Communicators record at top radio stations

Lorisse Bazley
Public relations editorial intern
Avondale College of Higher Education
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia

Producers at Central Coast radio stations 2GO and SeaFm have helped communication students at Avondale College of Higher Education record scripts written in class.

Under the guidance of production director David Horspool, the Writing for Broadcast Media (Radio) students received an industry intensive. They met “Cam from 9” host Cameron Humphreys from 2GO, whose ability to play the role of any character in a script impressed the students. “[Voiceover] is like acting,” he said. “Always push the envelope too far, so someone can pull it back.”

Brock Goodhill found the experience—including meeting Altiyan Childs, the 2010 winner of television talent show The X Factor, in the car park—“surreal.” “I have greater appreciation for how much effort goes into producing what we hear.”

That is the goal of the excursion, says senior lecturer in communication Carolyn Rickett. “Giving students an opportunity to experience the real world enables their world to expand.” It may even encourage some to pursue a career in radio, and that is important because, according to David, it helps “keep the industry going.”

Art tour of Chicago and New York inspires exhibition

Melissa Wilson
Public relations editorial intern
Avondale College of Higher Education
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia

Avondale College of Higher Education students have launched an art exhibition featuring work they created on an art tour of Chicago and New York City.

Sketch of Times Square by Rhiannon Bougaardt. Credit: Melissa Wilson.

The students, each equipped with a camera and a sketchbook, visited the cities as part of the unit, History of Art II. Their assessment task: to produce at least five paintings, photographs or sketches accompanied by a visual diary formatted as either a book, DVD or e-book.

The work, launched as the New York and Chicago Exhibition this past Thursday (October 13), is now on display in the Joanne Felk Gallery on Avondale’s Lake Macquarie campus.

One of those on the tour, Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Teaching student Jo Davies, says having an audience view your work is “always good.” “It gives it a purpose because I don’t want to keep it all for myself, I want to share it.”

The History of Art tour began in Chicago, with the students visiting The Art Institute of Chicago and viewing the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. In New York City, the students visited the Museum of Arts and Design, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Museum of Modern Art. They also visited smaller private galleries, including one exhibiting pieces by Pablo Picasso.

Tour leader Andy Collis, a senior lecturer in visual arts in the School of Humanities and Creative Arts, says the tour is an important part of a student’s course because it helps confirm commitment to art as a viable career and increase understanding of art history.

The New York and Chicago Exhibition continues in the Joanne Felk Gallery on Monday, October 24 from 2.00 PM as part of Learning and Teaching Excellence Week.