Artwork by eight undergraduate and graduate Syracuse University students is on display through Dec. 2 at the Leeds College of Art Vernon Street Gallery in the United Kingdom.

Leeds College of Art is a leading independent art school in the UK that is currently celebrating 170 years of art education, according to its website. The exhibition is part of “Fair Exchange,” an exchange program that allows students from both schools to present their work and see students’ work from across the pond.

Andrew Havenhand, a professor in the School of Art in the College of Visual and Performing Arts at SU, coordinates the program. Havenhand was approached by Leeds to have SU take part in the exchange, as Leeds was looking for an art school in the United States to begin a partnership with.

The first exchange took place two years ago. SU students submitted their work to Leeds, who sent artwork along with some faculty to SU for an exhibition.

“We are hoping to develop the program where students can travel with their art, so that they can gain experience at an art school in a different culture and environment,” Havenhand said.

Students from varying departments within VPA were chosen to send their best work to Leeds to be shown in the exhibition. Students were narrowed down by faculty to represent the broad cross-section of work throughout the school, across gender, class year and interdisciplinary work, Havenhand said.

As part of the exchange program, artwork from students and alumni from Leeds College of Art will be on display in the Shaffer Art Building in April 2017 on the first floor corridor on “The Wall.”

“The program helps to illuminate what American versus British students think about,” Havenhand said. “Hopefully a dialogue will develop between the two institutions about artistic concerns.”

Taro Takizawa, a third-year graduate student studying printmaking, said he thinks its great that they are doing the exchange exhibition because they get to see different work on campus.

“It is great that we will be able to see what other students are doing,” he said.

Takizawa’s work is currently on display at Leeds. He only had about a week and a half to get his piece done and shipped to the U.K. To get his work to Leeds, he had to work with SU Design Works at the Nancy Cantor Warehouse and order specific vinyl to get all of the logistics together for his design.

He does everything by hand in a very traditional manner, so it was challenging for him to go through different people to get it all done and shipped out.

“Toward the end, I just had to get it done and sent to the U.K. as soon as possible. I was concerned,” Takizawa said. “I wasn’t sure who was going to install it, like if they would have experience with vinyl, but I was very pleased with the photo they sent us.”

There are different mediums on exhibit at Leeds, including printmaking, jewelry and metalsmith, painting, ceramics, sculptural work and installation work.

The students whose work are on exhibit include Adrienne Belair ’16, Marilyn Koch G’18, Rene Gortat G’19, Lena Blum ’17, Kate Browse ’17, Sunyoung Lee G’18, Kwan Jeong G’18 and Taro Takizawa G’17, according to an SU News release.

Published on December 1, 2016 at 1:56 am

Contact Baylee: bawri100@syr.edu