Creative Arts Exhibition
Showcase taking shape
Xanten Performing Arts Centre Foyer is being transformed into a gallery of ingenuity ahead of Tuesday night's opening of the 2019 Creative Arts Exhibition.
Dedicated staff including Samantha Mark, Amanda Marsh, Leon Rogers, Mark Lawson, Sam Eloff, Scott Arnold, Craig Mecham, Bradley Collins and Greg Hulshoff are working tirelessly to display students' completed works in the areas of:
- Visual Art
- Media Arts
- Design – both Photography and Graphic Design
- Textiles
- Wood
- Metals
- Engineering
- Food Science
- Children, Family and Community
- Robotics
- Multimedia
The free community event runs from 18-20 September, from 8.30am to 4.30pm. All welcome.
Q and A about the exhibition with Head of Learning (Technologies), Samantha Mark.
How long has this annual event been going and how did it evolve?
It started over 20 years ago, as an afternoon wine and cheese in the art room! It was a compulsory part of the Visual Art course back then, that students needed to have an exhibition of their work, so the Art teacher at the time transformed the classroom to try to create a gallery vibe. That vibe expanded in the years that followed. We used to take over the gym, then we moved into the Br Pat and Cappenburg buildings. This will be the third year we’ve used the new Xanten Performing Arts foyer.
What are some of the highlights this year?
Diversity of the student work is the biggest highlight. There’s also going to be a hi-tech display of robot art! And a giant set of knitting needles!!
Why is important for students to learn about and develop skills in creative arts such as textiles, woodwork and food science?
The process of being creative in any format – art, textiles, wood … it doesn’t matter which one, is a continual challenge of problem solving and looking for solutions. So many potential decisions to be made in the process. The finished product is just one version of that students decision making journey. On another day, it could’ve turned out quite differently. I think an advantage of working on long term projects like we do in these subjects areas, is that there’s no instant do-over. The students these days are quite used to just deleting and starting again. You often can’t do that with project based learning, as you have to modify and adjust to create a new solution with every step. I think the students get a good sense of actions and consequences when they work like this. They have to think about their actions, think about their options, before moving forward in the production journey.
With so much emphasis on digital learning nowadays, what feedback do you get from students who spend time exploring their freehand creative side?
Many of them love to switch off, and define these rooms as their “happy place”. I think they get the opportunity to slow down and enjoy the process, rather than be caught up in the frenetic pace of modern life. There’s great mindfulness that is also associated with these subjects. For many students, this is where they focus with their hands, so their minds can settle and heal.
What is the judging process? How difficult is it to judge the winners?
The guest judge, Michael Kimbar, is a Senior Visual Arts educator with more than 16 years’ teaching experience in a diverse range of settings from gifted and talented, education support and mainstream classes. He is passionate about the promotion of the arts as a subject and especially Visual Arts as a first-choice subject and engaging with community. Michael is currently teaching at Byford Secondary College where he has built a pursuit of excellence in teaching and learning.
The judge usually comes through and looks at the exhibition the day before opening night, and chooses their top three pieces to win the $100, $75 and $50 carousel vouchers. The Principal also gets to come and choose his award-winning piece, which also receives a $100 voucher. The remaining 20 x $20 vouchers are determined usually by the collective decision making of the teachers setting up the exhibition, who have been both working with the students throughout the process, but also looking at the work for days on end in setting up the exhibition. There’s a lotof man hours involved in getting everything put together for opening night. The final award is a People’s Choice award, which can only be voted for on opening night, Tuesday 17 September. The winner of this is announced following the exhibition at a College assembly, where we acknowledge the work and the student behind it for each of the prizes.
Mrs L Quartermain (Community Relations)