OUSA Art Week Success

The 6th annual OUSA Art Week has once again proven a success for students and Dunedin with over $2500 worth of art being sold in the 26th annual Student Art Exhibition and Sale.

“We’re stoked with the support and especially happy to have seen such a range of great art sold and at reasonable prices.” Said Rachel Enright, OUSA Events Coordinator, “We believe there will be more than a few people will be extremely happy with works that are not only gorgeous but very likely to be worth a lot more in a few years.”

Last week’s Art Week saw over 1000 people through the Student Art exhibition and a great number of Dunedinites took the chance to explore the 11 Dunedin Art Galleries on show during the White Night Art Gallery Crawl. The Pecha Kucha night once again saw a range of speakers giving quick fire presentations to a highly entertained crowd. The newest event, the Artist Writer Speed Dating night was at capacity with 40 artists and writers meeting in the hopes of possible collaborations.

“The event has stuck to its key aims to support the art scene here at Otago and to provide opportunities to artists of all levels to be involved, from exhibiting and selling to meeting other artists.” Said Francisco Hernandez, OUSA President. “We’re honoured and thrilled to have worked with such a range of different artists to support Kiwi talent and help expose it to a wider audience.”

This year was the first year awards for student artists were given out as part of the Student Art Exhibition and Sale. These artists were judged to be the top up and comers in the Otago Art scene and names to look out for in in the future:

Photography Excellence: Alexander Carroll - “Batu Caves”

Painting Excellence: Linda Trainor - “Large Pink”

Textile Mastery: Christian McNab - “Hand”

Most Promising Artist: Gavin Ashworth

Drawing Excellence: Holly Todd - “Watched”

Wild Card L’or etoile: Jean Balchin - “The Altercation”

“OUSA have a real focus on promoting student and Dunedin culture endeavours that involves everything from the music to the art scene.” Said Francisco Hernandez, OUSA President. “Art Week is one of the cornerstones of our cultural events line-up that includes supporting Dunedin music at The Dunedin Craft Beer & Food Festival, the Otago Capping Show, and supporting Radio One’s upcoming Onefest and further improvement to the Radio One infrastructure.”

The next event for the OUSA is the Otago Blues and Golds Awards to be held tonight, Thursday 26th September, the awards focus on the sporting and cultural achievements of Otago’s top athletes, students and societies.

Ends

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