Students Make Their Mark on Newcastle CBD

Tuesday, 25 August 2015

A 12-metre-long mural produced in collaboration between UON and industry is proudly on display at Tattersalls on Watt, a new residential building located on Watt Street in the Newcastle CBD.

New mural on display in CBD by UON Design students
New mural on display in CBD by UON Design students

When excavating the site in preparation for the build, a number of old artefacts were discovered, prompting the idea to celebrate the site by documenting its history through a permanent art feature. 

Jeannie Wong, an overseas student from Hong Kong, Glen Susans, a Bachelor of Visual Communication Design student and Emily Brown, a Bachelor of Natural History Illustration student were chosen to create the piece.

"It provided them [the students] with fantastic real-world work experience, dealing with clients and historians, presenting ideas, waiting for approval, modifying concepts and then completing the artwork," said Dr Mike McAuley, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication Design.

With changes and modifications made throughout the design process, the students were pushed to work together in order to complement each other's abilities.

"This was a wonderful example of collaboration and co-creation. It was great to see students from different specialisms combine their skills," Dr McAuley said.

The project took approximately six months until final approval was given for the artwork to be produced. The piece is rendered in watercolour and pastel, and scanned at high resolution.

"The clients were delighted with the outcome and I believe our students have positively represented our university's commitment to produce work ready graduates," Dr McAuley said.

Contact

  • Dr Mike McAuley
  • Phone: (02) 4921 7191

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