MacKillop Art Exhibition 

The MacKillop Art Exhibition was inaugurated in 2010 to celebrate the

canonization of St. Mary of the Cross MacKillop and her inspiration to

Australians through her courageous leadership and service. The opening

of the exhibition featured the establishment of the St. Mary MacKillop

rose garden in the grounds of Sacred Heart Cathedral and installation

of the St. Mary of the Cross icon, painted by local artist, Ivan Morozoff.

The exhibition is displayed annually in the magnificent ‘gallery space’ of

Sacred Heart Cathedral.

The first Josephite school in Victoria was established at Numurkah by

Mary MacKillop in 1890. The exhibition is a tribute to the Sisters of

St Joseph who have made such a significant contribution to Catholic

Education in our Diocese and who have served Sandhurst communities

so faithfully and generously.

The MacKillop Exhibition showcases the fine arts from primary and

secondary schools in the Sandhurst Diocese, featuring artworks that

have been produced as part of students’ regular studies, the Artist in

Residence programme and other school initiatives.

In this year’s exhibition St. Joseph’s College entered 11 artworks. The following students are congratulated on representing the college through their creative arts; Brayden Westwood, Caitlin Corry, Charlie Alberni, Chloe Adams, Ethan O’Brien-Leitao, Grace Russell, Isabella Ferres, Lilly Devlin, Nesceda Ross-Dixon, Phoeby Chapman, Ruby Jeffreys, and Zoe Hickey

The St. Mary MacKillop Spiritual Art Prize was instituted in 2015 so

that each year, as part of the Mary MacKillop Art Exhibition, an award

is given for an artwork with a spiritual theme. Art is a perfect partner

for spirituality as it can provide the medium for exploration of meaning,

invitation into mystery and transformation.

The artworks invite us to ponder the meaning of life, experience

the mystery and be transformed by the spiritual and creative works

of students of all age levels from Catholic Schools in the Diocese of

Sandhurst.

Several students were recognised within the spirituality category. Grace Russell was received a highly commended award for her piece ‘Rosie’. Ethan O’Brien-Leitao received a highly commended for his piece ‘Whole heart’. Phoeby Chapman was announced joint winner of the category for her piece ‘Wisdom of the Spider’.

Mr B Wallis

Visual Arts Teacher