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Student Profile: Bronwyn Bailey-Charteris

Article released: Monday, 23 February, 2009

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Student Name: Bronwyn Bailey- Charteris
Studying: Master of Art Administration Course Work
Graduated in 2005 from COFA, UNSW, with a double degree in Fine Arts and Arts


Bronwyn Bailey- Charteris is tallying up her seventh year as a COFA student. When she graduated in 2005 from a five-year Bachelor double degree in Fine Arts and Arts she said to herself that that was that, no more university.  Four years on and Bailey- Charteris is in her second year of a Master degree in Art Administration, works at Arc (the UNSW student organisation) as the student activities coordinator and also runs the COFA student representative council.  As well as studying and working at COFA, Bailey- Charteris also devotes her time to editing street press magazine das Superpaper, curating exhibitions and festivals, and assisting artists for the up and coming Venice Biennale.

Das Superpaper is a free street press magazine devoted to the fine arts.  The magazine is up to its third edition and is produced by Rococo Productions, an ARI consisting of musicians, friends and artists, which started in 2005.  The group Rococo Productions is held together by another COFA Master student, Nick Garner, and utilises the large COFA talent pool as inspiration.  Das Superpaper fills a void in the market as most street press publications don’t solely focus on the fine arts, and usually have a large music and gig contingent.  “The magazine focuses on emerging artists and their works, which is great as in most artist run and smaller galleries works are generally only up for a limited time and you don’t get a chance to see them. This magazine gives artists a say, so you can understand their works better and have your own opinion.”

Along with fellow COFA student Marcel Cooper, Bailey- Charteris curated The Glorious Undead new media festival of emerging artists, which consists of a calendar of five events, from 10 Feb to 1 March 2009.  Bailey- Charteris met Cooper through her Art Administration degree, even though they both completed undergraduate degrees at COFA at the same time.  They discovered that curating was both one of their strong points, and with this realisation they began a COFA club called the and/or collective, and since have put on a series of exhibitions and events.  The festival is about bringing together interesting and new works by local emerging artists in performance, sound installation, craft revival, video and film.

Bailey- Charteris and Cooper’s collaboration does not end with curating exhibitions and events. They have both also been selected, through their art admin degrees, as artist assistants for a group show for the Venice Biennale.  COFA’s own lecturer and IDG curator, Felicity Fenner, is curating the group exhibition of early career artists at the biennale venue- The Ludoteca.  The exhibition entitled Once Removed, will present artists including COFA graduates Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro, whom which Bailey- Charteris is assisting. “I have been knee deep in VHS! I get to go to Venice for six weeks and construct an artwork out of VHS with Claire and Sean and help them make their first video installation. I’m very excited about Venice! And I have already learnt so much from the experience.”  Even though the Venice experience is structured around art administration, Bailey- Charteris still is researching an artwork to make while she is over there, a Sophie Calle- esque performance piece possibly similar to the one where Calle followed people around in Venice.  “It’s hard to create when you curate, but sitting down with the Glorious Undead artists and hearing them talk about their works is very inspiring…“