Top Art College Degree Shows - artmarketblog.com

Every year universities from all over the UK present the work of their graduating visual art and design students in what are know as “degree shows”. As a result of the art market boom, what were once shows more concerned with academic achievements and grades are now commercially oriented extravaganzas where the art market elite go in search of the next art star. Art market power house Charles Saatchi is a regular at the degree shows and often buys a particular graduates whole body of work which usually results in that particular artist getting plenty of press and a rapid increase in demand for their work.

Because of his fame, Saatchi is basically able to increase the value of an artist’s work just by buying it so he can actually make money just by buying an unknown artist’s work. Those of us that don’t have the power and influence that Saatchi does will have to do things the hard way and actually put some thought into whose work we will be betting on. Below are some websites that will help all those art collectors and investors who are looking for the next big thing.

Degree Shows at the University of the Arts London
http://www.arts.ac.uk/showtime/explore/

Free Range - Europe’s largest showcase of graduate art and design
http://www.free-range.org.uk/

Slade Degree Shows 2008
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/slade/degree2008/index.html

Royal College of Art Degree Shows
http://www.show2008.rca.ac.uk/Default.aspx?CategoryID=60028

London Metropolitan University Degree Show
http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/jcamd/department/2008-summer-show-preview.cfm

If you are really confident you can even view the work of graduating secondary-school students via the Royal Academy Online Summer Exhibition here:
http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/education/a-level-summer-exhibition-online/a-level-summer-exhibition-online-2008/

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications