What is ARTEXPRESS?
ARTEXPRESS is an annual exhibition of artworks created by students from government and non-government schools for the Higher School Certificate Examination in Visual Arts. The works demonstrate exceptional quality across a broad range of subject matter, approaches, styles and media including painting, photography, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, documented forms, textiles and fibre, ceramics, digital animation, film and video, and collections of works.
ARTEXPRESS represents the high standards and diversity achieved by Year 12 Visual Arts students in New South Wales schools.
The continued excellence of the annual ARTEXPRESS exhibition is the outcome of a rigorous Visual Arts curriculum that builds on study from Kindergarten through to Year 12.
Visual Arts is part of the core curriculum in primary school and junior high school and a popular elective for the Higher School Certificate examination.
Student assessment in Visual Arts for the Higher School Certificate is based on submission of a Body of Work plus a written examination. Each students develops their submission through a process, recorded in a Visual Arts Process Diary, which reflects the problem-solving approach of the practising artist.
Equally important especially at senior level, is critical study and art history which plays a crucial role in informing the artworks produced by students.
The works chosen for ARTEXPRESS are a representative selection from over 12,000 examination submissions and reflect not only the talent of the individual students, but also the strength of the curriculum and excellence of Visual Arts teaching in New South Wales schools.
ARTEXPRESS is shown at 9 metropolitan and regional venues in NSW.
Key facts
ARTEXPRESS celebrated its 21st anniversary in 2004.
ARTEXPRESS is one of the most popular exhibitions at the Art Gallery of NSW, competing with blockbusters and prestigious art awards.
Since 1997, approximately 1,254,788 people have visited the ARTEXPRESS exhibitions in their metropolitan venues.
Typically, in the 2000s, more than 8,000 students submit a Body of Work as part of the HSC examination in Visual Arts. About 600 of these Bodies of Work are nominated for ARTEXPRESS and about 200 are selected for exhibition.
In 2003, the ARTEXPRESS exhibitions included the work of 182 students, 119 from government and 63 from non-government schools across NSW. The regional touring exhibitions included 64 bodies of works selected from the metropolitan exhibitions with additional works selected for tour only. Of the 64 students represented in the 2003/2004 touring exhibitions 44 were from country schools.
ARTEXPRESS travels internationally and has been to:
- Washington (Corcoran Gallery of Art) in 1999
- Nagoya (15th anniversary celebrations of the Sydney–Nagoya sister state affiliation) in 1995
- Tokyo (Metropolitan Assembly Gallery) in 1994
- San Francisco (Spectrum Gallery, Sydney week) in 1994
- Western Australia (Art Gallery of Western Australia, the Bunbury Galleries and Geraldton Gallery) in 1992
- New York (Children's Museum of Manhattan, New York Festival) in 1990 in 1992
- ARTEXPRESS participated in the Art Teaches exhibition program of the InSEA World Congress. ARTEXPRESS shared the international stage with displays that depicted visions of art education from other communities and cultures. The Brooklyn Museum of Art, Teachers College Columbia University, the NSW Department of Education and Training, the Board of Studies NSW, and Chroma Australia collaborated in presenting this event.
In recent years, every district of New South Wales has been represented in ARTEXPRESS, and exhibitions have been held at:
- The Art Gallery of NSW
- The College of Fine Arts (University of NSW)
- The National Art School
- David Jones Sydney store windows
- Hazelhurst Regional Gallery & Arts Centre
- Sydney Olympic Park
- Wagga Wagga Art Gallery
- Wollongong City Gallery
- Newcastle Region Art Gallery
- Tamworth Regional Gallery
- Dubbo Regional Gallery
The Art Gallery of NSW and the College of Fine Arts complement their exhibitions with seminars, artists talks, teacher resource kits, promotional films and other resources for Visual Art students and teachers.
The sponsors
The support of our sponsors is crucial to ARTEXPRESS and we thank them for their generosity and loyalty. Sponsorship details and acknowledgement appear each year in the exhibition catalogue.
The awards
Chroma Australia selects a work at each of the ARTEXPRESS Sydney venues and awards the winning students a year's supply of paints and other artists' materials.
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