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Ones to Watch 2025: Foundation Diploma in Art & Design
<p dir="ltr">Emerging from a year of intensive experimentation and critical making, our Foundation Diploma in Art & Design students have each developed a distinctive creative identity during their time studying with us. Based inside Palace Studios, Arts University Plymouth’s dedicated Foundation Diploma building, students benefit from specialist facilities and expert teaching designed to prepare them for degree-level study in the creative arts.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/courses/pre-degree/foundation-diploma-in-art-and-design-post-a-level" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Foundation Diploma</a> is delivered within a supportive and ambitious environment, part of our nationally recognised <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/study/pre-degree" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pre-Degree</a> provision, rated <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/posts/arts-university-plymouths-pre-degree-sixth-form-campus-rated-ofsted-good" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">‘Good’</a> by Ofsted. With access to industry-standard studios, small group teaching and personalised portfolio guidance, these young artists are continuing their journeys into the arts with confidence and clarity.</p>
Arts University Plymouth, Palace Court by Luke Frost
Ilsa Butterworth – ‘The Fur off their own Back'
<p dir="ltr">Through fabric, wax, resin, and sculpture, Ilsa Butterworth explores the alchemical processes of transformation, identity and natural decay. Her final major project explores the themes of a ‘<em>Second Skin'</em>, involving casting parts of her own body to develop a hybrid costume that sits between sculpture and wearable art.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Drawing on the rituals of self-making and embodiment, her work reflects on the fragility and resilience of the human form. Isla will be moving on to study BA (Hons) Costume at University Arts London, Wimbledon College of Arts, where we are sure her thoughtfulness and concern over ethical materialisation will continue to develop and evolve. <br /></p>
Yun Yi Lim – Soft Hold, analogue photography
<p dir="ltr">A photographer originally from Singapore, Yun Yi Lim creates intimate, emotionally charged images that explore queer longing, distance and desire. Her project ‘<em>Soft Hold’</em> captures the textures of relationships through carefully composed portraits and still lifes, using analogue photography to create a sense of physicality and timelessness.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Rooted in personal experience, her work invites viewers to consider the intersection of queer identity and cultural heritage. Yun has accepted a place at Glasgow School of Art, studying BA (Hons) Photography, where we look forward to seeing how she will develop her technical skills even more. <br /></p>
Bram Hulme-Golding – Film Still
<p dir="ltr">Working with different media types, such as film, photography and painting, Bram Hulme-Golding's work interrogates the unreliability of memory through fragmented forms and layered textures. By using found objects, interviews, and the use of lived experience, Bram creates bodies of work that appear both eroded and newly unearthed, challenging ideas of permanence and truth.</p>
<p dir="ltr">His sketchbooks reveal a thoughtful and research-led approach to making, influenced by contemporary artists and cognitive science. Starting a BA (Hons) in Fine Art this September at Goldsmiths, University of London, we are sure Bram will only deepen his process and practice. <br /></p>
<p dir="ltr">In <em>Simulacra: Echoes of a Digital Mind</em>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/darcystrachanfilm/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Darcy Strachan</a> examines the impact of AI, propaganda and digital disinformation through film and installation. Using generative imagery, audio collage and speculative scripting, her work dissects the tension between real and artificial identities.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Visually immersive and conceptually complex, her final piece invites audiences to question their own relationship with virtual truth. Moving on to University Arts London, Central Saint Martins to study BA (Hons) Fine Art, we’re excited to see how Darcy’s work evolves alongside the ever changing virtual environment. Watch her work here:<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJRaZLlNF6A" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Darcy Strachan – Simulacra</a>. <br /></p>
Foundation Diploma in Art & Design Graduate Show 2024 by Luke Frost
<p>The <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/courses/pre-degree/foundation-diploma-in-art-and-design-post-a-level" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UAL Foundation Diploma in Art & Design</a> is a one-year diagnostic course that explores a range of different specialist practices within the art and design industry. From fine art to filmmaking, fashion to illustration, this course encourages students to explore all the potential possibilities of a career in art and design. Through lectures and seminars exploring art history, theory and contemporary practice, students develop critical projects that engage with social, cultural and environmental themes. The course culminates in a final self-initiated project and public exhibition, showcasing an experimental and innovative approach to materials and ideas.</p>
<p>As the first exhibition in Arts University Plymouth’s <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/graduate-shows-2025" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Graduate Shows 2025</a>, the Foundation Diploma show is a vibrant preview of what’s to come. These emerging creatives have laid powerful groundwork for their future studies, and their work reflects the course’s ethos of curiosity, experimentation and personal voice. Visit the show from <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/events/foundation-diploma-graduate-shows-2025" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">21–22 May 2025</a> at Palace Studios, Plymouth, and discover the South West’s next generation of creative professionals.</p>
