A short history
ARTEXPRESS has been present in one guise or another for much longer than many people realise
Final year students artworks were first exhibited publicly in the late 1950s. The works were selected from entries for the Leaving Certificate by the then Supervisor of Art, Bob Winder, who later became Director-General for Education in NSW. Venues at that time included the Commonwealth Bank and faculty common rooms at Sydney University and the University of NSW.
A small selection of works - mostly paintings - were crated and transported free of charge by the Sydney Morning Herald delivery trucks to country high schools, where art teachers hung and supervised the showings.
When the first Higher School Certificate examination was held in 1967, artworks were selected and mounted by art advisors and consultants in the foyer of the Clancy Auditorium at the University of NSW. Another selection was exhibited at the Secondary Principals' Conference at the Narrabeen Fitness Centre. Both venues were used until 1975.
In 1976 the exhibition was shown in the foyer of the Seymour Centre at Sydney University. Between 1977 and 1980, the Clancy Auditorium became the central Sydney exhibition venue. Outer metropolitan schools often provided additional display sites. In 1978/79 Orange Regional Gallery showed a small collection. These exhibitions were extremely popular.
During the 1980s exhibitions continued to be mounted by consultants attached to the Directorate of Studies (Curriculum) with assistance from Community Relations. In 1982 the Sydney Town Hall hosted the exhibition, now called ARTEXPRESS, as part of the Festival of Sydney. In 1983 the exhibition moved to Centrepoint Tower. A small collection was shown by the Art Gallery of NSW education officers.
In 1984/85, the Hunter Region organised exhibitions of ARTEXPRESS in Newcastle, supported by the Newcastle Herald and the United Permanent Building Society.
Country tours, which ceased for a time because the Sydney Morning Herald delivery truck service had been disbanded, were re-established with the assistance of the Regional Galleries Association, the Arts Council and the Country Areas Program.
For a number of years ARTEXPRESS was shown at Parramatta, Milperra CAE, North Sydney and Sutherland, as well as a central Sydney venue.
By 1986, the Community Relations Unit had taken major responsibility for the coordination of the growing number of ARTEXPRESS exhibitions. An art teacher was deployed full-time to manage both ARTEXPRESS and the development of the Department of Education and Training's William Wilkins Memorial Art Collection. This is a collection of HSC artworks of distinction, which serves as an educational resource for teachers and the public.
From 1989 the Art Gallery of New South Wales became the principal venue for ARTEXPRESS with satellite exhibitions in up to six other locations. In 1999 the Arts Education Centre took over responsibility for the organisation of ARTEXPRESS exhibitions.
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