CREATIVE

If you want to immerse yourself in a sea of inspired creatives, look no further than TAFE Queensland’s Mooloolaba campus. Carlie Wacker goes backstage as the next wave of ARTreprenuers emerge from their creative cocoons and enter the wild.

CRE8 is the grand finale for creative industries students at TAFE Queensland’s Mooloolaba campus and it is a spectacular showcase of the extraordinary talent of our region. The visual arts, photography and fashion courses are producing the next generation of art entrepreneurs on the Sunshine Coast and meeting and chatting with some of the recent graduates and lecturers had me yearning to get back into the classroom.

The annual CRE8 event offers graduates the chance to exhibit and sell their work plus get in front of potential stockists or industry mentors to further their career in the creative industries.

As I wandered through the photography exhibition, I see names of working photographers that have upskilled by doing a course at TAFE Queensland alongside newcomers like Karen Joy Gibb - her work is mysterious and dramatic and I had to find out about her TAFE Queensland experience.

“My background is theatre, but I was keen to explore other artistic endeavours,” Karen shares.