CAMPUS ART
WEXFORD’S CREATIVE CAMPUS STUDENTS G0 PUBLIC WITH EXHIBITION
COUNTY COUNCIL arts officer Liz Burns officially opened an exhibition of paintings, photography, sculpture and performance by third year art degree students from IT Carlow School of Art and Design at Studio 15 in Drinagh Retail Park.
Not only did the 13 students produce art work for the show on the themes of identity, landscape, the figure and politics, they also organised all aspects of the event and raised funds to pay for the venue and the the cost of producing an accompanying booklet of postcards depicting their work.
The exhibition was the result of a professional practice module taught by the artist/lecturer Orla Barry as part of the Fine Art programme in the college. Three of the students had only recently returned from an Erasmus exchange in the Czech Republic.
‘It’s so important in Wexford to have this group dynamic because visual artists usually tend to work alone,’ said Orla, addressing the students and their invited guests.
Complimenting the participants on the project, Liz Byrnes noted that there are quite a few mature students and different nationalities in the group which contributed to the richness of the show and a very interesting mix of work, most of which was produced over the short space of a month.
‘It’s not easy putting together a show like this. There is an energy to the exhibition and a social awareness about much of the work which deals with issues such as social media and inequality and asks the question where are we going’.
Ms Burns said it is ‘ brilliant’ that Carlow IT has a Fine Art degree course in Wexford with nationally and internationally known artists as teachers.
She added that the Arts Office is currently working on a five-year arts plan for Wexford. ‘What I want the Arts Office and my role to do is support art and art practice here in County Wexford and to help the community of County Wexford to experience art,’ she said, urging the art students to get their names on the database.
The multi-cultural bunch of students involved in the exhibition are Hyun-kyoung Choi, Kevin Martin, Andrew Kingshott, Hanna Bates, Amanda J. Fitzpatrick, Deirdre Travers, Darragh Gill, Mirona Mara, Sheena Furlong, Anne Doherty, Jacqueline White, Jimmy Leonard and Luke Monaghan and hail originally from South Korea, Finlan, Romania, England, Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford.
Music at the launch was provided by The Frantics, Meaghan Furlong, Luke Donnelly and Amanda Fitzpatrick.