Street art comes to university
YOUNG regional artists are painting the University of Southern Queensland red (and many other colours) as part of the ARTIZ workshop residency program this week (October 3-5).
Year 9-12 students travelled from as far away as Boyne Island to take part in the popular Street Art at USQ program supported through the university’s partnership with Flying Arts Alliance.
The program provides young artists with a taste for university life and an immersive arts experiences unlike those offered through the student’s schools.
During the intensive residency, students will use the USQ Toowoomba art studios to develop and enhance their training as young and emerging artists.
Toowoomba’s famous First Coat Festival murals will provide inspiration for the students who will undertake a walking tour to view more than 100 murals in Toowoomba’s CBD and laneways.
They will also meet with USQ alumni and co-director of the First Coat Studios Grace Dewar to discuss a career in the arts.
Students will undertake a series of workshops and activities at USQ, including concept development, tape work, working with stencils, aerosol painting and large-scale image transfers to create a large public mural measuring 30m wide by 3m high along the Toowoomba Regional Tennis Centre.
They will work with artists Karri McPherson, a Bachelor of Creative Arts student, and USQ alumni and lecturer Dr Rhiannan Johnson.
Ms McPherson is a contemporary painter and muralist who recently undertook a month-long residency to learn how to translate her work onto a large scale.
“USQ has provided me a platform to learn and refine my practice as an emerging artist, allowing me to develop my skills in order to share them with a younger generation,” she said.
The mural will be open for public viewing from Monday.