Kingston School of Art's Design School showcases postgraduate student work at London Design Festival

Posted Wednesday 11 September 2024

The exhibition takes its title, Futurity, from the approach the School of Design has developed over the course of the past year to anticipate how design schools should be operating, and thriving, in the future.

Postgraduate students from Kingston School of Art's School of Design are set to showcase their innovative, thoughtful and forward-thinking work at the 2024 London Design Festival. The exhibition, on display for three days at the Tab Centre in Shoreditch, East London, will see the culmination of creative endeavours in four areas of study – 3D design, fashion, graphic design and illustration animation.

Within these study areas, eight courses are represented with graduating students sharing work with industry professionals, research academics, and the wider London design community. Included in the exhibition will be MA Interior Design, MA Product & Furniture Design, MA Sustainable Design, MA Graphic Design, MA Fashion, MA Sustainable Fashion: Business and Practices, MA Illustration and MA Animation.

The exhibition takes its title, Futurity – defined as the quality of being or happening in the future, from the approach the School of Design has developed over the course of the past year to anticipate how design schools should be operating, and thriving, in the future. Acting Head of the School of Design Mark Gower said the philosophy behind the idea was to learn from KSA's historic past, which has influenced its present, to enable the shaping of the future.

"Our students have focused their work through the Futurity lens, embracing the principal of looking ahead with a positive mindset to consider future possibilities and developments," he said. "Within the exhibition they have explored themes of ethics, making, community and culture within a wide variety of contexts, each requiring foresight and a focus on future events and conditions, resulting in thoughtful outcomes and innovate ways of thinking."

The exhibition incorporates Kingston University's Future Skills approach in producing sought after graduates equipped with the skills required to enter the world of work. "These fascinating concepts have been at heart of our design conversations, stimulating proposals and supporting narratives investigating who we are, how we got here and where we are going next," Gower said.

The exhibition is on display for three days at the Tab Centre in Shoreditch, East London

"We are nurturing a new breed of designers who are responsible, and cultivating relationships with clients, industry and communities before they graduate. These are today's makers who are not waiting for the real world because they are already engaged in shaping it," he explained.

Known for its community outreach programme and support for vulnerable communities, by partnering with the Tab Centre, Kingston School of Art can showcase innovative and impactful student work while demonstrating its alignment with the Centre's mission to support and uplift communities.

Kingston University's Product and Furniture Design BA (Hons) graduates will also be exhibiting at the annual London Design Festival. As a cohort of emerging designers, they have dedicated the past year to honing their design and making skills, preparing to launch their careers into the design industry.

Established in 2003 by Sir John Sorrell CBE and Ben Evans CBE, the London Design Festival was launched to build on London's design activity while creating a prestige event to promote the city's creativity, drawing in the country's greatest thinkers, practitioners, retailers and educators to a deliver an unmissable celebration of design. For September 2024, the Shoreditch Design Triangle returns for its sixteenth year with a vibrant programme of design-led happenings across the area.

• The exhibition runs from Monday 16 September to Wednesday 18 September at the Tab Centre in Shoreditch.
• Find out more about the School of Design at Kingston School of Art.

Categories: Staff, Students