Visual Arts Faculty

From the Co-ordinator of Visual Arts

Celebrating Excellence at the 2026 HSC Visual Arts Showcase

The Great Hall came alive on Thursday 27 August as the school community gathered to celebrate the outstanding achievements of Year 12 at the annual HSC Visual Arts Showcase. Presented alongside exemplary works from Design and Technology, Society and Culture and English, the event highlighted the creativity, technical skill and sustained commitment demonstrated by the graduating cohort.

Throughout the evening, guests were invited to vote for two awards, with a third selected by the Visual Arts staff. All prizes were generously donated by S&S and Eckersley’s, continuing their valued support of emerging young artists.

It is with great pleasure that we announce the 2026 award recipients:

• Technical Proficiency Award – recognising exceptional skill and refinement in a chosen Expressive Form: Suzannah for The Burden of Memory (drawing).

• People’s Choice Award – awarded to the most popular work as voted by the audience: Emily for Saturated (coloured pencil on black paper).

• Art Ambassador Award – acknowledging outstanding dedication to Visual Arts, consistent work beyond class time and positive contribution to the classroom environment: Sophie for Myopia (colouring pencil) and Ruby for Familiar (charcoal drawing).

The Showcase once again affirmed the strength, creativity and resilience of the Class of 2026 as they prepare to enter the final stage of their HSC journey. Awards and certificates were presented in assembly last Friday. Congratulations to all award recipients.

Year 12 Visual Arts Class Parties

On Thursday 10 September, Year 12 celebrated their final Visual Arts lesson with a Surrealist‑themed party to mark their achievements and wish them well for their upcoming Examinations. Ms Blundell and I joined in the fun by arriving in costume...can anyone guess which artists we chose? 

The celebration also served as a final creative learning activity. Each class produced a Dada poem by selecting random words from a bowl, creating wonderfully nonsensical compositions. Students then played Exquisite Corpse, responding to prompts to draw a creature’s head, torso and mode of transportation, folding and passing their papers between each stage to create unexpected collaborative artworks.

To finish, students embraced Abstract Expressionism, using acrylic paint to drip and trail colour across canvas panels laid on tarpaulins. These expressive works will serve as vibrant mementos of their time in Visual Arts.

Students left with party bags and a postcard of their Bodies of Work. We wish them every success in their examinations and beyond; they have been a truly wonderful cohort to teach.