Though I collaborated with University Centre Hastings to provide a platform for local female artists, the entirety of the work—from project creation and artist selection to gallery hire, curating, and hosting—was done independently. With a tight four-week deadline, I carefully hand-selected artists whose work aligned with the exhibition’s theme, ensuring a diverse and compelling showcase. I also hired a part-time assistant, with whom I developed schedules for artist promotion and managed the pre-existing “OLAFMYFRIENDS” social media page with, to boost the event’s visibility. In an effort to be sustainable, I produced an online PDF booklet accessible via QR code.

Curating the entire exhibition was a rewarding challenge, endowing me with valuable skills. This included painting the gallery, selecting, framing, and hanging the pieces, and applying the vinyl logo and QR code to the gallery glass. I also hosted the open evening, in addition to creating a playlist to foster a convivial ambience within the gallery and providing beverages and food, which turned out to be a phenomenal success. Many of the artists, some of whom were showing their work publicly for the first time, benefited greatly from this exposure. The exhibition was a resounding hit, with a fantastic turnout on opening night and well-attended subsequent days. Many attendees were surprised that it was effectively a student-organised exhibition, commenting that it was better put together and curated than most professional exhibitions. Some even went so far as to say it was the best exhibition they had attended that year—a high compliment, considering some of the attendees were curators themselves, working for accredited and esteemed galleries in the Hastings and East Sussex area.