Sarjeant Happenings: Taumata Pai, Young talent on display at Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery

Visual art folio boards by Whanganui secondary school students are on display at the Sarjeant Gallery until February 25.

An excited group of young creatives, supportive families and teachers gathered this month to celebrate the artistic talent of Whanganui’s secondary school students.

Taumata Pai means “the pinnacle” and is an apt title for the Sarjeant Gallery’s inaugural showcase of the best of Whanganui secondary schools’ “level three” visual art folio boards.

Working closely with the Whanganui Art Teachers Association and the gallery’s education department, this exhibition aims to build strong and lasting relationships with secondary schools and young artists.

“We are excited to get it off the ground as there is so much unseen talent.

“We want our young people to have positive memories of the gallery and of Whanganui as a supportive place for creatives,” Sarjeant Gallery educator Vanessa Edwards-Buerger said.

The level three visual art folio boards are currently categorised as the external exam component of visual arts and are the pinnacle of art-making at secondary school. They consist of three boards that are required to “produce a systematic body of work that integrates conventions and regenerates ideas within their chosen practice”.

How students interpret and express that requirement reflects creative talent, technical skill, research ability, commitment and courage. The boards are sent away to be graded by an unknown panel of experts, then sent directly back to the students.

All that effort by the students, teachers and whānau rarely, if ever, has an opportunity to be seen and celebrated together, let alone by the wider public.

“Taumata Pai offers that opportunity and we are very pleased with this first iteration,” Edwards-Buerger said.

This year, 19 boards are on show from three secondary schools - Whanganui High School, Whanganui Girls’ College and Whanganui Collegiate School.

The success of all participants was celebrated and five spot prizes awarded.

Gallery director Andrew Clifford judged the Cultural Voice’ category and selected the work of Bethel Tofa, of Whanganui High School, whose medium is printmaking.

“Without being too obvious or clichéd, all the elements work well together to present a lively celebration of cultural flavours, details, interactions and stories,” he said.

Senior curator and public programmes manager Greg Donson judged the Fresh Narrative category, selecting painter Lucy Cookson of Whanganui Girls’ College as the winner.

“The works are very well painted, but most noticeably the artist has chosen a really unusual theme for their folio. Each of the paintings nods to surrealism and were like nothing I had seen before.”

Curator Jessica Kidd chose the Captain Planet recipient as Mikayla Wason, of Whanganui High School.

“The student’s focus on protecting local bugs brought the kaupapa down to a community level, reminding us that environmental care begins with the smallest living things … communicating advocacy, hope and responsibility with maturity and creative flair.”

Curator Cecelia Kumeroa judged the Risk Taker category, with the award going to printmaker Kit Williams of Whanganui High School.

“There was an intriguing use of multi-aesthetics and image manipulation.

“They’ve employed an element of risk using mixed media to convey a narrative, it feels authentic and personal. The student showed sophistication in their investigation.”

The Killer Technique category was judged by operations manager Teresa Cimino, who chose the folio of Whanganui Girls’ College student Amelia Jane Bennett.

“I felt the texture evoked the shifting surfaces of water, coral formations and ocean currents, while at the same time referencing the overwhelming presence of plastic pollution in marine ecosystems.”

Taumata Pai is on display at Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery until Thursday, February 25.