Fine Art graduates exhibit artwork in the Access Group new Loughborough office

Jess Poole, George Robertshaw, Olivia Hollings, Eva Wan, Monica Popham, all graduates from our BA Fine Art (2021) programme, have had the opportunity to showcase their work at the opening of the Access Group’s new office in Loughborough.

Access has recently opened a brand-new office at the Loughborough Science and Enterprise Park (LUSEP) that is home around 570 of their 4,680 employees globally. 

An opening celebration took place on Tuesday 16th November 2021 and guests came from all over the East Midlands and beyond to join the celebration. They were given a tour of the building, which included talks from the graduate artists about their work. As part of the celebration, Jess Poole and George Robertshaw were able to present their artwork to many leading local names, including Loughborough MP Jane Hunt and Loughborough University Pro-Vice Chancellor Rachel Thomson.

Chris Bayne, CEO, The Access Group commented: 

“The Access Group is very fortunate to have this amazing artistic talent on our doorstep at Loughborough University. It’s an absolute pleasure to support a young creative talent like Jess and her fellow graduates. 

At Access we are committed to finding new ways to work together with the University to support the student community.  The opening of our new offices in Loughborough has given us the opportunity for art students to share their work with our people and visitors.  We are delighted that our teams can enjoy them, as well as offer Jess a commercial platform.” 

In speaking about the opening celebration, Jess said:

"It really was an honour to be invited to the opening of The Access Group‘s new office, but to also exhibit and present my art work in their facility. I'm excited to get some potential commissions from the exposure. It’s hard to fathom that my poppies will continue to sit in such a huge company!

I am grateful that even after graduating, Loughborough University are continuing to support me and my career in such a professional capacity to provide these opportunities for me. It's nice that the support doesn't just stop once I've chucked that graduation hat in the air!”

Jessica Poole Access Group commission
Jessica Poole presenting her artwork at the Access Group's new office.

Jess has three pieces being exhibited in the Loughborough office for 6 months; ‘Light At The End Of The Tunnel’ (2021), ‘Poppy Perimeter’ (2021) and ‘We Shall Meet Again’ (2021). These pieces are all part of the ‘Keeping Touch’ collection by Jessica Poole.

George presented four pieces at The Access Group’s new office opening. These pieces are entitled ‘Black and blue’, ‘Cut through’, ‘Cubed. And ‘See through’. Interrogating the medium of paint itself, George’s practice destabilises conventional ways of looking. George's practice references a wide variety of historical sources including the approach of American Abstraction, Absurdist Literature, and Ancient Egyptian Belief Systems. 

George has said:

The opportunity to exhibit work at The Access Group office has been an amazing chance to showcase the culminating work from our degree course at Loughborough University in a fantastic new professional space.

Working with both Loughborough University and The Access Group on this project has been a brilliant experience all round. I would like to thank the Access Group and Loughborough University for providing this opportunity.

Access Group George Robertshaw commission
George Robertshaw's work commissioned in the Access Group's new office.

Olivia has four pieces exhibited which explore explores the human connection with nature through expressive painting. ‘Blue Valley, ‘Social Distancing’, ‘No question of the consequences’ and ‘You push’ are all featured in the new Access Group office.

Eva’s piece ‘(Not) Part of the Furniture’ was also showcased at The Access Group, and this project aims to subvert the habits of looking and experience interior spaces.

Monica’s artwork ‘Llévame Donde Nací’ is made up of 25 individual boards that come together as one piece. Each tile is a fragment of sunlight falling onto areas of Gibraltar’s architecture which are often overlooked and underappreciated.

Congratulations to all our graduates whose artwork is being exhibited in The Access Group Office on LUSEP.

Learn more about The Access Group