The joy and power of art on display as Art Gallery of NSW presents ARTEXPRESS 2017

The Art Gallery of New South Wales is delighted to present one of its most popular annual exhibitions, ARTEXPRESS 2017, showcasing outstanding student artworks created by NSW students for the Higher School Certificate (HSC) Visual Arts examination in 2016.

The Art Gallery of NSW is the principal venue for ARTEXPRESS, which is a series of exhibitions of exemplary artworks drawn from the 2016 cohort of 9004 Visual Arts students from public and private schools across the State.

Showcasing 38 outstanding complete bodies of work, the exhibition represents a range of expressive art forms, including ceramics, collection of works, documented forms, drawing, graphic design, painting, photomedia, printmaking, sculpture, textiles and fibre, and time-based forms.

Art Gallery of New South Wales director Michael Brand said the Gallery is committed to fostering the creative talents of art students and introducing all young people to the joy – and power – of art.

“We are always delighted to celebrate and support the achievements of student artists from across NSW during ARTEXPRESS and throughout the year,” Brand said.

Leeanne Carr, Art Gallery of NSW education manager and curator of ARTEXPRESS since 2010, said the selection process for the exhibition began in October 2016 and involved careful consideration of 500 preselected bodies of work from the 2016 HSC Visual Arts submissions.

“I continue to be impressed by the innovation of student artists and their confidence with experimental techniques to produce outstanding expressive works,” Carr said.

“In part, this confidence is owed to the hundreds of Visual Arts teachers who are dedicated to furthering Visual Arts education and developing each student’s artmaking practice,” she said.

“This year we are pleased to be exhibiting works from several schools that are part of ARTEXPRESS at the Art Gallery of NSW for the first time, such as Camden High School, Braidwood Central School, Narooma High School and Southern Cross School in East Ballina,” she said.

ARTEXPRESS will, for the first time, be presented in the contemporary galleries on lower level two, home of the John Kaldor Family Collection. As part of the Gallery’s commitment to education, the Sydney Modern Project expansion aims to double the number of school student visits to 200,000 per year and provide enhanced education facilities such as art studios, idea incubators, discussion hubs, spaces for audience exchange and performance, and specialised facilities for school groups.

ARTEXPRESS is a joint initiative of the NSW Department of Education and NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) in association with the Art Gallery of NSW.

A related program of ARTEXPRESS Art After Hours events will be held in February.

More information about exhibiting student artists and artworks

More information about related programs

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