Each year, people from a multitude of backgrounds across 海角社区app and the University of Kings College come together to celebrate a uniting passion: art.
This December, the 聽and proves not all artists wear their craft on their sleeves.
The freshly painted gold walls set the stage for the milestone theme: Golden Hour. Gallery Director and Curator Pamela Edmonds selected the theme for how it 鈥渙ffers a unique chance to see each other鈥檚 artwork, and the campus, in a new light.鈥�
The exhibition displays nearly 100 submissions from more than 50 artists, many of whom pursue art as a hobby. In her reception address at the show opening last Thursday (Dec. 4), Edmonds noted that curating Golden Hour was about finding a balance between the different media 鈥� painting, photography, sculpture, textiles and video 鈥� as much as it was the individual stories and fields in which the artists come from. The harmony is 鈥済iving each other enough space while still letting them speak to one another鈥� she says.聽
The annual exhibition is one the gallery's longest-running traditions.
From terra firma to the sky
Among this year鈥檚 contributors is Annika Benson, a fourth-year PhD student in Biomedical Engineering who debuted her piece, "The Misty Isle." The photograph, printed on silver halide paper, was taken during a trip to Scotland, where she and a group of friends managed to catch a golden moment of light amongst the fog.聽
Even as a PhD student, Benson carves out time to practise photography. 鈥淒espite doing science, I still think of myself as an artist first,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 always been a goal to have my art displayed at some point.鈥�
"The Misty Isle."
Now, 鈥渋t's a bucket-list item checked,鈥� she says.
海角社区app Art Gallery Staff Brigitta Zhao, a longtime aspiring artist, contributed her mixed-media piece "Meteoroid Migration." The work took shape in 2021 amidst the pandemic when Zhao grappled with loneliness and questions of belonging.聽
Originally from China but having migrated multiple times since, Zhao became drawn to the idea of the universe as a space big enough to hold the stars, planets and people seeking their place.聽
鈥淚t was a way that made me feel like I belonged somewhere,鈥� she says.聽 '
鈥淚n traditional Chinese literature, there鈥檚 an idea of using the moon as land and the clouds as staircases,鈥� she says in regard to the centre鈥檚 circular shape, representing a planet. 鈥淚t's a romantic way of thinking about the human relationship with the sky.鈥澛�
It was a way that made me feel like I belonged somewhere.
For Zhao, Golden Hour echoes her reflections on movement, belonging and illumination 鈥� both celestial and human.聽
"Meteroid Migration."
Art as solace
First-year Medicine student Chester Hewlett showcased acrylic paintings, representing two defining moments in his life. The first painting "Titanic Shores," named after a beach in Ghana, where he spent much of his childhood, reflects a reconnection with his roots. 鈥淚 had been chasing so many things and been distracted,鈥� he says. 鈥淸It] made me realize that it's the people that I鈥檓 here with, the relationships that I have, that truly matter.鈥澛�
The second painting, "When all was still," marks a golden moment of solitude for Hewlett when he decided to stop everything, quit his job, and try something new. 鈥淚 decided I was going to do medicine and I was going to pursue art," he says. 鈥淎nd those are the two things I do for myself.鈥澛�
海角社区app alum Athar Qureshi, who holds a master's degree in Health Informatics, has contributed to the exhibition for the past 13 years. This year, his acrylic dot-filled mixed-media piece "Countenance" explores identity, drawing inspiration from traditional African masks. 鈥淲e all have different layers we are wearing,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e are all hiding something.鈥�
For Qureshi, a database analyst at a hospital, art is a form of meditation where he can take his mask off.
He devotes significant time to his creations, spending more than 100 hours on his displayed piece alone. His golden hour, however, shines outside the sun鈥檚 operating hours.
鈥淚 sit down Friday, Saturday, Sunday nights at two in the morning, putting dots on dots on dots,鈥� Qureshi says.聽聽
The diverse exhibition asks visitors, artists and hobbyists alike are invited to reflect on their own golden hour and see things in a new light.聽
Golden Hour: The聽70th Annual Student, Staff, Faculty and Alumni Exhibition, runs until December 21, 2025 at the 海角社区app Art Gallery.
The gallery is open Wednesday to Sunday and admission is always free. For hours and directions, .