The exhibition of final projects by art and design students is a fundamental aspect of the student experience and has been a foundation of how art and design have been taught for centuries. Yet the landscape of art and design education has been transformed with many more graduates and a proliferation of colleges and courses vying for attention. Moreover, disciplines have emerged that do not necessarily favour static exhibitions and new technology may sometimes provide more suitable contexts for promoting and exhibiting graduate work.  The expectations of diverse stakeholders – students, faculty, institutions, the media, employers and industry – may be at odds and little research takes place to assess the efficacy of degree shows.

Growing from research undertaken at Kingston University, this seminar seeks to extend the debate about the future of degree shows to include the higher education art and design community across the UK. The seminar organisers invite creative and lateral thinking about the purpose of the degree show and how these purposes could be better served in the future.