to see the work of the individuals who will doubtless prove to be the industry’s up-and-comers and movers-and-shakers before it’s seen anywhere else (and believe us, if you’re looking to invest in a young artist on the up, Free Range has them coming out the wazoo), it’s also an opportunity to really get your voice heard when it comes to your opposition to the battery-farming of art students. The facts are bleak – one in three of them is forced to live in a flat that’s hardly big enough to fit a stolen vintage-store mannequin, and they’re often forced to share just a single case of Red Stripe between as many as six individuals – but with the help of Free Range, we can only hope that eventually, they’ll become affluent enough to strike out on their own.

Make a difference, AWers – buy some brand new, cutting-edge art, and save an art student from having to buy sub-standard rolling tobacco today.

The UK’s largest art and design graduate talent exhibition Free Range returns to East London’s Old Truman Brewery in June for an eight-week free showcase of new British art and design talent. Now in its eleventh year, Free Range has established itself as the authoritative identifier and supporter of tomorrow’s best young creative talent. 2011 will be the exhibition’s biggest year yet with over 150 UK arts courses participating. Free Range 2011 will see the return of the highly successful ‘Fashion’ category that launched last year and the introduction of a further new ‘Motion Arts’ exhibition. These disciplines will join photography, art, graphic design and interior design on the schedule for the largest showcase of visually creative work to date.

Under the guidance of creative director Tamsin O’Hanlon, Free Range continues to develop year on year and has become a crucial part of London’s cultural calendar. With more than 100,000 visitors attending the free exhibitions in 2010, the show attracts over forty-five participating UK universities and art colleges including Middlesex University, Nottingham Trent University and Ravensbourne College. Inaddition to providing exhibiting talent with a prominent platform for their work, Free Range collaborates with leading industry figures, opinion formers and institutes to facilitate introductions with new creative talent.

For the second year Free Range will also collaborate with D&AD to present their annual ‘New Blood’ showcase, selecting the best graduates in graphic design, visual communication, advertising, and other commercial creative arts.

Free Range will commence with a series of invitation only fashion shows from May 31st to Friday 3rd June and a private view on the 2nd June before opening to the public on 3rd June. The exhibitions are open weekly from Friday – Monday. The 2011 schedule will be as follows:

Wk 1: Fashion and Design
Wk 2: Design
Wk 3: Photography
Wk 4: Photography
Wk 5: ‘New Blood’ (in collaboration with D&AD)
Wk 6: Art
Wk 7: Interior Architecture
Wk 8: Motion Arts

For up-to-date and detailed information [click here]

Photo by Antonina Dolani