Our ARTIFACT [BOLD] Vision:
To create an inclusive space that celebrates contemporary, experimental design; that crosses conceptual and material territories; and that honors both the legacy and the future of Graphic Design education at High Point University.
When we first conceived of ARTIFACT [BOLD] we did so with an inclusive vision: to create a space that celebrates contemporary, experimental design, that crosses conceptual and material territories, and that honors both the legacy and the future of Graphic Design education at High Point University.
The designers who have generously shared their work with our community have allowed us to do just that. The work represented in ARTIFACT [BOLD] is innovative and thought-provoking, and reflects cultural moments through brave and assertive formal, conceptual, and critical design statements.
Whether they are building immersive environments that evoke emotional responses, producing concept-driven type, illustration, or sequence systems, or experimenting with narrative and form across media, the designer’s most fundamental role is to create objects that facilitate the exchange of information and ideas. But the designer’s role goes beyond that of being a simple conduit of information. Designers also hold the power, through the objects they create, to communicate ideas, to question entrenched systems, to propose new solutions, and to envision a different world. ARTIFACT[BOLD] offers viewers an opportunity to reflect on design’s power to interrogate, to provoke, to bridge, to heal.
As we celebrate this, the inaugural exhibition of what will be a biennial event at High Point University’s Sechrest Gallery of Art, we express our gratitude to the designers who have answered our call with a body of work that holds the power to help us all see the world anew.
- Emily Gerhold, Curator and Sechrest Gallery Director
- Carrie A. Dyer, Creative Director and Designer
Meet our Juror, Meena Khalili
A native of Washington, D.C., and Virginia, Meena Khalil is an Assistant Professor at the University of South Carolina School of Visual Art + Design. Meena holds a BFA in Illustration and an MFA in Visual Communication + Graphic Design from VCUarts and completed study at the Illustration Academy, and the LdM Institute in Florence, Italy.
Khalili is the recipient of the National Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement in Graphic Design by the Southeastern College Art Conference. Her work has been shown at the Type Director’s Club of New York, Chicago Design Museum, and galleries throughout North America, in Italy, Canada, China, Indonesia, Croatia, Australia, and Moscow, with illustrations and book art in permanent collections at the VCU Libraries Special Collections and Archives, the Omni Hotel Louisville, the South Carolina State Museum, and the Library of Congress.
Khalili is the Co-Chair of the National AIGA Design Educators Community Steering Committee. In addition to her international exhibitions, she maintains an active speaking schedule with engagements and workshops throughout the U.S., and internationally most recently in Hong Kong, Doha, and Venice.
Explore the exhibition’s catalog to learn more about each of the artists and works featured in the inaugural exhibition of ARTIFACT [BOLD]!
Special recognition has been awarded to the following artists:
First Prize
Asawari Kulkarni “NARI VARIABLE” Typeface with NARI VARIABLE INSTANCES RISO PRINTS
Juror’s Comments: “It is not often we get to see type design celebrated in a show like this. And it is not often we get to really enjoy the craft of type design. This work, in its variable nature, meets users where they are. It aims to create no victims. It explores usability in the utmost inventive new media and traditional ways.”
Second Prize
Vaziri Rahimi “INFODEMIC” Video and Printed Posters with “AR” Augmented Reality
Juror’s Comments:“This work was astounding in many ways and almost hard to view. Its impact was especially significant as I kept turning away and coming back to it. The bridge of augmented reality is also timely.”
Third Prize
Drew Sisk “RESPONSIVE SUPPLY CHAIN: PURE COUNTRY WEAVERS”
Juror’s Comments: “I was especially taken by the subversive nature of this work and how it speaks to our culture of instant gratification, which has in turn fed issues like supply chains, over-dependence, and our culture’s general lack of importance placed on mental health and self-care.”
Student Prize
Chloe Castelli “DAYDREAMER”
Juror’s Comments: “I was instantly struck by these works and the line quality in them. The subject matter is significant and I’m still captivated by them, amazed by the wisdom in them from a student. I look forward to bright things from this person, and to seeing how they continue to shape and form their ideas and storytelling.”