To mark the official launch of their new tertiary membership and networking site for visual arts students, Watch This Space, Artists Alliance is holding an evening exhibition on Friday June 13 at St Paul St Gallery.

The Watch This Space exhibition will bring together student artwork from across New Zealand. The exhibition will also be in virtual form online.To mark the official launch of their new tertiary membership and networking site for visual arts students, Watch This Space, Artists Alliance is holding an evening exhibition on Friday June 13 at St Paul St Gallery.

The Watch This Space exhibition will bring together student artwork from across New Zealand. The exhibition will also be in virtual form online."Anything that helps us students to network with other students and artists is going to be invaluable, " said AUT student Mike Atkins.

To further networking opportunities and allow students outside of Auckland to participate, the exhibition will also be available in virtual form for several weeks at www.watchthisspace.org.nz.

Like a physical gallery in virtual form, the virtual gallery will present the students' artwork, and allow audience and artists to interact via discussion threads.

Watch This Space is the only networking site designed specifically for tertiary visual arts students in New Zealand.

Andrew Last, Head of Section, Jewellery & Metalsmithing Dept., Otago Polytechnic School of Art said, "Watch This Space is a great idea; it will temper some of the isolation that students feel here in Dunedin. Watch This Space allows students to post a folio of images or video on a site that targets specific peer & professional audiences. It offers a student-driven forum for the critical discussion of artworks. Thumbs up to the crew at Artists Alliance."

Maggie Gresson, Executive Director of Artists Alliance said, "At Artists Alliance we are very excited about www.watchthisspace.org.nz. It is a wonderful opportunity for students to make this their own space and really make it what they want it to be."

Artists Alliance is a national, membership-based organisation established in 1991 to represent and advance the professional interests of visual artists in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Artists Alliance receives significant funding from Creative New Zealand and ASB Community Trust.

11/06/08