SVIAS TO CELEBRATE
Its first ever Degree Show
The Department of Visual and Technological Arts of the Swami Vipulanantha Institute of Aesthetic Studies will host their first Degree Show by the department’s graduating class from February 5-8, 2019. The institute has made progressive strides since recently implementing new guidelines as well as changes in curriculum and teaching style, and hope to showcase the immense talents of the students. The Degree Show is organised by the Director of the institute Dr. Jeyasankar and the staff and is coordinated by S. P. Pushpakanthan under the supervision of Dr. Mariah Lookman who joined the SVIAS team as Academic Consultant for the Department of Visual and Technological Arts in 2017.
“This degree show, the first to be held at SVIAS, is important to those students who are exhibiting” explained Pushpakanthan, speaking on the milestone event for the institute. “In this island, many art students come to universities to complete a degree for the purpose of getting a government job or whatever positions might be available rather than thinking about their professional career in art. This is true not only of art students, but also of others, too. While every student may not become an artiste, there are other possibilities open to them such as in design and craft. We seek to build students’ confidence as artistes while also creating opportunities for them to meaningfully engage with society. An aim of this show is to build connections between the institution and the society and give students an opportunity to exhibit their work”.
“The Department of Visual and Technological Arts opened in 2007, but until recently, it has not seen a senior artiste who could guide the programme with professional expertise” Pushpakanthan explained. “Dr. S. Jeyasankar, the director of this institution, was able to connect with Dr. Mariah Lookman at the suggestion of Dr. T. Sanathanan, one of the leading artistes and art historians of Sri Lanka. Dr. Lookman is fellow with Tate Modern and did her PH.D. at Oxford. She is currently working as a consultant of the department and has undertaken a number of successful initiatives to develop the programme. Her methods include encouraging educators to be good artistes as a way to improve teaching and also include taking up local knowledge and craft traditions to bring these to international attention. In addition to providing curriculum development, staff and faculty training, and teaching techniques, Dr. Lookman has inspired and planned this exhibition”.
Pushpakanthan also elaborated on the student showcases featured in the Degree Show stating that “This degree show features the finest works of forty-five of our final year students in a variety of media including painting, drawing, sculpture, and more. They have been working hard on pieces for their final portfolio as an integral component of their graduation, and we have selected from among these works. The works address a number of different issues including societal issues and commentaries and personal narratives. The students will furthermore gain experience in how to display and talk about their work to a broader audience.
Particularly in the post-conflict period, the show aims to not only show off the immense talent of the students, but also to promote the importance and value of art as a meaningful engagement with the social. We hope that through this exhibition, we can inspire people of all ages to become artistes of the highest quality.
We also hope to encourage applicants to apply to become a part of our university”.
As the first event of its kind for the department, Pushpakanthan enthuses that he would like for it to be an annual event that will encourage students to reach greater heights “and to push our students to be artistes of an international calibre while also encouraging a more widespread appreciation of art in the Batticaloa area. In future, we plan to encourage our graduated students to participate in this show as well as in solo exhibitions. We will continue to both invite international scholars to our programme and incorporate local artistes and craftsmen, especially those from the Batticaloa area, to promote an appreciation of art and create space for community engagement”.
Sharing her thoughts and experience, Yahana Prabagar, who will be graduating and presenting her work at the Degree Show stated the importance of the opportunity presented to her. “I believe it’s a privilege or rather an achievement to be able to gain knowledge and practice on the related field within the island itself. After our exhibition, I will continuously develop and explore my creativity and find motivation to become a professional artiste. Through this degree show I share
This degree show features the finest works of forty-five of our final year students in a variety of media including painting, drawing, sculpture, and more. They have been working hard on pieces for their final portfolio as an integral component of their graduation
my ideas with the all people. The priority would be to find and follow a career which would allow me to retain and prosper the forms of art which I love and value. I would like to blend the traditional and physical art into the modern graphic designing world through my ideas and skills”. Speaking on her showcase for the show, Yahana added, “I have experienced the importance and impact of time in my life. This eventually made me choose the title ‘Ti_me_mories’ and create art under that title. I’ve expressed them through several techniques such as oil painting, mixed media, pen work, paper quilling and sculpture. Particularly, I’ve selected paper quilling, as it is time consuming work, therefore it forms a connection with my theme”.
Jesmin Mohammad Anas, who is also a student at the institute and will be showcasing her work, shared similar sentiments and spoke of her art. “I have experienced separation in my life. I feel and criticise the reality of the life through this journey. My creation is based on the experiences connected with illustrating the relationship between the journey and life. It is a great opportunity to be graduating with many experiences. I could evaluate myself as a graduate though the degree show and my artwork. The degree show helped us to choose our career as an artiste rather than to be just a teacher or join a similar profession. It also stimulates all the students to travel in the field of Art. I would like to work in the field of contemporary Art and produce more valuable artwork. I feel the initiative of this degree show would expose all hidden talents of the students”.
The exhibition will take place from 5-8 February 2019 from 9 am to 8:30 pm at Swami Vipulanantha Institute of Aesthetic Studies, Eastern University of Sri Lanka, Kallady campus, Batticaloa. The exhibition is free and open to the public