Visual Arts News

Dear Parents,

Each year SFX Visual Arts students are given the opportunity to enter artworks into the

 Australian Conservation Foundation’s Wild at Art competition. 

“Wild At Art is an opportunity for primary school children to learn about Australia's threatened wildlife and speak out for a future where plants, animals and people thrive.

The beautiful artworks and moving written explanations demonstrate the depth of concern and love that children have for our vanishing wildlife. Through the competition, many children feel empowered knowing that by raising awareness, they can make a difference.” 

Congratulations to Lily M (KW), Ari P, (2W) and Year 4 students Jayden H, Mia F,  Olivia S, Arianna P, Emily N, Lucas L, Jack G, Olive A, Serayah A, Daniel S, Arianna T, Georgia M, Kaden M, Nina G, and Hugo V, whose artworks and supporting statements were selected to be entered into the online competition. 

Lily researched the  Bulloak Jewel Butterfly. She named her artwork Fallen Butterfly and Trees and wrote: I love butterflies and I love when they flutter around me. It’s a bit sad that this butterfly is endangered. The butterflies live in bulloak trees and they help the ants live in the trees. The Bulloak Jewel Butterfly has blue, red, purple and gold wings with patterns. They are native to Queensland and they have only been seen twice in the last twenty years.

Ari researched Cassowaries and titled his work Cassowary Meadows: My artwork is of a cassowary. Cassowaries  are tall like me. They are fast like me and they are good swimmers like me. Cassowaries are endangered due to a number of reasons including habitat loss and vehicle strikes. So, we really need to protect them because they are fast and strong and very important rainforest gardeners.

Jayden’s expressive work, The Last Koala is a drawing of a koala in distress. Koalas are endangered due to a number of things including habitat loss caused by humans chopping down trees and bushfires. If we don’t work harder to save koalas they will become extinct by 2050. My drawing shows the destruction of the koalas' environment and a lone koala trying to survive the devastation.

Serayah and Georgia also researched koalas as a threatened species.

Serayah chose to make an artwork about koalas to show how we are wrecking these gentle creatures' homes. I want to show the impact that people have on koala habitats. Koala numbers are decreasing, making them endangered. I hope my artwork makes people want to stop destroying koala environments. Koalas need saving! 

Georgia titled her work The Koala, An Endangered Species and wrote Koalas are endangered and it is important to protect them. The koala is an Australian animal that belongs to all of us and it is our responsibility to look after them. At the moment koalas are at risk of becoming extinct and if we don’t do anything they will be extinct by 2050. This native marsupial is unique and fascinating to learn about. Koalas need to be protected.

It’s wonderful to see young people taking a real interest in the stewardship of the environment. In our research for this task students learned about the natural and man-made threats to Australian animals. Their Wild at Art artworks aim to raise awareness and encourage discussion about why it is important to consider our individual impact on the earth.

Student works should appear on the ACF Wild at Art Facebook and Instagram pages over the coming weeks. We wish them good luck in the next round of the competition.