In the words of singer/song-writer Petula Clark: “you can colour my world with sunshine yellow each day”, and though they did not use sunshine itself, the students of the NWU Potchefstroom Campus surely did colour our worlds (and the Amphi Theatre) during Canvas 2018.
Canvas was officially renamed in 2015, having grown form the previous visual arts projects - “Blokskilder” and “Skeppende Kuns”. The theme for Canvas 2018 was “Dear future generation”, and as noted by CRC Arts Council Chairperson; Duan Craffert, the main goal is for students to enjoy the project and he expects some excellent pieces of art giving additional character to campus.
The project is unique as it is the only non-academic opportunity for students to get involved in visual arts on campus. Project organiser; Arno Hollander explained that the goal of the project is to support student artists, who otherwise would have very little opportunity to be involved in the visual arts on campus. Other opportunities include Pukki Talentfees – The Visual Division, and student programs at the NWU Gallery.
On the day, the each liaising hostel had twelve hours - from 18:00 to 06:00 the next morning - to complete their two by two metre pièce de résistance, with only five artists are allowed to participate at any given moment. And believe me, the time constraint reminds the artists that every brush stroke should indeed be a master stroke.
The finished works comprised of postmodern artworks with rich symbolism, follow the like of the previous year’s works in the Duikweg. The rationale of each piece is added for the first week after this arts-marathon to explain and elaborate on the meaning and symbolism of each work.
It is not only a challenging platform for visual arts, but also contributes to the overall scoring of each hostel competing for the coveted arts trophy. Canvas proves that though you may be a registered Bcom Accounting Sciences student, a little Picasso can still hide on the inside. And remember, Albert Einstein did guarantee that imagination can easily take you around the world and it seems that these students are taking him up for a bet.
Written by: Christian Herselman
Photo: NWU-Puk Kunste/Arts