Flying high: Graduating art and design students showcase their work to thousands

Nov 22, 2005

Determined to 'take off' in the creative world, over 80 Creative Arts students from the University of Wollongong took part in the opening of the School of Art and Design's annual Graduate Exhibition last week, which is this year named 'Welcome to the Flight Deck'. Opening night attracted over 1000 visitors to the University.

The exhibition, which runs until Friday 9 December, is directed, curated and publicised entirely by the students and showcases the creative talent of young artists and designers at the University.

A diverse collection of cutting-edge art and design is on display including painting, textiles, sculpture and print design as well as digital design, motion graphics and web design.

The exhibition is an important annual cultural event in the Illawarra and marks the completion of studies and graduation for most of the exhibiting students.

Held in the many galleries and spaces within the Faculty of Creative Arts, guests attending the opening night were invited to explore the faculty and mingle with artists and designers. Associate Director of Object Gallery, Mr Brian Parkes, officially opened the exhibition and entertainment was provided by local musicians.

“I think it's really important that young artists and designers bring their vibrancy and talent to the community in a way that sparks new ideas and produces creativity,” said Virginia Mawer, a practising student artist and Visual Arts Exhibition Director.

A full colour catalogue, sponsored by Print Media and designed by the students, will be on sale during the exhibition. The catalogue displays the talents of each graduating student and features reflections from the students on their work and time at UOW.

Three Years Later. . .

Graduation celebrations also took place for the sound, composition and production students recently with a series of concerts held at UOW entitled "Three Years Later" which showcased the talents of 13 emerging young composers.

The graduating class had been developing their compositional skill for three years and the featured works within the concerts were a cross section of the development of each composer.

The concert featured string quintet works, electronic sound scape pieces, short films, solo piano performances, trio works for flute, cello and piano, an Irish band, electronic works and jazz pieces.

Below is a sample of the night's entertainment.