This years annual international research trip took students across our degree programmes (Fashion, Graphics, Illustration, Digital Design, Fine Art, Photography, Textiles and MA) to the European cultural capitals of Rome and Copenhagen. Students had the opportunity to take part in a number of activities including visiting cultural institutions, professional studios and take in the sights and sounds of the city. Trips like this are used to expand research practices, develop research for upcoming briefs and support across course connections and socialising.

Rome

Photography degree student Jas Garbe said, “the Rome trip was very fun as there were loads of beautiful locations to be able to take photos of, we visited many different galleries on our trip my favourite being the galleria Borghese.  On the first day we also visited Vatican city which was so interesting and beautiful every time you walked through a room, there was more and more artefacts. We also visited the Spanish Steps, Pantheon and many other tourist destinations, even though it was raining a lot we still had a great time!”

Jas commented that she mostly enjoyed taking in the city and the social aspects of the trip, saying “my favourite part of the trip was that Tuesday in the rain where we explored Rome, it was beautiful even with the rainfall and we had so much fun as a group exploring. We learnt a lot more about each other on this trip. My other favourite moments were in the hotel at night, hanging out with everyone and debriefing our days and I can’t forget about the breakfasts with the nicest coffee I ever had!”

Speaking of how the Rome trip will support her university work Jas said, “this trip aided me in growing more confidence in shooting on location and not feeling as awkward taking images in public places as I have always preferred shooting in a studio setting. I feel that we connected with our lecturer and other years who also have a lot of experience with photography.”

Copenhagen

Fashion student Aimee Umpleby said that the Copenhagen trip gave her the opportunity to “to explore the incredible art, culture, and fashion within the city. As a fashion student, it was so exciting to be able to visit some of the city’s vintage stores and designer shops and learn more about the Scandinavian aesthetic.”

I also visited the Copenhagen Contemporary museum as well as the Design Museum Denmark, which were both very inspiring places. The trip has definitely given me more insight into how fashion design can be influenced by urban culture. The experience has also given me the opportunity to appreciate and learn more about other art styles and the importance of collaboration between different courses.”

She continued, “socially, it was great to bond with my classmates and meet students beyond my fashion course. We spent a lot of time exploring the city together and had the opportunity to meet some local creatives and designers at the exhibitions we visited, which was a really cool experience.” 

Graphics Lecturer Paul Clay said “these trips are an important part of the student experience and an extension of the creative community in the school. They afford our students the opportunity to spend time with each other away from the studios and seek inspiration from art and design that may be outside their usual disciplines.”