Inspired Stories

Celebrating exciting new talent emerging from the Faculty of Arts, Design and Media, the Inspired Festival offers a virtual window into the future of the creative industries. We are very proud to showcase our exceptional graduate work – the culmination of innovative thinking and collaboration at the end of a year unlike any before.

These artists, actors, designers, writers and musicians have responded positively and creatively to unprecedented challenges. They have demonstrated outstanding ingenuity and adopted new ways of working, with inventive ideas evolving from a range of disciplines. Nurtured in the region, the Inspired Festival now brings our graduates to a global audience. We are proud to offer this platform to share their inspiring work.

Architecture and Design

From a dining range that encourages you to remove media from your evening, to sustainably created crockery made from coffee grounds. See what our Architecture and Design students showcased at Inspired Festival.

Doris Van Roojen: Everything we use in our lives has been designed from your pen, your phone. So, designers is really underpin everything that we do and it is really important that universities teach these courses and give us the tools to do that because without design, we'll never move forward. We'll just stay where we are at the minute.

Mat Jones: So the courses in the School of Architecture and Design are all about enabling students to find their own voice, to bring their own ideas to their studies, and develop the projects that are of interest to them in places that they're interested in.

Miruna Oprean: It was quite interesting because all this project for me has been a roller coaster, but then the tutors were very, very supportive and they were there to kind of like, help me out, get out of those moments. And now, of course, they love it.

Mat Jones: I think the purpose of the inspired festival is really to connect the Faculty of Arts, Design and Media with the city and with the people of the city through the different events, the activities, the billboards and advance and so forth. It's a really strong way of connecting our students with the city and the communities that they live in and work in.

Doris Van Roojen: You've worked on this for so long and it's your little baby, and then it's like, well, well, what's next? And the inspired festival is really allowing us to kind of present our work and get it out there, which is just an amazing opportunity.

Edith Chirapa: Making all of this and then showcasing it and people actually talking about it and actually thinking, Oh wow, it looks really good. And I'm thinking, actually, I did make that.

Mat Jones: For the students, it's a really proud moment to see their work exhibited, see the outcome of their studies shown to a broader audience, shown to industry professionals, to the creative industries.

Murina Oprean: I just feel like it's highly important to have this space to show, because it just felt like a massive reward after all these years of hard work. Um, to kind of have this little space of yours and people see what you're capable of.

Doris Van Roojen: And it's absolutely amazing. It really kind of makes us feel as well, like, they're reaching for us and they're helping us make the next steps by getting our work out there and hopefully noticed by someone.

Edith Chirapa: In all builds on something. But every day is a learning experience. So just enjoy it.

Art

School of Art students challenged themselves by creating work inspired by the human body, Alice in Wonderland and more, all whilst using unique materials and methods. 

Fashion and Textiles

Designs our Fashion and Textiles students created included an augmented, interactive gown inspired by Medusa, and a costume collection designed for the Commonwealth Games 2022.

Jewellery

Jewellery collections inspired by the ocean, a grandmother's garden and a historic tea pot - School of Jewellery is the home of many wonderful creations.

Visual Communications

Reimagining pre-existing graphic styles and creating new and innovative works such as 'The Vagina Bible', our Visual Communications students have infinite imagination.

More information

Accommodation

Find your home from home at BCU. We offer eight halls of residence options, ranging from on-campus to inner-city living. You can take a virtual tour of each accommodation option to find the one for you.

More about accommodation

Admissions

Read our admission FAQs to get your application questions answered. If your question isn’t covered, we have all the details of how to get in touch.

More about admissions

Student Support

From disability and mental health support to CV and job interview training, BCU ensures you have all you need during your time here – and beyond – to succeed and flourish in your studies and career.

More about student support

Social Media

Follow our social media channels and discover more about life at BCU, including what the University and city will offer you if you study here.

More about social media

Open Days

When possible, the best way to explore what's on offer is to come and see us in person, and we host a number of Open Days throughout the year. Come and be taught by our trailblazing academics and study in our innovative £340m facilities.

Open days