My name is Nicholas Bastin and I am the studio leader of Gold and Silversmithing.

I would like to acknowledge the people of the Woi Wurrung and Boon Wurrung language groups of the Eastern Kulin Nations on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the university. I respectfully acknowledge their ancestors and elders past, present and future.

I would like to heartily congratulate the graduating 2020 third-year and honours Gold and Silversmithing students.

They have achieved a remarkable outcome in a year that has required them to work off-campus, without access to the highly specialised workshops of RMIT Gold and Silversmithing, in a time when our daily existence has been challenging.

Through this time, these students have had to really question the boundaries of their practice. They have shown resilience, ingenuity and inspiring creativity, all which are crucial traits for the pursuit of an arts practice.

I would also like to thank the teaching and technical Gold and Silversmithing staff for their outstanding knowledge, perseverance and selfless approach to teaching at a time when they have gone well beyond expectation.

And I speak for all of our staff when I say how incredibly proud we are of the accomplishments of the graduating Gold and Silversmithing students.

We look forward to a very exciting future with these artists at the helm.

A big congratulations and thank you!

Dr Nicholas Bastin, Studio Lead, 2020