NEWS RELEASE 30 October 2008
Wellington galleries embrace WelTec graduates
From Wednesday 5 November, Toi Pôneke Gallery will be awash with proud parents and friends when WelTec’s Bachelor of
Visual Arts graduate exhibitions open to the public.
This exhibition is part of a wider series of exhibitions by creative technologies graduates taking place this month in
galleries throughout the city.
The exhibition, which consists of everything from installation to photography, from painting to lightboxes, explores
bicultural identity, the replacement of artificial intelligence for domestic animals, the ‘crude’ cityscapes that are
beginning to dominate the planet and the hierarchical roles in traditional Burmese society.
WelTec’s Visual Arts Programme Director Lorraine Rastorfer says students will be thrilled to see their work at Toi
Pôneke Gallery, a place that is becoming increasingly known as not only a starting point for early-career artists, but
also a place where established Wellington artists have been known to exhibit.
“The students have worked extremely hard this year with this in mind, and I think this exhibition is a treasure trove of
personal experience, genealogy and an acute observation of social mores and what they might become. The display of
technical proficiency is also tremendous,” says Lorraine.
Creative technologies students at Wellington Institute of Technology benefit from a unique style of learning.
“We go beyond developing their ability to think critically, we empower them with the practical skills to put theory into
practice,” says Lorraine.
The Bachelor of Visual Arts Students exhibitions will take place across three different galleries in the city: Roar
Gallery on Abel Smith Street (1-15 November), Thistle Hall Gallery on Cuba Street (11-16 November) and Toi Pôneke
Gallery on Abel Smith Street (5-16 November).
ENDS