The work of two locally based photographers has been unveiled today at Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC)
This comes as part of a collaborative project between the venue and the city’s Robert Gordon University (RGU).
Earlier this year AECC’s director of operations and safety, Fiona Mann, challenged Commercial Photography students at RGU’s Gray’s School of Art with a brief to revamp artwork in the venue with images portraying the unique architecture and stunning scenery found in Aberdeen and its surrounding areas. This project formed part of the students’ final year submission project.
After initially looking for the work of one artist, the high calibre of work and understanding shown in the submissions meant that two winners were chosen to display their work within the concourse area at the venue.
“The AECC were looking to inject a ‘feel’ for Aberdeen into their venue and this provided a perfect opportunity for us at the BA Commercial Photography course at Gray’s School of Art to get involved. The students on the course all tackled the project to produce images that summed up Aberdeen for them and a number were selected by the team at AECC to provide images for production. The collaboration with AECC has been a very positive experience and the students have benefitted from a live project which has inspired and developed their professional skills in client liaison,” said Mick Eason, course leader, BA Commercial Photography, Gray’s School of Art.
Fiona Mann, director of operations and safety at AECC commented: “This was a fantastic project to be involved with; giving local students the opportunity to have their work displayed in a venue which is about to welcome 50,000 visitors next week at Offshore Europe. It also gives our visitors a sense of Aberdeen and its surrounding areas, inspiring them to make more of their visit to the city.
“We greatly value the partnership work we do with the universities in the area. The work submitted was of a high quality and we had a difficult time selecting the winner. We felt the work of Elaine and Evelina really stood out - in fulfilling the brief, incorporating AECC branding elements into their shots and managing to evoke a strong sense of place. We can’t wait to see our visitors’ reaction to the display.”