Visual Art

On Friday 5 August, I had the pleasure of taking Year 12 Studio Art students out on an Arts Industry study day. Studio Art Unit 4 requires the review of various current exhibitions, analysing design, curation, promotion and conservation practices. The creation of immersive experiences which target a variety of audiences is proving popular, and Australian institutions like the NGV are leading the world in audience engagement. ‘Light: Works from Tate’ at ACMI, ‘Picasso Century’ & ‘Queer’ at NGV International along with ‘Who are You: Australian Portraiture’ at Ian Potter Gallery, NGV Australia were visited. It was an incredibly busy day with us rushing from place to place, floor to floor, to make the most of our time. We finished at around 4.10pm and I could see the exhaustion on students' faces: so much learning and territory covered in one day!

The NGV education program also came to our door, with a live stream webinar on Thursday 18 August during period 2, 10am. Students learnt more about the planning of ‘Who are You’ and engaged in conversation with a member of the NGV team. These wonderful opportunities extend students’ knowledge and offer Aitken students possible advantage during exams. They are able to use this specialist intel to prove in depth knowledge and study, with much of the information not readily available to all. 

A similar excursion with different intensions took place on Friday 19 August. Year 11 Studio Art students experienced two of the free exhibitions in addition to viewing ‘Top Arts’.

They engaged in analysis exercises and had to choose three artworks from sub themes within ‘Who are You: Australian Portraiture’ and ‘Queer’. Viewing works within a gallery allows for deeper appreciation with the display of work carefully curated, the relationships between artwork a discussion point. 

I hope these experiences enrich the lives of our students and further emphasise the cultural and economic benefit the arts contribute to Victoria. With over 3 million visitors annually, anyone who hasn’t already should head into the city to see one, or all these exhibitions as two unfortunately close this weekend (21 August). The good news is, after a bump-in period, a new series of incredible exhibitions will begin. 

Mrs Linda Camilleri

Head of faculty - Visual Arts