Student Profiles

Ayla Dare-Collard

Full time student
BA Arts (Art) (honours)

I chose to study at Curtin because I liked that a large studio component constituted the degree, that there was a primacy for practice.

My time at Curtin was fantastic! Challenging and inspiring. The highlights were being experimental, trying different disciplines (textiles, material culture, ceramics, sculpture etc), and towards the end of my degree, locating my own interest and practice.

The staff at Curtin made me feel very supported, inspired and challenged to achieve my best.  Annette Seeman, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Art and Honours Coordinator, has largely contributed to the development of my art practice. During my bachelors, Annette was always very engaged with my work and supportive of my development. In honours, Annette remains a fantastic supervisor.

Since graduating, my work has been acquired by several major collections including the John Curtin Gallery Collection, Curtin University Vice-Chancellery Collection and Gallery East collection. I have exhibited in two major Perth galleries – Gallery East and Perth Galleries, and attended an international artist residency in Jingdezhen, China.

As a current honours student and recipient of the Curtin University travel Support Scholarship to enable Research and Excellence, I will be travelling back to China to undertake intensive studio research that will contribute to my honours project and the research base from which I may potentially proceed to higher degree research.

My degree definitely helped me in my career path. I attribute all my success as an emerging artist to the solid foundations occasioned by my degree. I would absolutely recommend it to others.