Illustration students draw on their skills to champion our under-fire libraries

Date 28.03.2019

Home
News
Illustration students draw on their skills to champion our under-fire libraries

University of Northampton students have leapt to the defence of the county’s under-fire libraries with a special exhibition.

Second year undergraduates on the Illustration course have unveiled an exhibition at Northampton Central Library which champions the value of libraries to the community.

The exhibition comes at a time when Northamptonshire’s libraries are operating under threat of closure as part of the county council’s plans to keep 19 as a statutory provision and hand over the remaining 17 to community groups.

The What Do Libraries Mean To You? exhibition includes various pieces of art dotted around Central Library which convey the feelings of students, library staff and volunteers and the public towards libraries.

Daniele Matuzeviciute is one of the students behind the exhibition, with her exhibit depicting a hole in the library wall which leads to a land of fantasy – see it below.

Daniele Matuzeviciute’s artwork on display at Central Library

“I was shocked when I found out that Northamptonshire’s libraries are having so many funding cuts,” said Daniele, who is originally from Panevėžys, Lithuania.

“It seems crazy to me, as libraries are so important to so many people. Not only are they places of learning, where people can better themselves, but they are a calm, safe space for people to enjoy, they are a nice environment.”

Daniele’s artwork was inspired by her experiences of reading when she was a child.

She said: “I was drawn into the world of fantasy books, things like Harry Potter and Alice in Wonderland. The books I had were mainly just text and that would make me use my imagination. I wanted to draw the scenes and characters that were forming in my mind, and that is how I became interested in illustration.

“My artwork at the library, with the hole in the wall that leads to a fantasy land, is a metaphor for the library, which is a place you can escape to, use your imagination in and be inspired.”

What Do Libraries Mean To You? runs at Northampton Central Library, Abington Street, until Saturday 27 April.