BRITISH-ISH

University of the Arts London delivers some of the most innovative arts and design teaching in the UK and produces some of the country’s top designers, from fashion stylists to photo-journalists. This display is curated by Giles Deacon, and celebrates the best new work from recent graduates, presenting distinctive designs formed in the crucible of British design education.

Given the seismic changes taking place in university funding, one of the hot topics for design in 2011 has to be the future of design education. How much does London’s status as a design capital rest on its ability to attract raw talent and give it the opportunity to find its voice? This exhibition of work by graduates from the University of the Arts London, from ceramicists and graphic artists to fashion designers and photo-journalists, demonstrates how distinctive and innovative the output of this year’s generation of students is.

The title British-Ish reflects not just how London influences the world view of those foreign designers who come here to study, but how they are also continually absorbing and re-interpreting the cultural wealth they bring with them. Curated by former Central St Martins graduate and 2006’s British Designer of the Year Giles Deacon, British-Ish picks the best of the work created in the crucible of British design education, placing it alongside great design from the past in the British Galleries.