Fine Art students hold hands-on, creative fundraising day

by Nathan Rodrigues

Fine Art students have launched a fun painting activity to fundraise for their creative catalogue and degree show.

The students grabbed the attention of onlookers by seating themselves on plastic sheets outside DMU Campus and started producing their own artwork, as part of a campaign to raise £5000 for the costs of their upcoming show and publication.

The event will run today from 9am-9pm, as all students are encouraged to join in by painting their own pictures, and donating through generosity or purchasing artwork created by the group.

Tiffany Tangen, 21, who is in charge of fundraising, said another intention of the activity was to generally raise awareness and show the course can contribute to a ‘big cause’.

She said: “This creative and free event is open to the public- we have paint and charcoal so anyone can paint anything and go crazy!”

“We wanted to show people Fine Art is a serious course that can do something nice, it’s not just about drawing and messing around.”

The students are hoping to raise enough money to make their own arts catalogue, which involves producing 1200 copies and additional costs for printing, which is projected to be £4,500.

Also, a portion of the funds will go towards paying for the refreshments and other expenses for their degree show, to be held on Friday, June 17.

This show involves third year art students placing their work professionally in an exhibition, which will be reviewed by experts from London and Loughborough.

The artwork created by the students on the campus will be sold in the price range between £5-£180, and Tiffany said taking part in such activities can even provide relief for other students who are experiencing stress at university.

She said: “Painting, drawing or just doodling can be a way of expression and relaxation, especially for people at uni as they can get quite stressed.

“But, by doing these things, they can have fun and honestly everyone can paint and draw, even if they feel they can’t.”