The Arts

What an amazing and colourful year we've had in the Visual Arts. Students have been creating works of art, design and media and given the opportunity to engage with their critical and creative thinking and making. The visual arts has provided all students this year with tasks that have challenged, inspired and asked students to reflect on their creative wellbeing.  This process culminated in the creation of high quality folios and works across various media including drawing, digital media, film, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture and product design.  A thank you goes out to all the Visual Arts teachers for their hard work and dedication. 

It was great to be back on site after a difficult few years and celebrate our VCE Visual Arts Showcase had an impressive turnout. The VCE students showcased their amazing work demonstrating the depth of talent and skills nurtured amongst this group.  A challenging year with excellent results. We were also very fortunate to have Dr Fleur Summers, Senior Lecture and Studio Co ordinator at RMIT, present Yr 12 student N'Doya D with The Inaugural RMIT Award for her work 'Diminishment' and to Yr 12 Student Sophia A, who was awarded a Highly Commended award for her work. In addition, Otto D's "Stickers" received the Principal's Award and Mariana B's work has been acquired by the Coburg High School Library and will be on permanent display before the end of the year. Thank you to Frances and Simon Daoud and for donating the framing skills and costs for these two works. 

Stickers by Otto D - recipient of the 2022 Principals Award

The artwork is a collection of 50 individual stickers each with a different combination of colours and lettering styles, arranged in a grid like pattern. I explore the relationship and irony in using an almost illegible style of lettering presented on ‘Hello, My name is’ stickers.

Diminishment by N'Doya D recipient of the 2022 RMIT Sculpture Award

This work explores the "...possibility of the exploration of how humans interact with time and the ever changing nature of human morality through the subject matter developed of “diminishment” symbolised in “water cupped in hands, slipping through the gaps".”

The Gathering by Mariana B acquisition by Coburg High School Library 

"In this family portrait my mother, brother and I are sat at the dining  table, emerging from the shadows, surrounding a lit birthday cake, which casts our faces in a fond glow. The luminous birthday cake is symbolic of growth, coming of age and the end of a  significant stage of life, it is also a metaphor for how my own mother has supported my own growth and adaption as a young adult."

 Swing by Sophia A - Highly Commended - 2022 RMIT Sculpture Award

In the installation, ..." “swing”, a garment is hung by threads as projections of violent waves play over it and the wall behind it. The subject matter is “portraiture” explored by pushing its boundaries instead of “depicting a person's face or figure…capturing memories, emotions and feelings”""...the subject matter has been a garment of clothing that I wore on my journey to Australia as a refugee. This not only tells this story but also a broader story of childhood and our growth from it which is an experience shared by everyone."

The evening was completed with BURGFEST screened at Pentridge Palace Cinema. Popcorn and choc tops were part of our Year 12 Media students showcase this year, and with the resounding success it was, this will only be the beginning of many more years like this to come. Being able to share their hard work with family and friends on the big screen was really something special. Thanks to the hard work of our VCE Media teacher Gef Senz. Further to that Evie T of Year 12 has been shortlisted for Top Screens for her animation short ‘Beachcomber Blues'. Look out for BURGFEST 2022 Year 11 & 12 editions, a link to the Zoomcast has been placed on Compass, so you can enjoy and marvel at our Media student’s great work

Our Visual Arts showcase continued into the weeks following, enabling our Junior to Middle school students to enjoy the spotlight. From Year 7 movie sets, 2 Point Perspective and Lino Prints from year 8, Year 9 charcoal, mixed media artworks and printmaking, and Year 10 Elevation drawings, sustainable product design and watercolour artworks just too mention a few. Our students have worked hard over the semester to showcase their ability to reflect on lived and explored experiences and communicate that through their work, and develop their own arts' knowledge and skills to develop confidence in mark marking. 

Establishing a school wide Visual Arts Showcase cannot be done without the generous time, expertise and support of our leadership team and school community. We'd particularly like to thank Jeff and Toufic, our maintenance team for installing our work. We’d also like to thank our Principal team for supporting our students for attending our event and providing the support and encouragement of our current and future artists.

For those that aren't able to attend our exhibitions throughout the year, we hope that you continue to enjoy our ongoing showcase of student work through our instagram page: @chs.arts

I'd also like to take this opportunity to wish you all farewell. After a total of 10 years at Coburg Senior High, and now Coburg High I am leaving with a wealth of memories that I will always treasure.  Working with, and being inspired by all the students, staff and families I've had the privilege to work with at Coburg Visual Arts has provided me with invaluable personal and professional growth that I will be forever grateful for. It's been a pleasure teaching at Coburg High School, and I will genuinely miss all the students I've been working with over the years. I wish you all continued growth and success in the visual arts.

Take care. 

Giulia De Vincentis