Art students from the University of Sydney hosted an independent exhibition titled “Yours Sincerely” to showcase their work at the Goodspace Gallery in Chippendale last week.
The exhibition was hosted on the 28th of August to display seven visual arts students’ work that took the form of ceramics, paintings, photography, and fabric work. Some of which were available for purchase
Second-year student at the University of Sydney Stella Janssens, who curated the exhibition, said the collection showcased the most ‘heartfelt’ work created by the students on display.
“It’s a collection of our devotion, in a sense. We did really want unity within the works, but it was also about everything that was important to the individual artists.” Ms Janssens said.
The Goodspace Gallery is an exhibition space above the Lord Gladstone Hotel on Regent Street in Sydney. Promotion poster designer Alex Mercado, whose work was also on display, arranged a musical performance from 7 p.m to fill the space with music.
Alex Mercado performing at the ‘Yours Sincerely’ exhibition.
Photographer: Charlotte Forbes
“We talked about wanting live music, to further the exhibition’s ‘sincerity’. We decided every element must be student-made, hand-made,… The one thing you cannot fault us for is that we worked hard.” Ms Mercado said.
The exhibition attracted dozens of curious art enthusiasts; some who were at the Hotel by chance, others who had seen promotion via the Sydney College of the Arts Student Society. Participating artist Mikalya Kitto said the turnout was unexpected, and showcases the power of grassroots exhibitions such as ‘Yours Sincerely’.
“It seems like a lot of external people have come; it’s been amazing,” Ms Kitto said.
“We as emerging artists, who are only just stepping their foot into the art world. People are only interested in exhibiting well-known artists. Having access to this gallery, it’s given us a great opportunity to get our foot in the door. I was looking at the sheets, and Stella’s sold just about everything [that was for sale] by now.”
The majority of artists on display were undergraduate students undergoing a Bachelor of Visual Arts at the University of Sydney. The expectation was set at the exhibition that this was not the last time an event like ‘Sincerely Yours’ would happen.