By Sibella Swanepoel
The long-awaited quad party recently took place, and there was glitter—lots of it. The quad party, which was hosted on 5 August, is held every year to raise funds for the final-year visual arts students’ Graduate Art Exhibition (Gradex).
Gradex is curated and created by the fourth-years of Stellenbosch University’s visual arts department to showcase and celebrate their work from the past four years.
The tradition of hosting a graduate exhibition at the department has become an anticipated event, and the quad party is no exception. “The fourth-year art students have been hosting a quad party since about the 1980s. We are proud to be able to continue this tradition, which was lost for two years due to Covid,” said Mignonne Busser, fourth-year BA (Fine Arts) student and one of the organisers of the event.
This year’s Euphoria-themed quad party lit up the visual arts department with fairy lights, a hazy purple glow and lots of disco balls to set the mood for a sparkly event under the moonlight.
“Everyone in the décor team did such a good job. . . . [T]he creativity of my team added a lot of cool, extra detail and elements that pulled the decorations together. . . . [I]t turned out even better than I thought,” said Megan Anne Badenhorst, fourth-year BA (Visual Communication and Design) student and head of the décor team.
With glitter, glowing graphics and glossy outfits, the department’s quad transformed into Euphoria High, and all students were invited along for the ride. “Everyone looked hot and wore lots of glitter. . . . [I]t really added to the sparkly event,” said Thalia Alberts, an attendee at the party and a third-year BA (Drama and Theatre Studies) student.
The event included face painting, a polaroid photo booth and a candyfloss machine to pair with the sparkly drinks.
The shiny dance floor catered for everyone with a sound that progressed from singalongs to house music and ended things off with some groovy techno. “We just wanted it to be a fun, glittery mess of a party, and I think everyone who was there had a good time,” Badenhorst concluded.
