Student Art Comes Alive on Campus

On Tuesday, 5th August, B201 welcomed a new display of student visual art and photography at the launch event of the Auckland University Photography Society (PhotoSoc) x Arts and Education Student Association (AESA) Art Gallery Exhibition.

The pop-up gallery featured a collection of exquisite student visual art pieces and photographs submitted in response to an open call by the club execs. Spectators, friends old and new, sipped their vibrant mocktails and murmured excitedly about their favourite pieces in the collection. Whether you were a fan of natural landscapes, old school portraits, or even more experimental genres–there was plenty to discover.

I had the pleasure of meeting some of the featured artists in the exhibit; many of whom were in attendance. One featured photographer, an active member of PhotoSoc, shared some behind-the-scenes insights into his photograph.

"I was initially drawn to that area because of the autumnal colours, but before I knew it, this cat had lazily wandered into the middle of my shot–and I just knew I had to take it!"

It was heartwarming to witness his pure excitement whilst recollecting this memory. He also expressed his gratitude for being featured, affirming how invaluable clubs like PhotoSoc have been in enabling him to continue pursuing creative hobbies, while studying at university.

"I study a very technical degree... engineering. So, it's somewhat rare to encounter other creatives... but at club events, I can find other people with the same interests as me."

His plain honesty struck a chord with me. Many people on campus likely resonate with his words. Yes, we all have the same 24 hours in a day, but how much time is spent pursuing what makes us happy? As a matter of fact, how much time do we spend simply wishing that were the case?

So as much as club execs take up a lot of time (probably to the dismay of our lecturers), perhaps all those hours are worth it. I often hear many grievances about making friends on campus, with the most common unsolicited(?) piece of advice being "join a student club!" But as I surveyed the smiling faces, wide-eyed exchanges, and spontaneous group photos around me–maybe that advice is still worth listening to.

Certainly, we are nothing but thankful for the work AESA and PhotoSoc have put into making this inspiring event happen. As I ruminated over my final picks for Best Photograph and Best Visual Arts piece, I couldn't help but think that I was the true winner all along. A tad cliché? Maybe.

But serve me a delectable cheese board and beautiful art right here on campus?

For once, I felt alive.