Fundraising

Support the DJCAD Degree Show Purchase Fund

From emerging talent to enduring legacies, your support helps champion graduating students and enrich the DJCAD Collection

Published on 13 April 2026

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Your support champions emerging artists at the beginning of their careers
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For graduating artists and designers, the DJCAD Degree Show is the moment when their work is seen - and when their careers begin.

Since 2000, the University has purchased standout work from final-year students at each Show, building the DJCAD Collection while directly supporting students at a pivotal point in their professional journey. Today, the DJCAD Collection includes early works by alumni who have gone on to achieve international success.

These works remain public, becoming part of a living teaching resource displayed across campus, used by students, and shared through loans to museums, galleries, and other institutions across the UK.

Why your support matters

Your gift enables the University to buy graduating students’ work, serving as a powerful endorsement at the very start of a creative career. It provides financial support, strengthens a CV, and opens doors to future opportunities.
 

A painter in a studio holds a palette and brush, wearing an apron and a fake gray beard, standing by a window with a scenic view
“At the time of my Degree Show in 2023, private collectors were interested in purchasing my painting. However, I chose the DJCAD collection because I felt humbled to have been selected and I believed it would strengthen my CV, which it did. I underestimated the ripple effects this decision would create. The acquisition was a springboard which propelled me onto the biggest opportunity of my career so far: a commissioned portrait for Surgeons’ Hall Museums in Edinburgh, celebrating women in surgery.”

Kirstin Mackinnon, DJCAD graduate 2023

Support the DJCAD Collection

Every gift helps to expand a collection that inspires staff, students, and the public across our campus and beyond.

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From Advancement
Campaign type Fundraising
Campaign category Student support