Alumni@COFA

This work is being exhibited at AWASPACE ll at the main campus. It is work by COFA alumni Caroline Cass and I encourage you to go and see it.

NATURE AS FEMININE Recycled disposable paper and polystyrene cups, oil paint and watercolour. Caroline Cass COFA Master of Art Artists Statement.

This work acknowledges the feminine aspects of tea parties, however transforming and contextualising into contemporary forms. It also explores the historical nature of feminine power and coming together of women’s voices and lives. In this work, through the tea cup symbol, this installation represents not only colonialisation of culture, but also the vessel of women’s power and unity, diversity and individuality. Here the richness of gold leaf and the organic designs, which add significant motif to tea cups, contrasts with the disposable nature of recyclable cups that litter our environment, colonising in proliferation.

COFA alumni, Netra Chetty, Cristina Garduño Freeman and Victor Cabello have come together for a very special project that helps and pays homage to families that have lived through traumatic experiences with their young children.

Heartfelt, is a photography exhibition by The Australian Community of Child Photographers (ACOCP) which provides parents with family portraits of their children who may have been stillborn; died neo-natally; are terminally ill; or been born prematurely.

Cristina urges fellow CoFA alumni to visit the exhibition. “These photographs are more than just images, each one tells the story of a young life, at times tragically short, at times endured, but always loved."

“The opportunity to come together with like minded graduates is always a pleasure, and to be able to put our skills and abilities to raise awareness for ACOCP has been a refreshing and invigorating opportunity. COFA alumni offer strong conceptual abilities and a range of specialisations, in contrast to more narrowly focused degrees. This means that our networks give us the opportunity to collaborate and bring these different skills together in projects, like the ACOCP Heartfelt exhibition.”

The Heartfelt exhibition
June 22nd to 4th July 2009
Monday to Friday 11am to 6pm
Saturday 12 to 4pm
MLC Gallery, 449 Harris Street, Ultimo 2007

For more information http://www.heartfelt.org.au or http://www.acocp.org.au

Contact Netra on netrac@optusnet.com.au

We had a great night with George Gittoes recently.... it was a world exclusive screening of the 3 films. Have a look at 'galleries' for some photographs from the night.

Reminder:

COFA aluumni event, this Wednesday, 20th May 6pm - 8pm to be held at COFA Lecture room EGO2. Screening of George Gittoes Film trilogy and discussion of his work.

CURATOR – 3 year contract
The Museum of Contemporary Art currently has an exciting opportunity for an experienced Curator to work within its Artistic Programming team. Reporting to the Senior Curator, you will be responsible for the planning, management and implementation of contemporary exhibitions and other projects, assisting in the development of the Museum’s collections through exhibition and acquisition, and liaison with guest curators and artists. You will also undertake research in relation to proposed and planned exhibitions and on the MCA’s collection. The position works closely with the Senior Manager, Education & Access, towards the devising and planning of education activities which enhance public appreciation of contemporary cultural practices.
The successful applicant will have a creative approach to exhibition planning and presentation with a minimum of 3 years curatorial experience. You are comfortable with public speaking and have exceptional communication and project management skills. Demonstrated experience in publications as a writer of interpretive texts on exhibitions and artworks for a variety of audiences with strong organisational skills, research, writing and editing skills is required. Knowledge of Australian and international contemporary art and an understanding of the needs of artists and issues surrounding the public presentation of contemporary art are crucial to the role. Tertiary qualifications in visual art or fine art/art history are essential. Previous experience working with audio visual technology is highly desirable.
For a full position description please visit the employment section of our website at http://www.mca.com.au. Enquiries can be directed to Rachel Kent on (02) 9245 2410. Short listing for interviews will be based on meeting the essential criteria listed in the position description.
Please send your application and CV, including names and telephone numbers of two referees to the Human Resources Manager, Museum of Contemporary Art, PO Box R1286, Royal Exchange, NSW, 1223 or email positionsvacant@mca.com.au. Applications close Monday 1st June 2009. Faxed applications will not be accepted.

Our recent COFA alumni event held at Object gallery was another enjoyable evening. Steve Pozel, the Director of Object, spoke about the history of the Design Now 2009 exhibition, and COFA's very own Lucy Simpson, who was one of the finalists in the exhibition spoke about her work.

Our recent alumni event at Janet Laurence's studio was a great night, with lots of lively discussion and a chance to wonder and wander through Janet's amazing and intriguing studio.

Hi everybody,

I'm emailing you regarding the COFA alumni on-line community.

Thank you for your interest in this site and for registering as a member.

We want to really make this site work for you and to give you lots of reasons to visit it regularly - and we can only do that with your help and participation.

The site offers many advantages, such as letting your peers know what you are up to, where you are working, information about jobs and other opportunities, finding artistic collaborators, a chance to exhibit your work online as well as other things that you might like the site to offer!

To get the site really working, we ask you to update your profile and portfolio with current and interesting information about yourself. The more information you enter the more you are likely to gain from the site, such as interest in your work from other Alumni and possible job prospects.

As an extra incentive for you for doing this, we will be giving away -

• 6 x $350 vouchers to be spent on a COFA short course of your choice
• 50 x Free double movie passes
• 25 x Book vouchers
• and more!

During April and May, anyone updating their information will go into a draw for these incentives.

So - get started! Take 10 minutes and write something fascinating about yourself and post some images of your work!

When you have done this, just send me a quick email - alumni@cofa.unsw.edu.au so that I can make sure you become eligible for one of the above incentives.

Katy

The first COFA Alumni event for 2009 is almost here.

This is a unique opportunity to visit the studio of Janet Laurence, who is one of Australia's leading artists - as well as being a member of the COFA alumni community.

Janet has this to say about her studio:

"I rapidly turn each of my studios into a collecting space where I have a lot of things going on at once. I have this strange collection of things, substances, elements, growing things and specimens. Crystals grow over plates, copper palettes go green over a year and amazing fungus grows on shelves. I like that. I like these organic processes that happen and my studio is the place for it"

Come and experience Janet's studio:

WHEN: Wednesday 25th March, 6pm - 8pm

WHERE: 17 - 19 O'Connor Street, Chippendale

RSVP: Please rsvp by 11th March. Due to space, this event is limited to 30 people

Our recent COFA / FBE alumni event featured John Andreas, one of the architects from Architectus, who presented the plans for the COFA re-development and new art museum. John and Dean of COFA Ian Howard answered many questions from the audience on these exciting new plans. See what you miss out on when you don't come to alumni events. Look out for news on the next one.