Spotlight On Success - August
Students at Subiaco Primary School are midway through a rather ambitious art venture. They have been working with artists Poppy van Oorde-Grainger and Steven Aiton and artist's assistant Emma Hewitt to create a contemporary work of art which reflects their perceptions of the school. The artists have been running workshops throughout third term to delve into the minds of their 328 collaborators and their findings will be unveiled at a school celebration on the 25th September.
The artists began the project by surveying students about their favourite places at school and the most important things in their lives. Family was voted most important, followed by friends and computers. Consequently the students began working on a computer game style animation set in their favourite locations around school. Rather than compete against opponents the objective of the Subiaco PS computer game is to build friendships. They are also about to start work on the family themed sculpture.
Poppy said "It has been an ambitious task getting the entire school to collaborate on producing an artwork and I am thrilled with the results." The students have used a variety of media including photography, painting, collage and drawing, and each animation team has learned how to operate laptop computers, DV cameras and wireless keyboards to successfully create their given scene.
The animation will be available for viewing via the school's web site and a print of the giant human jigsaw will be permanently displayed in the school hall. This project was made possible by a $12,500 Short Term Artist in Residence grant from the Department of Culture and the Arts.
