The 2021 Irwin Scholars talk about the personal challenges of studying and working remotely, while also trying to create work for a virtual exhibition during a pandemic. Entitled "Fabricating Solace", the Irwin exhibition opens online on June 3, 2021. For more information about the Irwin 2021: Fabricating Solace virtual exhibition and related events, and to find out more about the artists, please visit: art.ucsc.edu. Please note that this episode contains brief references to sexual assault and emotional trauma.
In this episode, we find ourselves still working in isolation due to ongoing COVID restrictions and without access to classrooms, offices, or numerous essential tools. But with a new found hope that our lives are slowly returning to a new normal as the pandemic finally recedes.
We’re still on Zoom a lot these days, too, and these interviews were conducted on that platform and therefore do have some sound variances.
For over a year now, students have persevered with remote learning and have discovered virtual ways to present their work.
Lacking crucial materials, being isolated, and facing uncertain futures have all been part of their experience.
The Irwin exhibition usually includes a highly anticipated and publicized group show in the Mary Porter Sesnon Art Gallery, complete with a lively opening night party for friends and family, plus a chance show one’s work to the UC Santa Cruz campus community and to the public. The last physical show was in 2019, and last year’s exhibition was the first, and was assumed to be the last, virtual presentation.
However, this year’s exhibition will also have to be virtual but with the valuable experience gained from last year, and again, using cutting-edge 3D modeling tools.
Entitled, Fabricating Solace, the Irwin Scholarship exhibition, showcases the work of a select group of UC Santa Cruz’s outstanding young artists from the UC Santa Cruz Art Department.
Fabricating Solace opens online on June 3, 2021.
For more information about the Irwin 2021: Fabricating Solace virtual exhibition and related events, and to find out more about the artists, please visit: art.ucsc.edu.
The UC Santa Cruz Arts Division is very grateful for the William Hyde Irwin and Susan Benteen Irwin Scholarship, now in its 35th year. It is the most prestigious award in the Art Department at UC Santa Cruz, and selection is based on the excellence of the nominees' creative work. Students each receive $2,500.
This podcast is a production of the UC Santa Cruz Arts Division. Written, edited, hosted, and produced by Maureen Dixon Harrison
Theme music by Eric Mack.
All other music by Kevin MacLeod.