ARTSTHREAD has partnered with i-D Magazine, to launch the online Global Design Graduate Show 2020 – the first ever online global design competition – as a proactive response to this year’s covid-19 disruption. The competition is open to all students graduating in any under- or post-graduate art & design degree over the academic year 2019-20 and the winners showcased online this September.
“We’re truly honoured to partner with ARTSTHREAD on this initiative. Each year, the talent emerging from art schools around the world inspires fresh hope for the future of our creative industries. While current circumstances might not allow for graduate exhibitions and shows in their typical formats, it’s more important than ever that we use the resources at our disposal to share their work with the world.”
Alastair McKimm, Editor in Chief i-D Read more on i-d.vice.com
Covid-19 has had a really disruptive impact on all of the creative art and design students worldwide due to graduate this year. The majority of the universities and art & design schools have had to cancel end of year shows and exhibitions. Under disruptive circumstances and with no direct access to studios, workshops, mentors and technician help – students have had to adapt to online teaching and reimagine and deliver different projects from those initially planned.
‘The competition was launched by to turn the negative narrative of the disruption into a positive opportunity during challenging times, by uniting the industry leaders and media to help showcase the diversity of the graduates’ creative work next to their peers from around the world’
says ARTSTHREAD newly appointed Creative Director Jens Laugesen.
ARTSTHREAD wants to support the graduates of class of 2020 – facing a post covid-19 global recession and deliver a global platform where they can showcase their graduate projects to an international audience and industry alongside other creatives from around the world. It is ARTSTHREAD’s vision to unite global brands and industry leaders to support the next generation in these covid-19 challenging times through a media partnership with i-D magazine, allowing the competition call out to reach a global audience of art and design graduates all over the globe.
“A new 2020 – we are certain that this year’s graduates will show us how adversity will push creativity forward into new thoughts and imaginings that go way beyond what we would have considered possible six month’s ago.”
Katie Dominy, Co-Founder/Co-President ARTSTHREAD
ARTSTHREAD is inviting a wide range of global design-led creative brands to help sponsor the awards over a variety of different art and design categories. The shortlisted creatives will be judged and mentored by leading industry figures and featured on a distinctive innovative digital platform, globaldesigngraduateshow.com, allowing a global audience to see their submissions and vote for their favourites through August and September. The category award winners will be announced in September during an event to be confirmed at Somerset House during London Fashion Week and London Design Festival.
WHO CAN APPLY: Open internationally to all art and design undergraduate or postgraduate students graduating in the Academic Year 2019-20 – i.e. September 2019 to July 2020.
ENTRY: Free to apply
DEADLINE TO APPLY: July 31st 2020 23.59 GMT
COMPETITION LINK: artsthread.com/GDGS20
ARTSTHREAD was launched in 2008 as a physical magazine by trend researcher Katie Dominy to cover and promote graduating creative talent, evolving into a digital online portfolio platform in 2010 by which time Alex Brownless had joined Katie in this initiative.
At the outbreak of covid-19 and foreseeing the need to embrace everything digital in education and promoting the graduate end of year work Fashion Design Advisor and academic Jens Laugesen teamed up with the ARTSTHREAD team as creative director, and together they came up with the idea of launching the first ever global graduate design show 2020 competition in partnership with i-D magazine.
ARTSTHREAD is today the world’s leading digital platform for emerging artists & designers and a launchpad for the next generation of creative talent. Over the last 10 years we have helped thousands of new creatives launch their own brands and gain employment worldwide and have built relationships with over 850 creative institutions linking us to over 300,000 students in approximately 100 countries.
Arts Thread has partnered with brands and institutions to help launch the next generation of creative talent globally, such as BBC Worldwide, Nasdaq, Urban Outfitters, Magis, Made.com, Levi’s and Nike, events such as Design Pavilion-Times Square, Milan Design Week, Premiere Vision, London Design Festival and charity organisations such as United Nations and Greenpeace.
