Visual Arts

Authentic and Real-World Experiences

Excursions play a vital role in our Visual Arts curriculum, by providing authentic and real-world experiences to complement class-based learning through reinforcing and enhancing what is being taught in our classroom.

Recently our Year 11 students and HSC students had the opportunity to spend a day at the Art Gallery of NSW. They viewed an incredible collection of artworks by Henri Matisse in the exhibition Matisse: Life and Spirit. This exhibition was developed in collaboration with the Centre Pompidou in Paris and is the greatest single exhibition of Matisse masterworks ever to be seen in Sydney. “Filled with brilliant colour, dynamic energy, visual joy and emotional power, it’s an inspirational journey through the life and art of this ceaselessly inventive and life-affirming painter.” AGNSW Henri Matisse, one of the world’s most beloved, innovative and influential artists, captured our students’ attention and imagination. In a section of the exhibition, we learnt of Matisse’s fear of resting on his fame and of moments where he had to confront the canvas “out of ideas”, which is a relatable sentiment for our senior students. We then learnt how Matisse worked through those doubts to create new and exciting work, by renewing his engagement with line, which he referred to as the ‘life-giver’. The next exhibition we viewed was Matisse Alive where students were able to see the direct influence Henri Matisse’s artmaking has had on contemporary artist practice. This exhibition presented contemporary perspectives on Matisse and focused especially on his imagining of the Pacific. Students were able to see how the works of some artists have been influenced by the profound works left by masters before. Students then visited the 2022 ARTEXPRESS exhibition featuring exemplary artworks created by New South Wales Visual Arts students for the Higher School Certificate. Our students were impressed to see the high standard of work produced by HSC students last year. This exhibition allowed Year 12 students to see best practice and reflect on their own artist practice whilst, Year 11 students could start to envisage their Body of Work. It was an uplifting experience for teachers and students, as we were able to teach and learn in the presence of physical artworks and engage with the art world again.

Tara Jongsma Head of Visual Arts