Press Release - NCAD Works 2024
Information about NCAD Graduate Show known as NCAD Works.
Thursday, 6th June 2024
‘Fuelled by a demand for societal change’, Ireland’s future creatives present works for NCAD’s Graduate Showcase 2024
The college is ranked at 60th place in the 2024 QS World Rankings by subject (Art & Design)
NCAD Works’ 2024 programme kicks off across the National College of Art and Design’s Dublin 8 campus this Friday, featuring a week of exhibitions and programming with free admission to view the work of 271 of the country’s most exciting emerging artists and designers.
Creative practice across disciplines from fine art to product design will be on display for the public to view from Friday 7th June to Saturday 15th June.
From conducting on-site interviews across Israel and Palestine for a documentary collection, to the development of reusable cosmetic containers, the exploration of our ‘digital afterlives’, and an immersive installation connected to the Ukrainian community fleeing war to Ireland, this generation of NCAD creatives are putting their own stamp on Irish art and design promising a bright future for Ireland’s creative sector, the National College of Art and Design has said.
Announcing details of NCAD Works 2024, Professor Sarah Glennie, Director of NCAD commented:
“The creatives and disruptors who emerge from NCAD have a timely role to play in the Ireland we face right now. Our students want to fuel change in a creative and productive way from how we design our public services to the way we see each other.
“The creative sector is one of the fastest growing in the global economy. Ireland’s creative graduates drive our creative and cultural sectors, which currently contribute 3.7% of Gross Added Value.
“Our graduates leave NCAD equipped with the creative skills and vision to continue questioning the accepted norms of how art, design and wider creative practice can happen. I have no doubt each of them will play a role in the rethinking of our society that needs to take place.”
Some of the diversity of works on display for NCAD Works 2024 include:
Print graduate Elaine Whelan’s work ‘I miss the smell of freshly cut grass’, involves her research into the universe of ‘Deathbots’, a chatbot created by her digital remains and data that results in a simulation of parallel existence or afterlife.
Fashion Design graduate Amy Frankie Moroney’s Sunken Remnants (Iarsmaí Báite) is rooted in Irish history, drawing on the plight of the Great Famine to highlight current issues such as the national cost of living crisis, rising levels of emigration, and the international use of hunger as a weapon in countries like Sudan, Yemen, and now Palestine.
Graphic Design graduate Beth Snelling’s ‘Sown Stories/ Scéalta Síolta' explores County Down’s relationship with its flax and linen industry heritage. Her intergenerational toolkit is crafted to extract linen stories from older generations to preserve the oral history for future generations.
Illustration graduate Jay Byrne considers the world from a neurodivergent perspective. His work, ‘The Dog in Me’ explores neurodiversity through a voice of personal reflection, dissecting the intersections of disability and identity to highlight the challenges facing ADHD and autistic community.
Textile Art and Artefact graduate Ciara Maxwell examines the relationships and sense of unique community in a local Westmeath LGFA team in her work ‘Threads that bind us’.
Jewellery and Objects graduate, Constance McMorrow’s work 'Heart to Heart' reflects on personal experience of her own heart transplant ten years ago. The work centres on the surgery, as well as the reaction of others to her operation, which made her question the associations a donated organ, such as a heart, means.
Product Design graduate Jade Kim’s work ‘Blockey’ contends with the cosmetics industry and its production of a projected 120 billion units of plastic waste per annum, with cosmetic samples being a significant contributor. Recycling sorting machines are typically calibrated based on a 500ml water bottle standard, and they often cannot detect plastics smaller than two inches. As a designer focused on sustainable solutions, Kim’s ‘Blockey’ was developed to address the issue with a sustainable alternative.
NCAD Works 2024, taking place from Friday 7th- Saturday 15th June, is accompanied by a dynamic programme of live and online events, bringing together graduates, artists, curators, industry experts and the public, creating a forum to discuss many of the concerns raised by students’ work. All events are free. The official opening will be marked at 6pm on Friday 7th of June with the Malva Ukrainian Choir - Ireland.
All graduating students' work is available to view and the full programme of events can be viewed on the dedicated digital platform found at https://ncad.works/.
The Centre for Continuing Education in Art & Design (CEAD) at NCAD, which offers part-time courses in art, design and photography for adults and school-leavers who want to explore their creative potential and learn new skills will also be exhibiting from 22nd to 27th June.
The National College of Art and Design is ranked at 60th place in the 2024 QS World Rankings by subject (Art & Design), and is the only college ranked for Art and Design in Ireland. The college is 23rd in Europe and in the top 1% globally.
ENDS