Alumni artwork commemorates recent triumphs at York St John University

Special guests were invited to the unveiling of the latest piece of art to make up York St John’s visual alumni archive on Monday.

This new panel, by artist and alumna Catherine Scriven, extends her previous work, Alumni Abudantes, which is on display in Quad South Passage and was erected in 2010.

The panel, Exceptional Changes, depicts the last four years at the University and continues the style of the previous work, featuring key moments, people and events in a series of overlapping images.

It was commissioned by the Association of York St John and Ripon Training College who used the event to mark the disbanding of the association and official hand over to the Alumni team.

Catherine, who graduated in 2008, thanked alumnus John Maw for his knowledge of the institution’s history and help in creating the piece.

She said: “The piece features the buildings, awards for staff and students, different societies, sports and honorary graduates – all the changes that have taken place over the last four to five years, under the stewardship of the current Vice Chancellor. I also wanted to depict the aims of the University which include exceptional learning and teaching and an exceptional student experience.”

Professor David Fleming, Vice Chancellor, said: “We show this artwork to many people who come to visit, and will continue to do so. Everyone finds it fascinating and it is a great way to show, visibly, the history of the University.”