By Mrs Amanda Marshall, Head of Creative Arts

This term, our students have had some fantastic learning experiences in the creative arts department.

Year 7 and 8 students created still life lino prints and are beginning to paint appropriations of Australian artworks and an abstract representation of memory.

After Year 9 students submitted entries to the Little Archies, they started developing their understanding of form and the figure through the construction of wire sculptures and drawings, and paintings of hands.

Year 10 students painted a collaborative up-scaled work by contemporary surrealist artist Rodel Tapaya and then created their own surrealist paintings.

Year 11 studied narratives in art throughout history, then went on to create sculptures and accompanying drawings that represented their narrative-self. They all embraced the extra challenge of creating a variety of large-scale drawings of their sculptures to develop their observational drawing skills. These works are currently on display in the Morison Centre.

Year 11 and 12 photography students are currently studying visual narratives and were able to hear first-hand the experience of international photojournalist George Calvelo. His work includes images of the "war on drugs" in the Philippines that led to the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

After George’s visit, students shared the impact that his stories had on them as they realised how a person’s fight for justice can place them in life-threatening situations. They also discussed how their concept of photography had changed, particularly its capacity to transform lives.

We were fortunate to have George coach our students one-on-one on our excursion to the Australian National Botanic Gardens. These students also studied photographers William Yang, Destiny Deacon and Saul Leiter to inspire the creation of their own narrative photographs. Their great work can be viewed below.

Our student media crew covered various events this term, including the athletics carnival and assemblies. I had the privilege of witnessing students in action in the media booth at these events and was mesmerised by the agility in problem-solving, level of engagement and technical and collaborative skills our students are developing under Mr Tim Minehan’s mentorship.

What a privilege it is to be part of the students’ creative journeys! I am already looking forward to Term 2 where many of their work will be on display at our annual Artshow@Radford from 16–18 May. See you there!