Bulli & Clifton Times

THE culmination of a 12-month project has come to fruition with the launch of A Place for Art, a new book which is the first to focus on the diverse and highly accessible University of Wollongong Art Collection.

The publication featuring 71 full colour reproductions of artworks was commissioned in 2011 by the former UOW Vice-Chancellor, Emeritus Professor Gerard Sutton, to celebrate the development of the UOW Art Collection. The project was enthusiastically endorsed by the current Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Wellings who will perform the official launch.

A Place for Art is the latest release from University of Wollongong Press. The book’s editor and Art Collection Director, Professor Amanda Lawson, said the publication was an opportunity to provide a sense of the uniqueness of the UOW Collection which is arguably one of the most accessible public collections in the country.

“Woven into the fabric of campus life, art infuses the experience of being at UOW. The Art Collection brings spaces alive and inspires the individuals who inhabit them — the University is truly a place for art,” Professor Lawson said.

The University of Wollongong Art Collection began in the late 1970s and today comprises close to 4,000 works, many of which are on display and integrated into the UOW’s multi campus locations. Professor Amanda Lawson (Director) and Phillippa Webb (Curator) currently guide the acquisition and installation program.

The book launch is linked with an exhibition of 30 of the works which feature in A Place for Art. The exhibition, curated by Phillippa Webb and Robert Howe, is in the FCA Gallery, Building 25 at the University of Wollongong, and is on show until September 13.

A Place for Art is available for sale through the Faculty of Creative Arts and the University Book Shop for $20 (plus $5 postage). A set of seven art cards selected from the publication is also available for sale at $8 (plus $2 postage).