Menu

Wananga landing
Wananga landing
News

ILAM 2019 opens Ilam School of Arts to the public

12 November 2019

Featuring works from 3rd, 4th, Honours year and Master’s of Fine Arts studio-artists, ILAM 2019 is once again an astutely curated snapshot of contemporary creative developments within the UC Arts School of Fine Arts.

HOW TO APPLY

This year’s SELECT judge, UC alumni Cam McCracken, Director of Dunedin Public Art Gallery, chose three artist-recipients whose work will permanently enter the University of Canterbury (UC) Art Collection – Liam Krijgsman, Christian Lamont and Min-Young Her.

The launch of the exhibition and announcement of the SELECT recipients was last Friday 8 November.

SELECT ’19 is the eleventh annual award in which artwork is acquired from final year undergraduate and postgraduate students at the Ilam School of Fine Arts for the UC Art Collection. With over 5,000 art works, UC holds one of the largest and most impressive tertiary collections in the country.

 

Exhibition hours:

11am – 2pm, Saturday & Sunday 9 – 10 November
10am – 4pm, Monday – Wednesday 11 – 13 November
10am – 1pm, Thursday 14 November
Free car parking is available in the Clyde car park (only) off Arts Rd.

 

SELECT 19 Programme copy:

Cam McCracken – SELECT 19 judge
Director, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Toitū Otago Settlers Museum and the Dunedin Chinese Garden.

I started as a first year at the Ilam School of Fine Arts 30 years ago in 1989 and went through the Sculpture Department on my way to gaining a BFA. I haven’t really had much to do with the School since, so it’s a real pleasure to be involved again. I’m thrilled to be the judge of Ilam 2019 and, although it’s a slightly daunting prospect, I’m very much looking forward to exploring the studios and seeing the range of submitted work completed by this year’s students. This is an excellent place of learning and so I have big expectations of seeing some really great work!

The prospect of being your judge has made me reflect with some nostalgia, pride and gratitude on my time at Ilam. Being a graduate of this Art School has been hugely important to me. It was here that I really learned how to think critically and confidently. I learned how to problem solve, how to work quickly and efficiently through ideas and then how to champion those ideas persuasively.

We had very high expectations placed on us by the academic staff – expectations that we would work hard and make full use of the resources around us. We placed even higher expectations on each other that our work would be as good as it could be and that it would be well resolved, because it would be scrutinised by our peers with considerable rigour.

I developed these skills, work values and attitudes during my four years at Ilam and these have served me very well in my working life. This will be the case for those of you who are graduating soon too. Increasingly the ability to be creative, critical and resilient are now prerequisite for a successful working life and an art school education will equip those who have it with the ability to positively navigate the future with confidence.

Introduction to SELECT 19: Associate Professor Aaron Kreisler, Head of UC’s Ilam School of Fine Arts

E ngã rangatira, tena koutou katoa

“If I hadn’t attended art school I would have missed out on many experiences: living with other like-minded people; expanding my horizons not only in the world of art but also in music … and finally in being part of a generation that challenged the art establishment’s entrenched attitudes.”1

These are the erudite musings of Quentin MacFarlane, who passed through Ilam School of Fine Arts in the mid-to-late fifties and went on to become an acclaimed New Zealand painter. I thought it was appropriate to start this publication with the words of one of our distinguished alumni, who sadly passed away this year along with other luminaries such as Bill Culbert and Alan Pearson, who graced our studios and shifted the contemporary art compass over subsequent decades leaving an indelible mark on our cultural landscape.

Having crossed paths with all these characters in various capacities over the years, I was always struck by the collective strength of their personalities, unwavering belief in the power of art and an ability to rigorously discuss and speculate on a whole raft of important issues of the day. These were memorable conversations with people who took an acute interest in the world around them and also sought to speak back to it in direct and enduring ways through their art practice.

At its heart MacFarlane’s words also identifies a number of things that an art school education provides; a sense of community, an unencumbered world of possibilities and an approach to what you do that is informed but is not limited by what has gone before. I believe that this is a mantra that our current crop of students, who appear in this publication and the associated Ilam 2019 exhibition, could easily subscribe to as well.

As the Head of Ilam School of Fine Arts it is my pleasure and privilege to work with a talented team of staff who continue to inform and respond to our students’ needs, which culminates in this final production. While this is only one set of outcomes from a busy academic year, it is a significant opportunity for us to take stock of what is happening across our studios in the senior years of our degree programmes. It is also a chance for the friends and families of our students, alumni, art enthusiasts and the wider public to get a sense of what we are doing and even speculate on what might come from this cohort of students further down the track.

Finally, we see this curatorial exposition as a further chance to build on the overwhelming success of last year’s studio presentation being combined with the SELECT exhibition. With this in mind we welcome Cam McCracken, Director of Dunedin Public Art Gallery and Toitū Otago Settlers Museum, who as alumni and someone who has worked in the gallery sector for a number of years, brings his wealth of knowledge and keen eye to the role of being this year’s SELECT judge.

1. Quentin McFarlane interview by Peter Vangioni October 2007.

 

Lydia Baxendell, Kaitiaki Taonga Toi|Curator, Art Collections

As the Art Collections Curator, the end of year open studios are a highlight. Students from all disciplines share their refined ideas and insights into current fine arts practice, exhibiting a concise, yet varied sample of contemporary arts practice. For myself and the University Art Acquisitions Committee, knowing that three works from students represented will enter the University Art Collection via the SELECT award, makes this experience all the richer.

SELECT ’19 is the eleventh annual award in which artwork is acquired from final year undergraduate and postgraduate students at the Ilam School of Fine Arts for the UC Art Collection. With over 5,000 art works, UC holds one of the largest and most impressive tertiary collections in the country. Since 2009, 32 works from SELECT have been accessioned into the collection.

The award is coordinated by the UC Art Acquisitions Committee, which, since its inception in 1988, has been purchasing art works of a contemporary nature. These acquisitions aim to enhance the cultural and intellectual environment of the University whilst playing an integral role in teaching as an engaging primary resource. While the award is an opportunity for student representation in a major public collection, it is also an opportunity for UC to acquire challenging works which are representative of current practice and often extend intellectual and aesthetic boundaries.
SELECT, and the UC Art Collection are intimately intertwined with the past, present and future representation of the School of Fine Arts, examples of which date back to its establishment in 1882. The award undoubtedly enhances the artistic, scholarly and cultural representation of the School of Fine Arts within the UC Art Collection.

Works acquired are chosen by an external guest judge and the artists receive NZ$2000 each for selected works. We are honoured this year to have Cam McCracken, Director Dunedin Public Art Gallery as the SELECT ’19 guest judge.

The Art Acquisitions Committee: Lydia Baxendell, Joanna Condon, Barbara Garrie, Jeff Field, Aaron Kreisler and Louise Palmer.


More information
 
Visit our media enquiries page to contact UC Media.
What to read next
Privacy Preferences

By clicking "Accept All Cookies", you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyse site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.