Your graduation show has just finished - what next? ARTS THREAD has a quick guide to ensure that you make the most of the contacts, imagery and press that came out of your degree show.

Expressions of Interest

That pile of business cards and notes written down from the visitors who stopped by the show. It is a good idea to follow up quickly by email any expressions of interest for jobs, freelance, showing your work in a gallery or exhibition etc.

• Keep the email light and friendly - remind them where they met you , the day if you can remember, and what you discussed.


• Direct them to your website and ARTS THREAD page and give a very short outline (2 sentences maximum) of how you see your career going forward and what you are looking for.


• Sign off the email with a friendly and light touch along the lines of 'Do please let me know if my work is of interest now or in the near future.'

Images of your work

Images taken by you, your program colleagues and friends, and by the school.

• Make sure you have collected all the photographs you yourself have taken of your work at the graduation show. Make sure you have downloaded them onto a 'safe place' such as your dropbox or Google Drive.


• Email or message around your program colleagues and friends to make sure you all have the photographs taken by each other of your and their work. Suggest you all share copies (copies - make sure the originals are still with you) of the photographs on a Google Drive or similar. Photographs of the exhibition that show more than just your work are useful to put your work in context.


• Check in with the school program/course leaders and press department to see if they have taken images of your work or your work alongside others.

Press Interest in your work

It's important to collect these as soon as you can.

• Go through all the school social media accounts to see if they have featured your work - make sure you keep a screenshot/video screenshot.


• Check all the social media hashtags that related to your show.


• Check in with the school press department to see what press your show received - do make copies, even if the article doesn't reference any designers specifically - but is positive.


• Google your degree show to see if any reviews or imagery appears that you have not seen. It is surprising how often degree shows are reviewed without the journalist contacting the school to let them know.


• Keep all reviews and images in a 'safe place' such as your dropbox or Google Drive.