Arts alumni, students and faculty to show together

2 September 2011

Arts alumni, students and faculty to show together

Alumni, students and faculty of UCOL’s Quay School of the Arts will show together for the first time at an exhibition during the Real Whanganui Festival.

UCOL’s Head of Creative Programmes Sally-Jane De Salazar says for more than 15 years, Quay School of the Arts graduates have been recognised as leaders in the field. “This is an opportunity to see what they have achieved, by drawing together their work, with art produced by our lecturers and current students.”

The Real New Zealand Art Exhibition opens at the Federal Hotel Gallery on Tuesday 27 September and runs until 8 October. Prizes for both alumni and existing students will be awarded: The judge will be Bill Milbank, formerly Director of the Sarjeant Gallery and now owner of the WHMilbank Gallery in Whanganui. Senior lecturer in Fine Arts, Rita Dibert says the school is very pleased to have such a high profile curator with knowledge of the entire New Zealand art scene awarding the prizes for the exhibition.

An alumni award sponsored by Gordon Harris Art Supplies in Wellington will be given to a graduate from the Wellington region. Ochre Art Supplies in Whanganui will give an award to a current student at the Quay School with a printmaking or painting entry in the exhibition.

Rita says artists are permitted one submission, “an easy call for alumni who usually work in one or two major areas of art making once they leave the Quay School with a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree. However, it’s a harder call for Year 1 students who are still involved in all of the school’s five media areas: glass, painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture. Year 2 students work in two media areas as well as drawing, and Year 3 students elect a major for their focus.”

Any alumni of the Quay School of Art, Whanganui UCOL (formerly Wanganui Regional Community Polytechnic) who want to be included in the exhibition may contact Rita Dibert

Mobile 022 3734647, Email r.dibert@ucol.ac.nz

American-born Whanganui UCOL staff are also contributing to a unique exhibition, as part of the Real Whanganui Festival. The show, New Zealanders by Choice, will feature work by staff who have made New Zealand their home but who hail originally from the USA.

Rita Dibert, who is originally from Michigan, but is now a New Zealand citizen, says the exhibition marks Whanganui’s hosting of the USA team during their preparation for the Rugby World Cup this month. “In honour of this, we have invited a small local team of our own Americans to put on a show,” says UCOL lecturer Rita Dibert. “The exhibition may have very little to do with rugby – but you never know….”

UCOL Quay School of Arts & Computer Graphic Design tutors, Brit Bunkley, Rita Dibert, Debbie Hahn, Lynn Hurst, Andres Salinas, Tanya Roberson will take part.

The exhibition kicks off on Wednesday 28 Sept at 5.00pm at the Edith Gallery, Atrium, 16 Rutland St, Whanganui UCOL. It continues from 29 Sept to 7 October, 9.00am – 4.00pm Monday to Friday.

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