Wintec students set to create art in China

A group of Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec) students are preparing to get a taste of Chinese culture as they embark on a ten day exchange to Chengdu University.

 

The 10 School of Media Arts students, studying painting, sculpture, design and moving image, will spend 10 days in Chengdu as part of an inaugural student tour from 12 to 22 September.

 

While there the group will be involved in a collaborative art project with fine arts students from the university, which is located is the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan.

 

The project will involve producing a series of post cards and photographs around the theme 'impressions of Chengdu'.

 

Two students will also be filming parts of the trip which will likely later be edited into a documentary style clip which can be shown when the group returns home.

 

Media Arts tutor, Tim Croucher, who will be one of two Wintec tutors accompanying the students to China, said the trip would provide the students with a whole new learning experience.

 

"It will be an experience of seeing, absorbing and interpreting the Chengdu culture."

 

Tim said that internationalisation was a focus for Wintec and it was hoped this trip would give the students a whole new perspective.

 

"We have many international students come to Wintec, but we feel it's also important that our students get an opportunity to experience international culture. I think this experience will bring a new appreciation and understanding of what it's like for our Chinese students when they come to Wintec."

 

Croucher said that while there would be a language barrier, he hoped the students' use of visual arts tools would help.

 

Moving image student, Gurgit Singh, was excited about the trip, having never been to China.

 

"It'll be a good cultural experience and it'll be interesting to see how different the study system in China is compared with ours in New Zealand."

 

For painting student Rosie Stanaway it will be her first time leaving New Zealand.

 

"It's going to be my first time in a plane, so I'm pretty excited and a bit nervous - but it should be good."

 

She said she was hoping to learn new skills that would help her with her future career, including learning how to interact with international students.

 

She said she was looking forward to experiencing Chinese hospitality and sampling a new cuisine.

 

The students will stay in accommodation on the edge of the university campus and be looked after by two English language students from Chengdu University.

 

Wintec has a longstanding relationship with Chengdu University and it is hoped exchanges of this sort will become a regular occurrence.