New "Artist in Residence" Program launches at Scape Australia, leading student accommodation provider

In a move designed to celebrate and support up and coming student artists Scape has created The.ArtScape, an industry first platform to foster young artistic talent. 

MELBOURNE, Australia, Jan. 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Scape Australia launches a new initiative, The.Artscape supporting those in pursuit of creative excellence. Commencing with a new 'Artist in Residence' program that delivers mentorship from working artists and will support student residents by providing a platform for representation in developments with installations across properties within the Scape Australia portfolio.

The continuing return of international students has seen several supporting industries return to the fold. Promoting Australia as an education destination and welcoming environment is crucial to the success of attracting new students. Purpose built student accommodation is one shouldering the return, students from all over the globe are set to arrive for the largest semester intake post pandemic. Promoting Australia as an education destination and welcoming environment is crucial to the success of attracting new students. Design and the creative arts are an increasing driver of the international student intake, with some of the world's best design and creative tertiary providers based in Australia, and employability in this sector on the rise. To foster this growth sector and better support students, Scape developed The.ArtScape in partnership with Art+ and in-house curator, Jay Lyon, as a platform to support up and coming artists and create a more engaging and inspiring student experience. 

In celebration of this year's growing cultural diversity, the inaugural 'artist in residence' is Australian illustrator and designer, Nathan Nankervis, who has created a bespoke mural and digital assets to captivate, inspire and connect with the students. Commencing Jan 31, Nathan will be installing the first of his creations at Scape Swanston, with digital designs and merchandise to follow. Nathan will also set up a studio within Scape to enable access for residents. 

"Working with Scape has been an incredible ride and I'm super thrilled to engage with new students and spaces to bring my work to this generation, I take my inspiration from my childhood, my mum would speak about everything as if it was alive and I really loved that about her. And I guess I always looked at life from that lens, which is what spawned my iconic face motifs. To visualise this perspective, I started giving my works a mouth, to let the audience know it's alive and breathing, and eyes so the viewer can connect with it. Life is in all my work, and I hope the students connect with it in a playful way, those I've had the chance to meet are cool, they're all super creative and individualistic, they give me hope for the future and I love that Scape is looking at new ways to support and inspire them…." – Nathan Nankervis

"Scape Australia is gearing up for the largest Semester intake post pandemic, home to over 130 nationalities and growing, the current diversity of residents and the richness of culture provides a vibrant and noisy, in a good way, community of Gen Zs. There is also a growing number of creators and artists, some with a side hustle. Nathan will be running workshops in his studio within Scape Carlton."  – Anouk Darling, CEO, Scape Australia. 

"As industry leaders, these initiatives are critical to highlighting Australia as a leading and welcoming education destination. With over 16,000 beds and growing, this is one of the many initiatives we're investing in to continue driving that first choice and we're committed to supporting the future of design and the creative arts, from future employability and scholarships to installation and placemaking, some of our most engaging spaces have local and indigenous art which has benefited, not only our student community, but local one. Nathan will bring a playful, welcoming, and relatable design and the first in many artists in residents we hope to support…" Anouk Darling, CEO 

Nathan will be installing a mural at Scape Swanston from January 31^st then establishing his residence which the public can view his work in studio at Scape Carlton, from Feb 20^th, Nathan's work will also be running on the Sydney Light rail and Melbourne tram throughout February and March. Scape Australia will deliver this program as part of a new initiative, The.Artscape in collaboration with Art+ which will build on Scape's purpose-built student accommodation commitment to curated experiences, inspiring the very best learning and living outcomes for our next generation. While Scape is proud to partner with new, exciting talented artists there is an ongoing commitment to indigenous art is already reflected in the astonishing mural work already on display in several Scape locations. 

For more information please contact: Rosalind Lill-Lusby, GM Brand & Marketing, Scape Australia, rosalind.lill@scape.com.au or Anouk Darling, CEO, Scape Australia, anouk.darling@scape.com.au. Information available here: www.scape.com.au/the-artscape/ 

About Scape  

Scape is the largest developer and owner-operator of Australia's largest purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) provider, with a diverse portfolio for domestic and international students.   

Scape was founded in the UK in 2007 on a simple idea: being a student or graduate shouldn't mean having to compromise on quality living and its purpose is to shelter and shape the minds of tomorrow.  

Established in Australia in 2013, Scape is a global, fully integrated PBSA platform, with over A$9 billion in assets owned and operated alongside global wholesale and institutional investors. Scape Australia owns and manages 33 high quality assets located in the key education precincts of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide with 16,000 operational bedrooms, and 4,000 bedrooms under development. The global Scape Group includes over 32,800 PBSA bedrooms in the UK (7,000) Australia (22,300), Ireland (500) and USA (3,000).   

About The.Artscape  

The.Artscape is a collaboration working closely with Scape Australia, leaders in Purpose Built Student Accommodation, and Art+. The entities have aligned values around 'high performance' and disrupting conventions which will be at the fore of this initiative.

In collaboration with Scape, The.Artscape will house an 'artist in residence' program at the Scape Carlton, the newest Scape property in Melbourne, opening to students Feb 2023. The program will provide creative career mentoring to student residents and access to world art and artists.

The.Artscape has already invested in a significant body of works that showcases world class photographic artists both emerging and infamous (Terry O'Neill, Douglas Kirkland and Tyler Shields to name a few).

These body of works will be curated and showcased across a series of activations in Scape properties around Australia commencing April 2023. For more information see https://theartscape.com.au/pages/about-1