Concepts and finishes show flow of talent

WARWICK SMITH/Manawatu Standrd

YOUNG AND INSPIRED: Former Palmerston North Girls' High School student Ayumi Shino shows off her printmaking artwork in the Secondary School Art Exhibition at Te Manawa.

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Manawatu has an abundance of talented artists and the most recent installation at Te Manawa demonstrates just how deep the talent flows through its veins.

Thirty of last year's Year 13 NCEA students who achieved either a merit or excellence pass in their final exam have their work on display and it makes interesting viewing.

Demonstrating their art portfolios in painting, photography, design, sculpture and printmaking, the exhibition displays students work from the concept to the finished product.

"This exhibition is unique because usually we only see the finished product, but this show gives you an insight into how an artist's mind works," says assistant curator Sian Van Dyk.

Developed in collaboration with Manawatu Art Teachers' Association, this is the third year that the exhibition has taken place.

It was initially implemented to celebrate the work of the students after community input several years ago to Te Manawa asked for more local focus for the museum. "We wanted to do something different to show off the fresh talent coming out of our schools. These students are going to be our future artists and are a part of Manawatu."

Kelly Pfeffer, art tutor from Awatapu, says secondary school art students at this level have increased largely due to the Bachelor of Applied Visual Imaging (BAVI) course at UCOL.

The student's work has been suspended on wires so it appears to float above the ground.

The concept was developed by Te Manawa's exhibition designer Nathan Cronin and has been set so that a pathway is followed and each piece gets the scrutiny is deserves.

"Back in 2007 when we first started this exhibition it was all laid out on tables and was quite hard to view it that way. Having the installation like this is great," says Ms Pfeffer.

The range of work is quite remarkable and includes aspects of cartoon, line drawing, water colour and digital imaging.

The two largest groups represented are design and photography, and while this is the first year that sculpture has been included in NCEA, Ms Pfeffer hope to see more of it represented in the coming years.

"It is hard for some schools to offer sculpture, though, due to the nature of the programme. You need a lot of space for storage and there are other issues around photographing work etc."

The exhibition opened on Waitangi Day and runs until March 14.

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