Sheffield Hallam University: Future Now festival showcases design students' work

A major festival has been launched in Sheffield, showcasing creative work from Sheffield Hallam University’s graduating students.
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The Future Now Festival of Creativity is Sheffield's biggest student-led exhibition and one of the biggest degree shows in the north, featuring some of the most creative work in art, design, fashion, film, architecture, and performance the city has to offer.

Screenings at the Showroom Cinema will be held in May and June showing animation and film and TV students' projects, a fashion show at the Winter Gardens took place on Wednesday, May 25, and exhibitions from illustration, product design and fashion communication students are being held in Kommune through May and June.

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Future Now Festival of Creativity showing off work from Sheffield Hallam University's Fashion design students. Credit: Isobel HughesFuture Now Festival of Creativity showing off work from Sheffield Hallam University's Fashion design students. Credit: Isobel Hughes
Future Now Festival of Creativity showing off work from Sheffield Hallam University's Fashion design students. Credit: Isobel Hughes
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This year’s exhibition will be the first in person since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Annie Speckman, in her fourth year of fashion design at Sheffield Hallam University, is looking forward to displaying her work. Her fashion design is based on the family history of her grandads, Brian and Ray.

“It’s based on my grandads’ family history – one was a jockey and the other one was a rugby league player,” said Annie. “The one who was a rugby league player was a bricklayer too.

“I’ve explored the two sports, combining a jockey and a rugby league player together to create my collection, and then the bricklaying sort of comes in with the workware styles and print designs.”

Future Now Festival of Creativity showing off work from Sheffield Hallam University's Fashion design students. Credit: Annie SpeckmanFuture Now Festival of Creativity showing off work from Sheffield Hallam University's Fashion design students. Credit: Annie Speckman
Future Now Festival of Creativity showing off work from Sheffield Hallam University's Fashion design students. Credit: Annie Speckman
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The curator of the exhibition and gallery manager at Sheffield Hallam University, Tim Machin, said: “Future Now is our biggest celebration of students’ work across the creative arts. Their work presents creative solutions to real world problems, lets us glimpse into alternative realities and documents the world as they find it and how they would like it to be.

“It’s an amazing feeling to be able to invite visitors into Sheffield to encounter new ways of understanding the world through art and design.”

Roger Bateman, head of department for art and design, said: “We have seen incredible changes take place over the last two years but one thing that has remained constant during this period is the outstanding work produced by Hallam students.

“We hope people will take the opportunity to visit the festival, see the incredible array of work on show and talk to the students about their journeys.”