A large and diverse group gathered on Tuesday for the opening reception of UWSA’s ninth annual exhibition of exemplary student work, this year renamed STUDIO to highlight the working process behind the finished projects on display. Faculty curator Andrew Levitt says the driving force behind the exhibition is not only recognizing student achievement, but also getting the creative energy of the studio “from the third floor to the ground floor.” He cites a desire to generate understanding among the broader community of the incredible talent, commitment, and energy that students bring to their work at the school.
To that end, the curatorial team dragged a student desk from the third floor to the front of the gallery to create an “invitation” to people dropping into the building or getting a coffee across the hall. The desk beckons by its unfamiliarity on the ground floor, but the projects within demonstrate the relevance and connection between the work done partly at these desks and the broader spheres of community beyond the institution.
The annual exhibition of student work is a partnership between the school and Design at Riverside, the branch of Cambridge Galleries located within the school building. It all comes together quickly: less than a month was available for the appointment of the faculty curator, assembly of the curatorial team, selection of student projects, and the design, production and installation of the exhibition. As is usual for students at this school, tight deadlines colliding with excellent ideas have generated outstanding results.
After opening remarks, the gathered crowd disperses to peruse, question, and admire the work on display while sipping wine and conversing. The projects include completed and in-progress graduate work, as well as an array of drawings, models, and furniture from undergraduates completed in the past year. Although the work could be said to be representative, it has come through a many-layered and fast-paced selection process to become part of the exhibition. Recommendations by professors, advice from students, the availability of projects, and other chance elements have influenced the look and feel of STUDIO 2013. On a good day, this process of synthesis and emergent wholes is exactly what studio is all about.
STUDIO 2013 is curated by Andrew Levitt, Petra Bogias, Connor O’Grady, and Gemma Selvanera and runs until May 18, 2013. Keep an eye out for an accompanying publication in the coming weeks.
Additional photos by Fred Hunsberger
I am a graduate student at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture, currently completing my MArch thesis on the design and collective memory of Indian residential schools in Canada.
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