In the minimalist entrance to Temple Bar Gallery and Studios, Sarah Morel, Chair of TCD Visual Arts Society (Vis Arts) seems at quite home. Interested members of the public drift through to the society’s Annual End of Year Exhibition, which has been housed in the studios since their launch on Monday. Those leaving seem undeniably impressed. Morel tells me that this annual exhibition is Vis Art’s biggest event: “It attracts the most people and is all about showcasing the art at Trinity and making people appreciate art outside their academic lives.”
The final-year art history student clearly has a great appreciation for the power of art, which she describes as “a good outlet for people”. She’s keenly aware that busy college schedules can often prevent people from taking the time to practice art: “I just don’t think people really have time for art in general – in college everything else comes on top of them and they forget to just sit down and draw”, she says. Morel has fallen victim to this herself: “With college, I could just forget to do art for months at a time. And I ended up feeling really unhappy.” To deal with this problem, she has begun setting aside time specifically for art and has found this enormously beneficial: “It’s helping so much, like a cool down from study.” She urges others to prioritise what they love. And what Morel loves is art, describing it as her “number one passion”.
This passion is undeniable. Morel talks about art with a real enthusiasm and vigour. She has experimented with a number of different mediums and styles, from the abstract to a cartoon approach which was inspired by her interest in street art. Morel was able to explore this interest more fully when the society travelled to Barcelona, which has an “immense amount of street art”. She was struck by how fully the inhabitants have embraced this: “They love it – shop-owners are getting street artists to paint their shop fronts to draw in more customers.”
Currently, Morel works in pen and watercolour to create “very detailed, very intricate” works. “People are like why are you doing this, why do you hate yourself?” she laughs. Indeed, her pieces require an enormous amount of dedication, with her painting displayed in the exhibition taking over a year to complete. She favours “lots of natural, ecological scenes” which reflects her love of animals. Her favourite artwork includes intricate Medieval tapestries as well as modernist and abstract art.
Morel has been involved with Vis Arts from her very first day in college. It was the first society she ever joined, as a fresher back in 2013. Both of Morel’s parents are animators and she has been surrounded by art her whole life. Joining Vis Arts seemed like an obvious choice. She went on to become Secretary in her third year before taking the reins as Chair this year. Morel explains that Vis Arts’s aim is to welcome the art community, particularly Irish artists, to campus. The society allows their members to engage with them through gallery trips, exhibitions and talks from artists. Maser was a recent visitor and the society will also host Alice Maher on Wednesday March 15th. They keep things fun with more light-hearted creative endeavours, such as a pumpkin carving event at Halloween time.
However, hosting exciting events does not necessarily equate to being a well-known society. “People tell me that Vis Arts is such a great society and ask ‘why have we never heard of you?’” Morel explains. One reason, she suggests, is that people often get confused with the two other “really great” art-based initiatives, Trinity Arts Festival and Trinity Arts Workshop. Vis Arts have been working hard to put the society back in the spotlight. They had about 430 members this year – a massive increase from last year’s 130. Morel says the society is still “close-knit” enough to be “like a family – people don’t get lost”.
Exhibitions are a great opportunity to get new students involved. Morel notes that it allows visitors to “see what other people are doing – and hopefully that will inspire them to make art themselves”. The society held their yearly Sketchbook Project back in Michaelmas term event. This gives members of the society a month to complete their sketchbooks, which are then exhibited in November. Morel described this as a “chilled-out” project and noted that a lot of the same artists went on to submit to the end of year exhibition. She found it enjoyable to track their progression.
Vis Arts had been accepting submissions for their end-of-term event since December, although the chair wryly notes that grand majority of submissions came through on the last day. She admits to being really happy with the diversity on show, including an interactive installation, sculptures and portraits. About 40 pieces out of 175 submissions are showcased. “The stakes were quite high this year”, Morel explains, describing the judging process as a “difficult” one. Organising such a big event was also “very stressful at the time” but Morel is now “on a high” after the success of the launch. “It’s such a relief to see it all come together so well”, she told The University Times. About 300 people attended the launch night. Entertainment was provided by campus musicians such as Ryan Tysall and Trinity Belles. The exhibition ran until Thursday evening.
With the end of term now in sight, Morel expresses her hope that the committee’s work to bring back the society to its former glory has been successful. “We would like to see it more appreciated – more people knowing about it, engaging with it”, she explains. With the excellent work which has been done, future committees have a stable foundation upon which to build.
