The Knowledge Hub Universities Launch Sweeping Virtual Exhibition Showcasing Students’ Work

As the world slowly but surely gets to grips with living in quarantine, more and more facets of arts and culture are moving online. We’ve seen online concerts, we’ve seen online lectures and now, The Knowledge Hub has followed suit with a special virtual exhibition by Coventry University Design & Media students.

TKH-Coventry University Virtual Exhibition features a wide range of work, featuring everything from animated videos, to innovative architecture concepts. Students were given complete freedom on what their submissions would entail and the result was an eclectic, multi-faceted collection of work that makes for interesting viewing.

One of the highlight submissions came from Mohamed El Sayed, a Freshman Graphic Design Student at Coventry University, who has created a whole fictional world with his comic book/coffee table boo, Mr. Stresses A Lot.

“He always does the clumsiest things because of how stressed he always is,” Mohamed explains of his quirky concept. “Accompanying him is a frog, Lily, that always has a smug smile on her face and acts like the queen of the world. Oh, I totally forgot to tell you that Mr. S.A happens to have a cup of noodles in his grip that most of the time gets spilled or maybe thrown at someone,” he added about a character that he has also designed a range of merchandise for, including keychains, mugs and t-shirts.

At the other end of the design spectrum, Interior Architecture student, Shahinaz El Masry is fusing her major with her fascination with the concept of transportation - and applying it to the university's student lounge.More than just a pale for students' downtime, El Masry sees it as being much more significant, in that it is a space that the students have in common, one that brings them together. 

"My main goal while redesigning the lounge was to efficiently use the space and include as many functions as possible without cramping it," she explains of a design which is inspired by the Google for Entrepreneurs Lounge in Indonesia. "I chose a bright color scheme to motivate students to think creatively and innovatively. Although there are many different zones in the lounge, I aimed to connect them all to form a sense of unity between students. A student lounge is a place where students go to rest in between their hectic classes and to get to know each other, which is why I insisted on not dividing it up. I am really satisfied with the design I created, as I think it fulfilled all student lounge functions and purposes."

Another eye-catcher comes courtesy of Digital Media Student, Omar Abdel Raouf, whose contribution to the exhibition comes in the form of quirky comic that touches on certain virus that has been grabbing the headlines recently. "For my project,  I'm making a comic about a heroic man who journeys to find the cure to the Corny virus as he must fulfill his epic destiny to protect himself from it. 

The exhibition has offered students a unique outlet for creativity in a time where life as we know it has been curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In giving participants free reign to submit something based on their own interests and passions, the exhibition has transpired to be one of the most unique and varied exhibitions of its kind. Who knows – maybe we’re looking at projects, concepts and ideas that could one day become fully realised?

Check out the exhibition at www.showcase.tkh.edu.eg.