Alumni & Friends

Our recent Alumni event at Sullivan and Strumpf Fine Art was a great success. We had a very interested audience and a great speaker in exhibiting artist, Marc de Jong. He gave a wonderful insight into his work; how he takes every day images from newspapers etc., and gives them new life through rich paint, fabric, and many other materials to 'humanise' these once computer generated images.

Director Joanna Strumpf also showed the work of many artists whose work they represent through the secondary art, and shared some of her vast knowledge around collecting art, from both the primary and secondary art market.

Our next Alumni event is a joint event with COFA Alumni and FBE Alumni invited to Concrete Culture at the Ivan Dougherty Gallery. The exhibition features Australian and Asian artists and architects and looks at how dialogue and connection can be facilitated through the process of art. Our guest speakers are Richard Goodwin, one of the exhibiting artists along with Carolyn Cristov-Bakagiev, the director of this year's Biennale. The event will be held at the Ivan Dougherty Gallery, Wednesday 2nd July from 6pm to 8pm.

 

ALUMNI AND FRIENDS

COFA Alumni Association reflects the values of the UNSW Alumni Association, to build a lifelong partnership between UNSW, COFA and its worldwide alumni, which fosters active participation in the life of the University and brings benefit to a broader society.

COFA values highly the diversity and international reach of the alumni community, acknowledging their role as leaders in their field, as artists, teachers or administrators.

COFA’s desire is to create a strong and vibrant Alumni community and offer an innovative and  diverse program of events that will appeal and entice you to attend.

Over the years COFA has changed names and incarnations, separated and re-merged. Regardless of which Faculty you graduated from, be it COFA, Alexander Mackie, National Art School or City Art Institute, you automatically becomes part of the Alumni Community on completion of your studies. There is no need to join or pay any fees , all you need to do is ensure your contact details are up to date.

STAY IN TOUCH

All graduates of COFA, City Art Institute, Alexander Mackie College and National Art School are encouraged to stay in touch and ensure their contact details are up to date.

This will ensure that you receive information on the Alumni program of events as well as  other relevant information on COFA and UNSW developments.

To ensure your contact details are up to date, please email the following information to:
alumni@cofa.unsw.edu.au

Name
Address
Phone number(s)
Email address
Course – Institution – Year

UPCOMING ALUMNI EVENTS

•    2008 Biennale Event

WHERE: Ivan Dougherty Gallery
             Selwyn St
             Paddington

WHEN: Wednesday July 2, 6pm – 8pm

This evening will feature a talk by Carolyn Cristof -Bakargiev, the director of this years Biennale. Carolyn is a compelling speaker and will offer an insight into this year’s Biennale, Revolutions – forms that turn. Also hear from one of the exhibiting artists in  Concrete and Culture, an exhibition that looks at the relationship between art and architecture and how art can engender community and dialogue.

•    8’s Reunion

WHERE: This event will be held on the COFA campus, F Block

WHEN:   Sunday August 23, 7pm onwards

Are you an 08? Did you graduate from National Art School, Alexander Mackie, City Art Institute or COFA in the years 68, 78, 88, 98 or 08? If you did, it’s time to enjoy a reunion specifically for you and other Alumni from your ‘8’ year. Come and acknowledge your achievements and celebrate your ‘8’.

NEWS FROM COFA ALUMNI

Many COFA alumni are actively involved in contemporary creative culture both in Australia and beyond. Graduates from COFA's Fine Art, Design, Multi Media, Art History & Theory, Art Administration and Art Education degrees are shaping their fields as practitioners, administrators, educators and theorists.

JANET LAURENCE is one of Australia’s most well known and successful artists. She was included in the 9th Sydney Biennale and three Australian Perspecta shows. Her works are in several international collections and major Australian galleries. She is a former trustee of the Art Gallery of NSW and is currently on the Visual Arts Board of the Australia Council.  Laurence’s work examines the intersections between science and architecture and explores the fragility of nature and the possibility of regeneration.‘I love working in a way that the work you do creates a space for possibility.’    

SHAUN GLADWELL does not make too much of a distinction between art and life, allowing the things he was doing before art, now become his art. Skateboarding, being one of those activities, features prominently in the work of this painter, installation and video artist and is imbued with balletic grace and poetry in motion. Although the adrenaline rush achieved through his stunts helps to push Gladwells work to new levels, he is also asking bigger questions about human  nature and its limits. 

CLINTON NAIN is one of the most complex and visually subtle artists of his generation, and the layers of meaning within his art keep on unfolding. Nain believes his research into his family history has given him much ground to work from within his artwork. This is also reflected in the power of his work which integrates dance and performance. Nain believes the popularity of Aboriginal art is a positive way of allowing people to interact with Aboriginal history and culture. 

TRENT JANSEN was the recipient of the Object Award for Design for Manufacturing in his final year in the COFA Design course. His work, Sign Stool was constructed from recycled street signs and functions both as seating and shelving. Jansen has a commitment to sustainability, and a desire to imbue objects with personality. Jansen’s hope is that a relationship between owner and object brings about longevity of use, rather than the short-term life many fashionable objects suffer from.

MELISSA CHIU graduated from COFA in Arts Administration and Arts History and has done much to bring attention to the work of Asian and Asian-Australian artists. She was founding director of Gallery 4A, the first Australian gallery specialising in Asian art. In 2001 she moved to New York to join the Asia Society Museum as the first curator of Asian contemporary art within an American art gallery. Three years later as director of the gallery, Chiu retains her curatorial role as well as working on establishing Asian art centres in Hong Kong and Texas. 

The above extracts have been taken from the special edition of COFA  Magazine, 2007, which features many successful COFA Alumni. For more information on these Alumni as well as many others, please refer to the magazine.
If you would like a copy of this edition of the COFA magazine please contact Katy Fitzgerald on 9385 0699 or alumni@cofa.nsw.edu.au

ALUMNI @ COFA ONLINE COMMUNITY

The COFA Online Community has been developed to provide an on-going platform through which past COFA graduates can become involved with what's happening at the college. The Online Community also puts people in touch with other alumni through access to discussions, online galleries and up-to-date news and events.

The COFA online community provides an excellent opportunity to : 

o    Get in touch and staying in touch with colleagues and other alumni
o    Put your profile up to promote what you have been up to and to communicate to others
o    Advertise jobs and attract candidates for positions you may have
o    Generate discussion
o    Pass on general interest information

o    Plus… it’s your own personal facebook within the COFA community

BENEFITS OF BEING AN ACTIVE ALUMNI MEMBER

* Opportunities to maintain a professional network while continuing your professional development.

* Invitations to exclusive Alumni events (See Upcoming events section on this page)

* Invitations to Tuesday night lecture series. In the past this series has featured such speakers as Dinosaur Designs, 2007 Archibald Prize winner John Beard and Tony Bond, curator of International Art at the AGNSW.

* Openings and exhibitions at Ivan Dougherty Gallery, whose past exhibitions have included artist Martin Sharp and the Biennale of Sydney.

* Opportunity to exhibit your work at well known Kudos Gallery.

* Discounts on COFA’s short courses.

* Continuing access to UNSW libraries as well as discounted fees.

YOUR COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS

The Alumni community is your community! It’s life and vibrancy is determined by the program of events and the level of participation and involvement of its members.

We welcome any comments and suggestions that you have and will look to incorporating your views wherever possible.

To register your comments and suggestions, please email:

alumni@cofa.unsw.edu.au