Resilience Arts Project

Four of our budding art students recently enjoyed an incredible few days in Sydney taking part in the Resilience Arts Project thanks to the NSW Minister of Education and Training.

Accompanied by Ms Pocock, four WWHS students joined 170 other creative and performing arts students from across NSW to take part in an incredible array of arts workshops.

Our students were selected for this fully funded excursion scholarship based on Ms Pocock’s winning application. Schools in communities most affected by communities affected by flood, bushfire or drought were able to apply.

Focusing on the full range of artistic endeavour from theatre, music, art and drama, students were able to elect which workshops they wanted to participate in. 

Ms Pocock said, ‘The experience allowed students to view art in different ways, using all of their senses from sight and sound to taste and feel. It was artistically confronting and this was great’.

A highlight of their trip was attending the Sydney Lyric Theatre to see the musical production, Hamilton. Ms Pocock explained, ‘This really was one of the highlights of the trip. Our students, like all others thought it was amazing. The lighting was spectacular, the music was so varied, from hip hop to jive, beat box and jazz to rock’n roll and the comedic character of King Richard was one that captured students’ from beginning to end’. 

‘The show was followed by an exclusive Q&A with the Hamilton cast. The Hon Sarah Mitchell MLC, Minister for Education and Early Learning, joined the Year 10-12 students for the Q&A and afterwards meet with WWHS students to talk about the new school’. 

‘Students were also taken to the Art Gallery of NSW to see the HSC Art Express and hear from three students whose work was selected from the 2021 Year 12 art student cohort. Each of the three band 6 scoring major works were so different from the other. The students shared they the journey of their HSC major works from initial concept to creation and the written component. It was a wonderful opportunity for our students to hear this firsthand experience’. 

‘Students also had the opportunity to see the Matisse retrospective while at the gallery, an experience they loved’. 

‘The trip was not just a great opportunity for our students to connect with others from around NSW that had also experienced different and significant challenges over the last year or two and create new friendships, but also for the teachers on the trip to share teaching insights, ideas and resources’. 

Photo - Minister Sarah Mitchell MLC, Kirrily Johnson, Tihana Williams, Ashily Williams, Teliah Croaker