Graduating’s a minefield.

You either survive your final year by working every hour God sends, existing on a diet of strawberry milk and tears, or you let it go to the dogs and have fun. The former probably means the end result was pretty good, the latter less so.

Either way, the show’s over and you want to get more out of the work you produced.  Enter a plethora of graduate showcases to choose from. Before you part with any cash and resources, take a look at our round up.

Free Range

We like Free Range a lot, so much so that we recently had a chat with founder and director Tamsin O’ Hanlon (earlier this year). Located in the immense Truman Brewery in Brick Lane, it’s in the heart of London’s creative industry and gets massive footfall. Industry folks swing by, swig Becks and pick up cards. Some Universities pay for students to exhibit, others hold fundraising events and the students pay for themselves.

Best for: fine art, illustration, photography, graphic design

This year there’s also fashion. We went down and watched some shows

http://www.free-range.org.uk/

D&AD New Blood

Short for Design and Art Direction D&AD is famous for its industry awards in the form of pencils. Yes, ad men everywhere fight for the right to own a black pencil. Yellow pencils are pretty good – but black is the best. Check out past winners here.

The D&AD Student Awards are among the most prestigious in the industry with just over 3000 teams entering this year from almost 300 colleges – up 20% on 2009. Find out how to enter here.

Finally, it’s well worth entering D&AD New Blood to be part of their graduate exhibition.

Best for: graphic design, product design, art direction, advertising

http://www.dandad.org/

Spotlight Graduate Programme

If you’re graduating from a CDS drama school in 2010, and you haven’t been selected for the showcase, it’s well worth considering their Spotlight Graduate Programme. Every year from January to May Spotlight runs a series of free events designed to support you during your final year of study and kick-start your professional career.  Find out more here

Best for: performing arts

http://www.spotlight.com/

The National Student Drama Festival

If you’re graduating this year and have a production all ready to perform, it’s really worth applying for NSDF. Performing at the festival in April is a massive opportunity to get your work seen by industry insiders such as Mark Ravenhill and Mike Leigh.

Applications are open now and judges will be selecting 12 graduate plays. This year we sent two IdeasTap bloggers to report back on the action as it unfolded.

Best for: performing arts

http://www.nsdf.org.uk

Emerge

Described as “The original graphic design showcase in the heart of London’s East End” Emerge is a little different this year, in a good way.

Fifteen Graphics graduates will be chosen to design a poster for Underground stations around East London as well as the usual show at The Cube on Commercial Road.

Applying is super easy too

Best for: graphic design

http://www.thisisemerge.com/

The Affordable Art Fair

AAF is a great place to exhibit after graduation. The fine art fair, selling work from £50 - £3,000 is an easy way to start selling your work. Buyers and agents mill around the fair in Battersea Park, which takes place in October. See past work and find out how to exhibit here

Best for: fine art, illustration,

Futurising

Led by London College of Communication and funded by the Higher Education Funding Council England, Futurising is a massive networking opportunity for graduates from a range of creative disciplines. Everything is covered here from Product Design to Radio. Companies gather to scout the best design students in the industry. The good news is, we’ll be there this year too…look out for us. This year it’s June 29-30 in Shoreditch, London. Find out more here

Best for: everything!

http://www.futurising.org/