MA Creative Practice Showcase: MERAKI

A showcase exhibition featuring the work of University of Cumbria MA Creative Practice programme graduates. MERAKI, a Greek word meaning the heart, soul and passion that goes into a creative process, is the first public exhibition of the University of Cumbria's newly formed (2023) Institute of Education, Arts & Society and represents the culmination of a year of hard work for the 11 creative practitioners studying on the postgraduate programme. The exhibition comprises of work examining textures for the visually impaired, a film short examining the effects and consequences of the cost-of-living crisis, work connecting astrophotography with mental health, experiments in sculpture, work that looks at using creative practices to address climate change, an approach to ceramics as a process that includes both the finished articles and the preparatory sketches, and a ‘show bible’ combining illustration with text. This fascinating and diverse exhibition stands as a testament to the hard work and commitment all the students have put in over the last year. Ahead of the show, a temporary labyrinth has been installed on the campus grounds that is now open to the public until the end of the exhibition. The exhibiting artists are: Chez Bassenger, Zac Baxter, Rory Carrodus, Phoebe Dunn, Emily Gibson, Louise Hick, Abigail Kenny, Jamie Seed, Max Shaw, Lucian Toma and Brooke Townsley.