Beloved student art exhibition ArtRage is set to celebrate a milestone this weekend, with the opening of the 2024 exhibition and a retrospective display welcoming back works from the past 30 past years.
Each year since 1994, the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery (QVMAG) has presented ArtRage, a showcase of top artworks created by year 11 and 12 students studying Visual Art or Art Studio Practice as part of their Tasmanian Certificate of Education (TCE).
The selected artworks are displayed in a major public exhibition at the Art Gallery at Royal Park, and also form a statewide touring exhibition visiting Hobart and Tasmania’s north west. The exhibition is now in its 30th year of supporting budding artists from across the state.
City of Launceston Mayor Matthew Garwood congratulated the students whose artworks have been selected for ArtRage 2024.
“As always, the talent on display in ArtRage this year is incredible to see and shows that the future of art in Tasmania is bright,” Mayor Garwood said. “I encourage everyone to come along and see these amazing artworks, and importantly, learn about the issues that are top of mind for young people in our community today.”
General Manager Creative Arts and Cultural Services Shane Fitzgerald said QVMAG is very proud to have supported art education in Tasmania over so many years.
“ArtRage is unique in Australia in that it’s not run by a state government or department of education,” Fitzgerald said. “This was a QVMAG initiative at the outset, and the institution is committed to continuing to provide this platform for new artists, makers and voices.
“ArtRage is also statewide – the works are drawn from across Tasmania and the exhibition becomes a statewide touring exhibition after it closes at QVMAG,” he said.
Recognising students and teachers
QVMAG Assistant Curator Visual Arts and Design Kate Davies said the process of selecting this year’s ArtRage cohort was made very difficult by the high calibre of artworks produced across the state.
“The students have explored a huge range of themes and subjects using a vast array of styles and media,” said Davies. “Through their works, these talented artists have generously shared their ideas and experiences of a young person today.”
Davies said the exhibition shines a spotlight on Tasmania's next generation of art makers and acknowledges the arts educators who have guided them.
“Through ArtRage, we also want to acknowledge the work of art teachers in our schools across the state, and the inspiration and encouragement they provide to students.
“Past participants have told us that having their art on display to the public in a high-profile gallery gave them confidence. It helped them to know that their ideas mattered, and their contribution was appreciated. This is the true value of ArtRage,” said Davies.
Stories from 30 years of ArtRage
To celebrate the anniversary, selected artworks and stories from past participants will be on display alongside new works chosen for the 2024 exhibition at the Art Gallery at Royal Park.
Many students exhibited in ArtRage over the past 30 years have gone on to forge successful careers in the arts, arts education and related industries. Visual artist Amber Koroluk-Stevenson, painter and art teacher Carmel Dilger, photographer Scott Gelston, interdisciplinary artist Alistair Mooney and abstract and figurative painter Hilton Owen are among those exhibited in ArtRage in past years.
Comedian, author and actor Hannah Gadsby is another past student whose artworks were chosen for ArtRage, appearing in both the inaugural year and the 1995 exhibition. Their works are pictured below and included in the interactive digital display in the 2024 exhibition.
“I was still in school in Smithton when I did the messy one in 1994, and then obviously had started studying Picasso by the time I got to Launceston College in 1995. I guess you could call it my Grey Period,” said Gadsby.
Image: Artworks by Hannah Gadsby selected for ArtRage, 1994 and 1995
Claire Turfrey, whose work appeared in ArtRage in 1998, said being selected was “a great honour.”
“While I don't work in the arts, I am still a creative person,” she said. “ArtRage gave me a real boost in confidence. The knowledge that my work was selected for a statewide exhibition helped grow my self-belief, at a crucial age, that I could create things worthy of appreciation.”
Practicing artist Vika Fifita recalls feeling “a mix of nervousness and excitement” about being in an art show. Her works were included in ArtRage in 2005 and 2006.
“As a young student and emerging artist, I remember feeling a sense of validation in my skills and vision and knowing that art is a pathway I would like to pursue,” she said. “It gave me confidence in myself.”
ArtRage 2003 artist Luke Viney now teaches Visual Art to high school students and takes his senior students to see the exhibition each year as inspiration for their own projects.
“Students engage with the work and often find it inspiring to see that students of a similar age can create such technical works. ArtRage really showcases the talent of our young Tasmanian artists. I have had several students make their way onto ArtRage once they moved on to College,” he said.
ArtRage 2024 is on display at the Art Gallery at Royal Park (2 Wellington Street, Launceston) from 15 December 2024 - 22 April 2025 with free entry.
Issued 13 December 2024.