Year 7 Archibald Prize Excursion

Last Thursday Year 7 visited the Art Gallery of NSW to explore a variety of new and exciting art exhibitions. This year the excursion was slightly different, with the day split between the original South Building and the new North Building. Moving around the spaces in small groups, Year 7 explored a range of exhibitions, completing writing and drawing activities in response to what they observed.

In South Building, students viewed the iconic 2023 Archibald Prize, which also included the Wynne and Sulman prizes. Year 7 were very excited to see this exhibition as they recently completed a critical review of a portrait of their choice from this show. Students also went on an exciting treasure hunt in the Grand Courts, seeking out contemporary Indigenous artworks added to the 19^th and 20^th century European masters exhibition with the intention of bringing Indigenous perspectives into the telling of Australia’s history.

In the North building, students participated in an interactive and meditative clay activity. This was part of artist Kimsooja’s artwork ‘Archive of mind’ which forms the centrepiece of the ‘Making Worlds’ exhibition. Year 7 also explored ‘Dreamhome: Stories of Art and Shelter’, an exhibition revealing what 29 artists from Australia and internationally believe to be the idea of ‘home’. Finally, students sat out on the sunny deck to observe and re-draw Yayoi Kusama’s ‘Flowers that Bloom in the Cosmos’, re-interpreting the sculpture using flowers that had symbolic meaning to them.

– Camille Softley
Teacher – Design, Art and Technology (DART)

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