Blog 5: August 2026 CSAD Degree Show

Back in June on Llandaff Campus, Cardiff School of Art and Design had their annual degree show in which the final year students display their work. This is a satisfying and rewarding culmination of 3 years developing their craft and broadening their knowledge.

After listening to the speeches from the Deputy Dean Dr. Beth Gordon and other speakers, all praising the students as well as discussing the ongoing developments of the activities of the School, I went off to explore all the work the degree show had to offer. I was not disappointed.

I was not aware of how many departments and different types of degrees Cardiff Metropolitan had to offer. Firstly, I found myself in a room full of textiles and patterned materials. There were collaged fabrics hanging from the walls, a clear plastic sheet with holes and black piping sticking in and out as though from a science fiction film, embroidered terraced houses on a chunky line of red thread. Just in this one room alone there was a great assortment of different types of making and skills on display and I had barely dipped my toe into this emporium of creativity.

After sweeping through a few corridors, there was a large space for Product Design and Fashion. Grey prototypes adorned floors and tables, students had designed guitars, sunglasses and medical equipment. There was a line of headless and limbless mannequins standing in a row with outfits of varying styles. A few garments looked like fashion for the future, while some were drawing on extravagant gowns of the past. There were clothes also which took inspiration from cultures from around the world.

My shoes tap, tap, tapped up a flight of stairs to the floor above to find an alcove of a variety of light fixtures. This was the introduction to the Artist Designer: Maker degree section. Here you could ponder on plates with messages about revolution, amorphous clay lamps, a giant face with a blooming, fuzzy Celtic beard and works inspired by craftivism using textiles to bring visibility to marginalised communities.

Onto to the Fine Art department and I was met with some students sitting by a table selling books. I bought the Class of 2026 book of all the students’ work entitled ‘All Good Things’, (‘Pob Peth Dda’ in Welsh) and spent some time with the pieces. All manner of materials were employed to portray an eclectic array of themes and ideas. A highly expressive installation hung in one corner which used organised chaos and enshrined found objects to investigate our relationship to the body. This then led to a mosaic made from broken ceramic shards strewn on the floor which depicted a myth about a Welsh giant and his daughters.

Further into the room, a rusty trike sat with 3 items placed on the seat making up a sort of personal triptych and on the other side of the partition, another student had placed a bright white clay rope on the floor like a barrier. This work was centred on an aerial rope, allowing the artist to share their interest in both the feeling of being anchored and free. It was clear that these students had been provided with a rich and expansive education in art history and its multitude of movements. Experimentation and play were evidently hugely encouraged and nurtured in these emerging artists and makers.

The architecture department was festooned with rows and rows of miniature models. There were wildly ambitious constructions which seemed to almost defy our engineering capabilities and more quiet, though still very compelling, building designs for coffee shops, hotels and even a stairwell.

I made my way over to the neighbouring building after passing by a horde of ceramic flagons proudly plopped onto some barrels and explored the work of the Photography Department. One of the recipients of the ‘Future Generations Award’ explained that their work stemmed from their interest in anthotypes. He took on ‘a journey through Welsh landscapes’ to process the loss of his grandmother and continued the birdwatching they used to do together.

One of the last departments I visited was Illustration and this really did surprise me. I was expecting lots of things drawn on paper but was delighted to discover much more immersive displays which utilised all sorts of techniques to portray their story. One student had placed a computer on a desk and almost entirely covered it with scrawled-on Post-it notes. In the room next door, a makeshift childlike den with a puppet show theatre housed a screen for a short film. There was work on clowns, an old rock band, watercolour streets and greyhound racing. Another room was divided into lots of nooks in which old chunky television sets within elaborately decorated areas played the videos made by the students. The students were taught to venture beyond the immediate world of the illustrator, utilising a broad range of mediums and techniques to feed and enhance their illustrative practice.

Unfortunately, I missed the screenings of the animations although I did enjoy the cinema-like set up which welcomed you as you went into the space where the projections had taken place.

This was a vast playground of imagination, innovation and craftsmanship. It was hard to choose which works to focus on for this blog because there were so many pieces which I found captivating and mentally stimulating. The students were given every opportunity to work with whatever materials and technology they could dream of to support their growth and physically conceive their own inner visions. Creativity wasn’t reduced to restrictive parameters or a few key disciplines. It was a privilege to be able to wander through all the departments and observe and consider the explorations of the artists, designers and makers of the future. I’m eager to see how they’ll forge forth with their creative careers.

I took these photos as part of my tour of the show but was unable to speak with students to get their permission to include their work here. Please contact me at cartsocietyw@gmail.com if you have any concerns.