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Watt Space The University of Newcastle Student Art Gallery
University House, Cnr King & Auckland Streets, Newcastle (entrance in Auckland St)
Gallery Hours Wednesday - Sunday 12 noon - 6 pm Phone 02 4921 8733

Watt's New at Watt Space

recent news and events associated with the gallery

July 2005
Inaugural Brenda Coulton Memorial Travelling Scholarship
Selected entries in this inaugural award of $3,000 open to Hunter Tertiary Art students to fund overseas travel and study were exhibited at Maitland Regional Art Gallery. Tiera Boogaard (Tragic Kingdom May 2005, the New Black June 2005), Heidi Freihaut ( Sacred Skin 2005 and Spatial Recognition 2005) and Sam Galletly (the Open Show 2005) were amongst the six finalists. Eli Turier from Hunter Institute of TAFE won the award.

Tiera Boogaard from the New Black, stencil on wall June 2005

June 2005
2005 Waste as Art Highly Commemnded Award
Congratulations to Romona Smith (Alternative Endings 2005 ) on winning a Highly Commended Award at the 2005 Waste as Art competition which was recently exhibited at Newcastle Regional Museum.

April 2005
2005 Jennie Thomas Travelling Art Scholarship
Sandra Lee Brown (Anomie March 2004, Endangered Species October 2004) was awarded the Jennie Thomas Travelling Scholarship for 2005. Sandra, currently an Honours BFA candidate, will travel to Europe in 2006 and will visit Italy in particular to look at classical figurative sculpture.

Sandra Lee Brown Thylacine Extinct, ceramic from Endangered Species October 2004

December 2004 - February 2005
Exchange study in Nova Scotia
Bethany ( Bethany Live July 2004, Watt Space Committee President 2004) and April Erzetich (Flow 2004, Mistletoe Acquisitive Scupture Award Winner, October 2003) travelled to the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design for a six months exchange as part of their honours course work with the School of Fine Art at the University of Newcastle. ..

and in Grahamstown, Zimbabwe
Melanie Foster ( Euphoria, excrement and ice cream February 2004) spent six months at the University of Grahamstown on exchange earlier this year as part of her Honours study.

December 2004
Maitland City Art Gallery appointments
Congratulations to Kim Blunt (Baggage July 2003, Fresh September 2002) and Clare Weeks (My Sweet Home July 2004 and Queen September 2004, Watt Space Committee President 2002) on their separate appointments to the staff Maitland Regional Art Gallery.Kim is the Public Programs Co-ordinator and Clare the Educational Co-ordinator.

Clare Weeks from Queen 2004 beeswax

Kim Blunt from Baggage 2003 oilstick on paper

September 2004
Hunter River Art Competition
Congratulations to Phyllis Armstrong (Annual Student Acquisitive Art Prize 2004) on winning the Oil Painting Section of the Hunter River Art Competition held in Maitland. Phyllis was also recently an exhibitor in Pub Culture at Maitland Regional Art Gallery

Phyllis Armstrong Drinker at Gresford Pub acrylic on canvas, 2004 Annual Student Acquisitive Art prize

July 2004
2004 Freedman Foundation Travelling Scholarship for Emerging Artists
Congratulations to Ahn Wells (Search 2003)on winning one of the 2004 Freedman Foundation Travelling Scholarship for Emerging Artists. These scholarships are administered through NAVA (National Association for Visual Arts at: www.visualarts.net.au) and comprise of $5,000 grant for study and travel overseas.

June 2004
2004 Waste as Art winner
Congratulations to Romona Smith (Escaping Mortality2004) on winning the 2004 Waste as Art competition which was recently exhibited at Newcastle Regional Museum.Entrants are asked to make an artwork from re-cycled materials.

Romona SmithLisa (detail) silkscreen on paper, from Escaping Mortality, Watt Space 2004

May 2004
2004 Jennie Thomas Travelling Art Scholarship
Dominic Kavanagh (Rebellious Bedroom Furniture 2003) has won the second Jennie Thomas Scholarship which is available to graduating students from the School of Fine Art to pursue study and travel overseas after graduation. Last year's joint inaugural winners Linsey Gosper and Alexia Sinclair are currently overseas travelling and Dominic is planning a trip to USA in 2005.

Dominic Kavanagh Rebellious Bedroom Furniture (detail) from Engage Me 2003 Watt Space Selective

March 2004
The Maitland Prize
Congratulations to Anne-Maree Hunter (Bibliomania: an artist's books October 2003) on winning the Maitland Print Prize with her print Storms in a Tea Cup at the Maitland Show recently.

Anne-Maree Hunter Pillow Books, detail of installation from Bibliomania, bound collagraphs

November 2003
Post-graduate Scholarships
Congratulations to Emily Kavanagh (Playing War February 2003, Tracts April 2003), Aubry Byrnes (Fenestrata November 2003)and Alexandrina Gray (Drawn In, Painted Out August 2003) who have been awarded post-graduate scholarships for Masters study at the School of Fine Art beginning or continuing in 2004.

September 2003
Overseas study
Jessica Coughlan (Stratagem Cuculus June 2003) and Sheree Fleming (Miscellaneum March 2003) have been awarded study scholarships at affiliated universities for further under-graduate study. Jessica is in England and Sheree, who won the Annual Acquisitve Art Prize and the Painting Prize at Watt Space just before her departure, is at the Bauhaus, Weimar, Germany.

Jessica Coughlan For the hope of a species, detail of Stratagem Cuculus, plaster, ceramic

University Medal
Ahn Wells (Search March 2003) completed her Honours study in July 2003 and has also been awarded the University Medal. Ahn is currently travelling overseas and will return in May 2004 and has a solo show at Maitland Regional Art gallery shortly afterwards.

Ahn Wells detail of Search, installation, paper, fishing line, tape

June 2003
Windmill Trust Scholarship for 2003
Congratulations to Soozie Coumbe (Surface Tension May 2003, Tree Bark and Shedding April 2003) who was awarded this scholarship recently at a ceremony at the School of Fine Art by Prim Moss, Penny Meagher's sister. The scholarship was established in memory of Penny, artist and former director of Macquarie Galleries, to assist visual artists whose wish to re-establish their careers.

Soozie Coumbe Beached acrylic paint, sand, detail of Surface Tension

April 2003
Nikon Summer Salon Winner
Congratulations to Simone Darcy, Watt Space President, who was one of 5 winners for the Nikon Summer Salon competition held at the Centre for Contemporary Photography in Melbourne during February. Simone's winning image with a prize of $250 worth of digital printing from Nikon was a c type print entitled Half moon, Ivy and Lili Pili.

Photo-Portraits success
Derek Gilby (Watt Space Photo-Portraits March 2003) has had significant success in 2 photography competitions lately. His print Cassandra from Photo-Portraits was selected by the International Library of Photography in America to be published in an anthology called Wandering Spirits.
Derek entered this print as well as three others, Chris on wheels, Ken and Bill, from his Watt Space show in the NSW Australian Institute of Professional Photogaphy 2003 competition. Derek was named Student Photographer of the Year as three prints won silver medals, making him the most successful individual exhibitor.

Derek Gilby Chris silver gelatin fibre print

2003 Winners of the Jennie Thomas Travelling Art Scholarship
Congratulations to Lynsey Gosper (Watt Space Kaliflower July 2002) and Alexia Sinclair ( Watt Space Electro-Pura, Annual Acquisitive 2002) for being selected as joint recipients of this inaugural scholarship. The scholarship provides students at Honours level with money to cover travel expenses overseas to pursue fine art studies.

October 2002
This is ~~not~~ watt art
Watt Space is the venue for a number of different events that are part of the annual This is Not Art Festival 2-6 October in Newcastle. Poetry readings, book launches, zine festivals, performance and even the opening of TINA are bouncing around the walls and spaces, currently showing Fresh and Here Comes the Bride.

Rocketart opened around the corner at the end of September as a contemporary art space in Newcastle with ex-Watt Space Committee members Ashley Whamond and Izabela Pluta part of the dynamic rocketart committee. Check it out Thursday to Sunday 11am-4pm at 488 Hunter St.

Winners are grinners……
Neal Smith one of the Fresh exhibitors, has won the Maitland Tertiary Art Prize. Congratulations also to Ahn Wells, Watt Space Gallery Assistant, who has won the 2002 Emerging Art Prize at Newcastle Art Space and Marika Osmotherly and Roger Hanley who received special mentions in this prize.

August 2002

Congratulations to Laraine Palmer who has won the overall first prize of $2500 in the Waste as Art competition. The competition, a joint initiative of Hunter and Newcastle Councils and Resource NSW, was judged by Hunter sculptor Peter Read and Debbie Abraham, Director of Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery. Laraine's wearable work, Liberated Nights, was created from Libra Goodnights plastic packaging and curtain remnants.
Laraine's solo exhibition Loop featured at Watt Space in May this year as part of her honours research.

L-R Loop (detail)Laraine Palmer, Flight in Progress Andy Vagg mixed media

Andy Vagg, who exhibited in Empowering body and mind (above) in July at Watt Space was runner-up in the same competition. Congratulations to you both.

And Neal Smith, who will be exhibiting as one of 10 invited graduate artists in Fresh from 25 September - 13 October at Watt Space, has won one of four Freedman Travelling Scholarships awarded by NAVA (National Association of Visual Arts). Neal has exhibited with Damien Minton in Newcastle, at 2 Danks Street, Waterloo, and has a show next year at Gallery 4a in Sydney. A trip to Japan early next year on private research is how Neal plans to use this prestigious scholarship.

Marie-Therese Wisniowski has had four prints from her Federation series selected for the 27th Shell Fremantle Print Award exhibition to be held in Western Australia later this year. Marie-Therese exhibited some of these works in Contact at Watt Space in April this year. Marie-Therese's solo show - Gum leaves, politics and prints opens at Watt Space on 17 October, 2002

L-R Federation series (detail) silk screen print from Contact, Codes (detail) 2001 silk screen on fabric

Hatched at PICA - the Perth Institute of Contemporary Art exhibits Hatched each year - an exhibition of the work of selected students from 18 universities across Australia. Watt Space exhibitors Jessika Schaad (Poison, 2002), Sara Zlocinski, Alan Tonge and Seung Hee Kang were the Newcastle representatives at the show in June this year. Jessika travelled to Perth and created and installed her work, and also assisted with the hanging of the other Newcastle works. Sections of Alan's and Jessika's works that featured at PICA can be seen here. Jessika will be exhibiting in Fresh from 25 September - 13 October at Watt Space and Alan has a solo show coming up at the gallery in early 2003.

L-R Bar Code detail of installation, Jessika Schaad, This is This (detail) Alan Tonge

Congratulations to Izabela Pluta (Contact, Watt Space, April 2002) whose work Restore was selected for inclusion in the 2002 Helen Lempriere Award, exhibited recently at Artspace, Sydney. Entrants must be artists in the first five years of their practice and a selected exhibition of finalists is chosen from the many applications. The award, formerly the NSW Travelling Art Scholarship, carries prizemoney of $40.000 to enable the winner to pursue studies overseas.

Postal Address:
The Director, Watt Space Gallery, Fine Art Office, University of Newcastle, Callaghan NSW 2308

Watt Space is funded by the UoN Services Limited ABN 22 121 393 306 and the School of Drama, Fine Art & Music