The IGNITE Festival of Creativity showcases student art from campus to community

Creative arts students are poised to transform the City of Plymouth into a living gallery this summer in a ground-breaking project combining exhibitions with employability opportunities by connecting graduates with businesses across the South West.

The IGNITE Festival of Creativity will use buses and buildings as the blank canvas for artwork created by graduating students at the city’s two biggest creative education institutions – Plymouth College of Art and the University of Plymouth.

With the support of major organisations, including Plymouth Citybus, the City Centre Company, Drake Circus, Barclays and Real Ideas, the festival will run from the end of May 2021 for more than six weeks, using a variety of venues across Plymouth and digital platforms to showcase the work of designers, photographers, performers, fine artists, filmmakers and craft-makers, among many other disciplines.

Steve Hughes, Chief Executive of the Plymouth City Centre, said:

“We were delighted to be able to support this project which fits in perfectly with our aim to bring new life to the city centre and find new uses for empty shop units. It ties in with a whole series of events and projects this summer to attract visitors and help our businesses recover from the COVID pandemic.

We kicked off the Bank Holiday weekend with the Moor Otters trail and busking from the Barbican Theatre Music Rebels and there is much more to come, including Sail GP and The Hatchling.”

The city’s summer events will be marketed to residents and across Devon and Cornwall to the huge influx of Staycation visitors heading to Devon and Cornwall this year.”

IGNITE 2021 will also enable businesses and organisations to research and recruit graduates via the IGNITE website, containing hundreds of professional profiles, both enabling the local economy to take advantage of creative talent – and helping to retain that talent in the region.