Foreword by Dr Kate Hislop

FOREWORD BY DR KATE HISLOP

At the end of another year of global pandemic amongst other disruptive forces, it was inspiring to see the strength of the work on show in the School of Design 2021 end of year student exhibition, select examples of which are included in this catalogue. Despite ongoing uncertainties and challenges, it is clear that creative endeavour is not abating.

There has been plenty of publicity in the last two years about the impact of COVID-19 on the tertiary sector, and the waning government support for public education. Reassuringly, however, and to the great future benefit of society, students continue to pursue higher education in great numbers. The profile of the student cohort at UWA continues to shift, becoming increasingly diverse in ethnicity, background, gender and age. It is no less the case in the School of Design. This is a powerful thing. Arguably, one of the most valuable aspects of this is the broad understanding that our graduates will have of the world – past, present and future. Breadth of knowledge, alongside appreciation of contextual and cultural character and difference, fundamentally nurtures respect for people and environments. Context is everything.

We are proud of the ambitions shared by our staff and students to be innovative, ethical and reflective thinkers and makers. Featured here is work evidencing deep consideration, interrogation and interpretation of factors that are personal and individual, public and shared, global but locally meaningful. The work is analytical, conceptual and propositional. It is speculative, but also material and technical. Media and technologies are manual and digital, with students becoming proficient in a range of formats in their efforts to execute ideas.

In an age increasingly characterised by questions and anxieties about the future, there is an empowering optimism to be found in the disciplines who can creatively express and address the issues, identifying ways to contemplate and work through them and, at the same time, to thoroughly enjoy the process. I encourage all of our students to embrace the powerful potential of their creative, critical and interpretative practices that will provide the means through which to face and shape all kinds of possible futures.

Congratulations to those who have work published here, and to all who studied at the UWA School of Design in 2021. Once again, we are struck by our students’ achievements, measured in terms of the maturation of their skills and knowledge. Our very best wishes to those who have completed courses and are now embarking upon careers and life journeys.

Dr Kate Hislop, Dean/Head of School, UWA School of Design

FINE ARTS & HISTORY OF ART