In the lead up to Christmas there is always a plethora of events going on in Lancaster. Christmas themed clubbing nights out, society end of term socials and general celebrations of completed exams and coursework. Last week I attended an art exhibition in the centre of Lancaster town with one of my housemates. All the artists involved were PhD Fine Art students, who had come together to put on an exhibition of what they had been working on that term. The event was based in The Storey near the railway station, so after a quick bus ride, it only took five minutes to walk the rest of the way. Upon entering the exhibition hall, we were plied with free glasses of wine and a programme of the work on display. Truly, the talent of the artists was phenomenal. My housemate and I happily spent an hour gazing upon watercolours, canvases thick with paint, apocalyptic screens of mushroom clouds that were represented as chicken drumsticks, photographs full of white silhouettes where the people in them had been removed and heavily graffitied books that had been published many decades ago, judging by the state of their spines and the discolouration of their pages. All the artists were in attendance and available for answering questions concerning their work, so we took full advantage by asking what the inspirational origins, and the underlying meaning, behind their creative accomplishments were. With many abstract pieces on show, this was frequently necessary!

Such cultural events serve to break up the stresses of exams and the inevitable and much dreaded end of term deadlines. Brief periods of respite are incredibly helpful in allowing you to re-approach work with a refreshed and alert mind and can help no end in increasing motivation.