Make Your Own Masters 2024 Showcase

The Make Your Own Masters Showcase 2024 is a multi-disciplinary art and design exhibition, debuting the work of this year's MYOM collective: the work of 10 creatives, covering a variety of themes and disciplines from art therapy and sustainable weaving to mechanical costume design, digital fashion, printmaking and much more. The creative industry and education have a huge problem: the barriers to entry are too high, forcing out and denying access to vital talent. MYOM is a creative learning movement designed to tackle the ‘drop off’ between university and industry for those from less advantaged backgrounds. The project builds a multi-disciplinary, multi-background collective each year, bringing people together with the common goal of building a year of self-directed learning and breaking down the barriers many face in pursuit of a creative career. A master’s degree can be valuable in the design industry, but the cost is prohibitive. In 2018, graphic design graduate Stacie Woolsey discovered that a master’s would cost around £40,000. Undeterred, she reached out to established designers and asked them to set briefs for her to complete over 18 months. Although unaccredited, this self-directed study provided her with the equivalent learning of a master’s degree, along with practical industry experience, and vitally a professional network, without the high cost. Her efforts culminated in a solo show at Somerset House in 2019. Since then, Stacie has expanded her initiative. Make Your Own Masters is now an agile and inclusive learning system, offering tools for independent industry-sourced education, including access to workspace, mentorship and design briefs. The 2024 collective is the second cohort to complete the MYOM system, which also debuted at Somerset House in 2022, returning each year as the movement continues to grow. This showcase features 10 artists and creatives who have spent the past year engaging in a bespoke learning journey, sourced independently from the creative industry. Each MYOM learner defines their practice, creating new titles and disciplines for themselves, ranging from "fibre artists" to "healing and transforming experiences, through art and design”. The exhibit covers a wide array of mediums and themes and celebrates a year of experimentation, exploration and truly personal development. The showcase includes the work of Alina Negoita, Charlotte Dack, Chloe Baines, Eilish Briscoe, Joe Cheng, Milica Cekerevac, Lucy Grainge, River Wittke, Rosa Del Rosario and Susanna Odedina.