ARTStanding

Creative inspirations

By Mercedes College Arts Faculties Email this article

Music and visual arts highlight creative minds.

Autumn Concert
More than 100 students, from Year 2 to Year 12, performed to a full house of supportive families and friends this month for our Autumn Concert.

This concert is an important event for music students, challenging them to step outside of their comfort zone and "put it all out there" for their audience. With limited rehearsal time, all our performers are to be celebrated for putting in a remarkable effort so early in the year.

Working towards a shared goal like a concert is extremely beneficial for performers, from the communal sense of achievement in rehearsal, to the shared nervous energy before a performance, and the exhilaration of finishing a performance.

Congratulations to all of the students who performed – we can’t wait to hear what you're working on next!

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Stack Team App
Our Music Department is moving to Stack Team App for all bands, choirs and ensembles from Term 2. This app is a platform for families to stay up to date with weekly rehearsals, music events and news, and is an easy way to communicate with Ensemble Directors. Music families will be sent details via SEQTA in the coming weeks with instructions on how to join.

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Join an Ensemble
All students from Year 2 to Year 12 who sing or play a musical instrument are strongly encouraged to join one of the College’s bands or choirs. With a range of different ensembles offered, there is something for everyone to take part in. If you are interested in participating, please contact the Music Department on SEQTA.

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Brass/Woodwind Opportunity
Has your child ever expressed an interest in the trumpet or trombone? Maybe the clarinet?

Learning an instrument is one of the best things you can do for brain health – we all know that playing sport is great for our bodies, but playing music is also great for our brains. There are opportunities for interested students to start learning the trumpet, trombone or clarinet next Term, so please contact our Music Department if your child is interested in this opportunity.

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Young artists shine
Our Junior School students have been flourishing in the art room, finalising their works ahead of the Term break.

For Year 3 students their focus has been on self portrait collages, and they are coming along well as each artist creates texture and interest using coloured paper, magazines, posca pens and fine liners.

Year 5 students have completed the first part of their Frieda Kahlo inspired artworks with self portraits beautifully executed from observation and life drawing.

Both of our Reception classes have finished wonderful community mixed media murals, which we look forward to displaying for our families to enjoy, and in Year 4, student artists have been creating Worry Dolls and learning about printmaking.

Finally, in Year 6, students have had a wonderful time learning cardboard construction skills, having researched a culture they identify with, then designed and created an identity mask. Watch out for these around the school next Term.

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Focus on environment
Our Year 9 and 10 students have been creating diverse artworks in clay and ink, all with a connection to our global environment.

Year 9 students have been learning about different clay techniques, creating clay tiles with Australian flora and fauna. They have done an incredible job so far researching Australian animals and plants with connections to one another, and we look forward to seeing their final works when they are complete.

Meanwhile in Year 10, student artists have been busy creating lino print art, analysing the work of artists who create social commentary pieces and creating their own. Their final prints will be on display in Baggot Lane soon.

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Art beyond the classroom
Last month our Year 11 and Year 12 Art and Design students headed to the city to visit the SACE Art and Design Show, the Jam Factory, and the Art Gallery of South Australia.

The SACE Art Show gave students the opportunity to see over 140 pieces by the collective class of 2022, seeing their folios and being inspired for the year to come. The Jam Factory provided a presentation of glass blowing, and also displayed ceramics, furniture, jewellery, metal work, the Jam Factory shop, and exhibitions New Exuberance: contemporary Australian textile designs and Built Worlds.

Finally, students had the amazing experience of viewing the Andy Warhol and Photography: A Social Media exhibition at the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA). Exclusive to AGSA, the exhibition features photographs, experimental films and paintings by Warhol, including his famed Pop Art works of Marilyn Monroe and Campbell’s Soup Cans. The students then also had time to explore the other exhibitions in the gallery, to gain inspiration for their own art making practices.

All in all, it was a wonderful excursion that was enjoyed by students and teachers alike.

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Lauren Vilanova, Jane Finnimore, and Rebecca Sharpe
Music and Visual Arts