I attended the Zart conference day 2.
It was wonderfully enriching to be surrounded by other art educators as it always is.
Highlights included Jasmine crisps drawing workshop. She was incredibly open, generous and wise. The simplicity but considered nature of the approaches to the 3 drawings activities left me feeling so inspired.
Hearing Peter speak so frankly about the state of the education system and the way art can be so powerful
In the space was validating and affirming
Public Noticeboard
ZART Conference
REFLECTION ON KEYNOTE ADDRESS by MARIKIT SANTIAGO
I found the artist’s explanations of her process and influences fascinating, particularly her discussion of her installations. She uses second hand, discarded mannequins, covered in packaging tape to reference moving, relocation and also the victims of war in the Phillipines, whose heads were bound in packing tape. She is interested in exploring how we perceive value and when items have religious reverence placed upon them. Her installation works are impressive in their intertwined and complex themes.
Santiago’s paintings that explore her multi-cultural identity, religious iconography and her experiences in motherhood were especially impactful. I thought it was so interesting that she felt most comfortable in her body when pregnant, that she loved herself the most in this state. The use of her old wedding dress in a sculptural work – how it was folded and scrunched, with paper materials added resulted in perhaps my favourite work. Here again, she explored the value of items. The wedding dress, traditionally such an important symbol, combined with disposable items. What a statement!
Also very interesting is her habit of discarding works. Her entire practice seems to embrace this notion of playing with the temporal nature of things, such as how she now chooses to paint exclusively on cardboard. She is not concerned with the conservation of her work; she wants it seen now.
2024 2 Day Zart Conference
Grateful for the 2 Day Zart workshop with fellow AENT members. Day 1 ink explorations were interesting and a challenge which I will further explore. The supplies were a treat also! The Day 2 Guest Speaker Peter O’Connor was brilliant, engaging and thoroughly enjoyable and poignant. The colour pencil workshop with Jasmine Crisp was fun, relaxing and exploring different spontaneous techniques with the lovely tools an enjoyable session also. The encouragement, techniques and helpful tips is something that we can all use in our art practices and classrooms. Thanks AENT for this opportunity.
ZART Conference Day 1 2024
Marikit Santiago’s Keynote was the highlight for me on day 1. Her energy and the way she incorporates her role as a mother into that of being an artist rather than having those as separate. We have a larger number of Philipino students who I think would relate well with Marikit’s art and her cultural perspectives.
I enjoyed Fiona McMonagle’s portrait workshop, mostly just using the different types of watercolour papers and just allowing ourselves to play. The ZART conference is a fabulous collaborative experience and a good excuse to get Territory Art Educators together and sharing practice.
Zart Conference 2024 Reflection
This was my time attending the Zart Conference. I was inspired by the artistic journey taken by keynote speaker Marikit Santiago. I admired her honesty and vulnerability as she revealed some of her early works, and spoke of the financial challenges of being an artist in Australia. I think including her children as co-creators of her artworks is an innovative (and brave) move. Day 1 closing address by Daniel Browning got me thinking about gaze and power. I aim to include some of his chosen artworks in my future 5/6 program. I confess to a mini crush on Prof Peter O’Connor as he spoke about imagination and the importance of ‘keeping it warm’ as children grow and move through the education system. I even wrote him an email to thank him for his address and to invite him to speak at a conference in Darwin sometime . (I was so excited to receive his reply the next day!)
I enjoyed the wearable art workshop delivered by Tania (although I still need more practice with gel plate printing). I will be incorporating ideas and techniques used by Francesca in her soft sculpture workshop. I’d never considered using textas or watercolours on fabric. They are so vibrant and accessible.
ZART ART 2025
Thank you once again to AENT for supporting us to attend this always inspiring annual event!
My overall takeaway was the wealth of references to learn more about, from Peter O’Connor and Daniel Browning – exciting.
“When we think, feel and embody other possibilities we can imagine ways to change our world for the better”.
Peter’s work really resonates with how I initially got into teaching and reminded me of the IBO ethos of education, (where I started my teaching career) and that there was nothing stopping me from working these concepts into my current classes. It is so important that students learn to see multiple perspectives on any single topic. I missed quite a bit of Peter’s presentation due to connectivity issues – if anyone has some notes they could share with me of people and topics he mentioned, I would be most grateful!
Daniel very articulately spoke about issues that would resonate with many of my students.
It was a reminder to use artists and artworks in my English teaching as well to create a space for my students to present their own voice in their writing and artwork.
I am going to more consciously provide a space for my students to comment on the spaces they occupy and create spaces that they can occupy
From the 2nd day’s closing speakers my takeaways were:
• ideas for EAL/D speaking – poetry slams
• Autonomy, competence and belonging: foster students to answer these things about themselves
• Explore these guest artists’ work and use in my teaching
• Representing diversity in our teaching content
• A place for every story and a story for every place
Workshops:
1) Re-thinking the portrait: Fiona McMonagle | Re thinking the portrait
Ink is a medium I love to work with. This session really inspired me to go back to it and to also use it more with my students and allow them to explore it’s possibilities. Currently in line with my own goals of animating drawings with students. Will need to explore her work.
2) Kirthana Selvaraj: Figurative Expressions.
A wonderful experience of using water-based oils for the first time and enjoying the simple pleasures of just painting. A wonderful medium I can use with my EAl/D students and self-portraits being a constructive context to set goals, self-esteem and develop literacy.
Unfortunately, I was at work and missed actually doing most of the practical, but I am determined to do the activities in the holidays.
I am going to paint these holidays! 😊 (teaching English for the last two years, I haven’t done as much as I would have like to)
Art Empowered
My conference standout was definitely Peter O’Connor. I have recommended him to others and will rewatch his keynote. I loved his philosophy that students need us to teach Empathy and Hopefulness. In our current world this is needed more than anything. He spoke of how this has the potential to be the antidote to war. Peter’s passion for the role of the Arts is so important and the power of engagement, problem solving, critical thinking, and creativity the arts provides is essential. His exercises around imagination I found inspiring and thought provoking.
One of the practical workshops I will take into my teaching practice was Kirthana Selvaraj: Figurative Expressions. I didn’t realise it was oil painting which generally I am not a fan of, but I really enjoyed it. The limited colour palette was great as we literally made our own black! It made me see that this is possible in the classroom, as I have some yr 9 painters I would like to extend with this medium. The process reminded me of Wayne Thiebaud using blues as shadows. I was surprised how well the oils blended and I expected it to be a much slower process, I didn’t think this could be completed in an hour.
Of course catching up with everyone was great and responding to the keynote’s together was so much more rewarding than if you did it at home alone.
Zart 2024
I attended Day 1 of the Zart Conference at Dripstone Middle School. The paper clay trophy making session with Bonnie Hislop was a highlight and a great introduction to working with this material. Her works are inspiring and the idea of creating trophies to celebrate everyday achievements is especially fun and relatable to all students.Of course it’s always nice to catch up with other art educators and to relocate for a day.
Zart Art Conference 2024
The day started with an inspirational talk by Marikit Santiago. She shared a candid account of her studio practice and connection to culture. She stated, “Work is more powerful when it comes from a personal space.” Marikit described her painting collaboration with her children, “Their voices are important”. I observed how they applied line patterns to her paintings and would like to create a student group shape and pattern project. The ink portrait workshop with Fiona was enjoyable playing with the unpredictable inks. She described many ways of working with inks and the importance of having a solid drawing as a starting point.
Zart Conference 2024
What a fantastic conference. I got lots out of this and will definitely try and come again next year.
My biggest take-away today is from Harriet Body’s workshop, Practice, Practice and that is that I can say ” I am an artist.” I am a busy working mum with three children who all play sport and do extra curricular activities. So don’t find that much time to Practice. I often struggle with the notion of “If you don’t practice you are not an artist.” But after listening to Harriet’s views on conceptual art and the view that teaching is art. I can shout out that “I am an Artist.” I sew, I Knit, I draw, I paint, I collect, I choreograph, I plan, I design, I do stop motion, I sculpt, I do photography , I screen print but the process that takes most my time and what I find to be most passionate about is the art of teaching. Thanks Harriet for allowing me to call myself an artist.
I really enjoyed Peter O’Conner and resonated with the views about imagination.
1. It is the bridge between the past and the future.
2. Without imagination there is no future.
3. The space in between imagination and knowing is where the rich learning happens.
4. Imagination sits at the center of Hope.
5.Imagination is to see ourselves as others, Empathy.
I will take to my classroom lots of activities that I have learnt. I will also try and do a PD for the other teachers and get them to either do an embroidery classroom or a classroom trophy.
Notes on Zart 2024 Conference
This year’s conference was a pleasure to attend at the STEAM Centre, Dripstone Middle School. Onsite at Dripstone AENT had 16 member participants on Day one and 11 on Day two. What a pleasure it was to engage and cross pollinate with Visual Arts professionals from Primary, Middle Years, and Senior stages – while being exposed to artists, academics, and researchers – who acknowledge the importance of Visual Arts in education in Australia.
The keynotes were highly informative. On Day One Marikat Santigo, a contemporary Australian artist of Filipino descent shared her artmaking process and inspirational focuses: identity, mythology, faith, motherhood, and perception of value. So lovely to have such an up-close and personal talk by a living Australian artist who shared her triumphs and frustrations of balancing artmaking, family and her career. Marikit was raw about it “being tough being an emergent artist”, and that she was focused on publicly sharing works through institutional shows where she could express her personal artistic motivations without being driven to sell to private collections – particularly as the content of her work is very personal and family based. I have been following Marikit’s artwork for the past couple of years, and it was very insightful to hear her flesh out her inspirations and symbolic intentions.
On Day 2 NZ academic Peter O’Connor talked about the power of imagination and the need for Arts to be central to education. He articulated how our human survival requires empathy which imagination and Arts educations engages us in. He commented, “When we think, feel and embody other possibilities we can imagine ways to change our world for the better” highlighting how imagination sits at the centre of hope. Peter’s presentation was uplifting and refreshing as it acknowledged the importance of Arts Education. He also shared lots of great research suggestions.
Workshops:
I participated in Rethinking the Portrait with Fiona McMonagle and Colour Pencil Revival with Jasmine Crisp. Both are contemporary female Australian artists which I pleased to now be acquainted with. Fiona has developed a very personal style to using inks and watercolours, and her process, although difficult to follow through the live video, was very interesting. I was not particularly successful in my first attempts in her manner, however the workshop was a great opportunity to try out washes and layering techniques on paper. Jasmine’s workshop explored the simple pencil through drawing activities designed to loosen up and ready the artist for making, and which could be used often as warm ups and for preparatory potential for future artmaking. This workshop was highly enjoyable as Jasmine is a natural and generous teacher.
The closing sessions included Daniel Browning who presented on important indigenous artworks and questioned where power sits with them? The Day 2 closing panel of artists held a great discussion on how the Arts empower – highlighting the value of artists, artmaking and again…Arts in education.
Zart Art Conference Day 1
On Monday, 16th September, I attended Day 1 of the Zart Conference held at Dripstone Middle School. The keynote address by Marikit Santiago was both engaging and highly informative, offering valuable insights into her artistic practice. I also participated in the ink portrait session, where I had the opportunity to explore a variety of techniques and experiment with new approaches. One of the highlights of the day was connecting with fellow art educators from various Darwin schools, exchanging ideas, and discussing our shared experiences in teaching.
zart conference reflection
Attending the Zart conference was a great experience for me. I came away with a renewed appreciation for art’s role in education and its power to foster dialogue and inclusivity. The conference reinforced how art serves as a universal language, bridging gaps and connecting us all.
After listening to Marikit’s wonderful opening session I was thinking about how I can get my Year 1-2 students to discuss and represent their cultural identities in the classroom and how important it is to reflect diverse perspectives in our art programs. This not only validates students’ experiences but also fosters a stronger sense of belonging and engagement.
One of my key takeaways is the importance of making art accessible to every student. By providing opportunities for personal expression and cultural exploration, we help students connect with their own backgrounds and appreciate others’.
I also loved, and will remind myself in my own art practice, to “Let go of any ideas of perfection!”, as quoted by Fiona Mc Monagle. She really inspired me to play around with the inks I have in the back of my cupboard.
As I return to my teaching, I’m inspired to continue to use art as a tool for understanding and celebrating diversity, ensuring that every student feels seen and valued in their creative journey.
NVAEC 2023
Given I have been outside of the art and classroom space for some time it was such an enticing experience getting to see key notes in person. Tony Albert was such a standout, his generosity and passion left me wanting to start a standing ovation. When I return to the art classroom he will absolutely be a the top of my list for artist to investigate.
In terms of application to my classroom practice in a casual capacity (at Milkwood) the break out session creative starting points with Nicole Barrikat offered such wisdom in her invitation to play. All of the drawing activities and ideas ignited something in me as a creative that I haven’t experience for a while. the first invitation was so simple but perhaps my favourite, the artist places groups of. randoms object on table to be collected in silence and to simply start arranging them, then you were invited in silence to collaborate with others. I will be adding these ideas and inspiration straight my arsenal as they would be perfect for any year level. Overall being able to particulate in this conference with other AENT members was a major factor in having such an enriching experience.
NVAEC24
The 2024 NVA conference was even more inspiring than I had anticipated. My highlights were Tony Albert’s keynote, the workshops, “repositioning our schools” by Pasi Sahlberg (on the state of education today and big picture learning) and Wonderschool at the Columbus Museum of Art. This project places preschoolers and preservice educators in the gallery and museum environment as “upstanders” of the community. I thought this was such a brilliant concept and creates a setting where adults can learn lessons from tiny little humans. Critical thinking encourages creativity here and these are skills of the future which lie in Art education, an area I am very passionate about. Creativity is a starting point for innovation, which is why Art is an increasingly important subject in our rapidly changing world. The workshops I selected were based around creative starting points and drawing connections in the gallery, which have inspired me to do things differently with my students, and, at times, allow process to be emphasized instead of finished products, in order to allow deeper learning without fear of failures and the ability to learn through experience and others, collaboratively. I will definitely take these lessons into my classroom immediately, and they are a stimulating way to start the year.
NVAEC 2024 Highlights
NVAEC 2024 was a rich and robust conference. A highlight for me were the rich and open conversations with art educators both international and Australian. The tone of the three days was set with an opening series of provocations or statements which encouraged introductions and free conversation between the delegates.
Highlights included the key note from Tony Albert. He spoke of the importance of diversity at the table of institutions and places of power, and emphasised that whilst one seat at the table may not enable change, it was important for that voice to be heard and ideas noted. He was inspiring and engaging.
Kellie Cole delivered a key note as the co-curator of the current Emily Kam Kngwarray exhibition around the importance of collaboration with community. This is a must see show if given the chance.
I have come away with an intent to create opportunities for more play and experimentation with process and ideas to foster creativity in my classes.
NVAEC: National Visual Art Education Conference
Attending the National Visual Art Education Conference was a transformative experience, rich with opportunities for learning and networking. The warmth and eagerness to share among participants fostered a collaborative environment that enhanced the overall experience. The lineup of keynote speakers was truly remarkable, each bringing a unique perspective and expertise to the forefront. From the insightful presentations of Brooke Minto, Jennifer Lehe, Ming Wong, Tony Albert, Kelli Cole, Pasi Sahlberg, to the innovative approaches shared by Associate Professor Andrew Meares, the conference offered a comprehensive view of Visual Art Education’s significance in the curriculum and beyond.
The plethora of workshops presented a dilemma of choice, each promising valuable insights. Personally, attending the Lines of Connection and Art Through Culture workshops provided practical strategies and methodologies applicable across various subjects. However, it was Jennifer Lehe’s workshop that stood out, offering inspiring pedagogical approaches to nurture creativity and civic capacities in the classroom.
The conference wasn’t just about intellectual stimulation; it also catered to the senses with delicious catering and a memorable dinner accompanied by live music, fostering an atmosphere buzzing with excitement and camaraderie. Overall, the conference was a holistic experience that not only enriched professional practice but also left lasting memories of camaraderie and inspiration.
As I reflect on the conference, I can’t help but feel privileged to have attended such a transformative event. The knowledge gained, connections made, and experiences shared have left an indelible mark on my professional journey. I eagerly anticipate the opportunity to attend again in the future, knowing that each iteration of the conference will offer new insights and opportunities for growth.
Inspiring Conference
Inspiring three days
During the conference I met some amazing educators from Australia and around the world, creating invaluable contacts. Taking part in the workshops and listening to the keynote speakers was inspiring. I presented my research on the importance of material handling, which generated thoughtful discussion. My favourite part of the gallery was the sculpture garden including the James Terrell immersive sculpture within without.
Full of Possibilities from NVAEC 2024
NVAEC 2024 overflowed with joy and possibilities. It was so wonderful to connect with Art Educators from across Australia and abroad. It was an excellent opportunity to foster relationships with Art Educator Associations from other states and discuss our unique contexts, and also the common threads we all have.
As a workshop presenter at the conference it was a chance to share some of the research and development that I have been doing in the NT regarding the teaching of idea generation with educators from a variety of different locations and contexts. The experience resonated with the participants and was validating for me, and has inspired me to keep following this path in 2024. I am excited to develop this as a workshop for AENT members later in the year. Tony Albert’s keynote was a stand out for me, the generous advocate nature of his practice was very impactful. I caught up with an ex student who was working in the curatorial team at NGA and now a lecturer at ANU. It is so lovely as a teacher to see the heights our students can reach, and just a further reminder the importance of what we do as Art Educators.
Zart Conference 2023 The Art of Wellbeing
Zart Conference 2023 The Art of Wellbeing, recap.
I had seen some of Patricia Piccinini’s work before but had never really explored the meanings and messages behind it. My initial reaction to her work was shock and feelings of discomfort but after hearing her explain the works and the connections between animals and humans and the references to motherhood and caring, really gave me a new perspective towards her work. I now see the beauty (and the sadness) of her work. It was also interesting to know that it takes a team of 6 people to create one of her works.
Henry Ward, wow! It was so inspiring listening to Henry Wards teaching practice. I loved hearing about his out of the box ideas/practice and real-world applications. It was also a good reminder to allow students more time to just ‘play’ within art and the value of collaboration. I would love to be a student in Henery Ward’s class!
I found John Goh’s perspective on teaching really interesting as he’s doing the opposite of what we are currently being instructed to do.. It’s always being pushed in territory schools that explicit English and Maths needs to be incorporated in every subject area including art and design however, at Merrylands east they have a big focus on incorporating art into all other subject areas to better teaching and learning. I enjoyed hearing about their collaboration with the MCA.
I need to live this art life!
‘I need to live this art life!’ was a quote from Kirli Saunders, a speaker on the final panel. It sums up this awesome conference with even more awesome NT participants! This is now a highlight of the year, which never disappoints. The goodie boxes are so exciting and Patricia Piccinini was so lovely to start off the program. Her questioning of what it is to be human is beautiful and I love showing her sculptures to my students, so it was fabulous to hear her talk about her own work this way and HOW she actually creates. I loved the workshops I picked and my big takeaway was be aware of camera angles distorting size, as on day one our clay sculptures were a bit too big. John Goh from Merrylands primary touched my soul in how he valued art in education, and his life changing excursions to the MCA. Highly recommend this fabulous opportunity to others next year. Thank you so much for this AENT 🥰
inspiration and rejuvenation…Zart Conference
Another Zart conference… Listening, doing, meeting and being inspired. Nothing more wonderful than learning…
Amazing key note speakers inspiring us by sharing their thoughts and ideas and great artists showing us their work practice ideas and methods. Loved Patrica Puccini’s story of how an art teacher inspired and encouraged her and to be reminded of the rewards of focus and attention when making art.
Fabulous 2 days that has left me rejuvenated, encouraged and inspired.
Zart Conference 2023 Day 1
ZART Conference reflection- Jane Kennedy
Day 1
Patricia Piccinni Keynote talk
Patricia Piccinini’s contemplation of the significance of care and empathy within her artistic works resonated profoundly, particularly in our contemporary context. I had previously attended talks delivered by Piccinini, where her focus delved into genetic mutations and the moral quandaries entwined with genetic engineering. During a past presentation to senior secondary students across two Catholic high schools, I witnessed her knack for propelling viewers to question personally held moral perspectives in a manner that was profound and effective.
When first encountering her sculptural works, one might initially be captivated by the unsettling nature of her visuals. The hybrid human chimeras she portrays, often engaging affectionately with ordinary humans, challenge us to venture beyond our comfort zones. This encourages a deeper exploration of the emotions associated with empathy and the essence of humanity itself. Piccinini’s ability to evoke these reflections through her art is both powerful and thought-provoking.
Work Shop
Christian Bonnet: Fun Clay Cars
The ceramics workshop led by Christian Bonnet proved to be a valuable experience. Christian’s passion for integrating classic cars into art was obvious, and it was genuinely captivating to witness his artwork firsthand.
The workshop methodically guided participants through the intricate process of crafting a clay car, breaking it down into comprehensible stages. We began with constructing the chassis, progressing to the sides, roof, and bonnet, and finally, embellishing the vehicle with distinctive features like a bumper bar, lights, and tires. For my project, I opted to recreate a vintage Ford F truck pickup, characterized by its blocky and boxy design—perfectly suited for the task at hand.
Reflecting on this experience, it brought to mind my previous attempt years ago when I endeavoured to create clay cars with a design class of year 8 students. That assessment task required students to conceptualize and design a toy car, including the production of technical drawings as an integral part of the design process. Building the clay cars at that time was a somewhat haphazard endeavour, with varying degrees of success.
If I were to undertake a similar project with my class in the future, I would unquestionably employ Christian’s technique for constructing clay cars. The step-by-step stages of crafting these miniature vehicles are easily graspable, making it an ideal choice for middle school students.
ZART Conference Reflection
Patricia Picinnini, what an inspirational artist! The highlight of the two-day online workshop was the keynote speaker Patricia Piccinini, her passion for illustrating care as the central point of her work and the reasons why were fascinating. I now have a greater understanding of her essential work promoting understanding and nurturing of the world. Followed closely by the keynote speaker Henry Ward, and his validation of giving students freedom and space to create their art, his recognition of the ideas machine (2009) as a process for creating art, Gather, Masticate, Digest, Eureka, and Reveal. He also discussed why building student’s confidence and resilience through the art process is as important as the final result. The principal John Goh’s keynote speech was insightful about how a school can be improved when a principal takes the potential of rich deep learning through art and design seriously, his school’s connection with the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney is a stellar example of community collaboration. Their four-day art museum “camps” for students are inspirational! I completed the Keith Burt painting and the Julia Gutman montage workshops. Julia Gutman was delightful in communicating her art process and why her slow process of layering is so appealing to her.
Rethinking Starting Points
I attended day 2 of the conference and was impressed with the change of venue allowing more space for collaborative conversation and room to create art. The keynote by Henry Ward was a highlight for me, as a senior Visual Arts teacher this open conversation about fostering authentic creativity and original concepts for their artwork was inspiring. We participated in the Julia Gutman Collage Portrait workshop, which was a lot of fun.
With another colleague who also attended the conference we have created a new resource for the start of idea generation as a result of Ward’s robust examples.
2023 Zart Conference Reflection
I love Zart conference and I love attending with AENT. There are so many good take aways from the Zart conference. I love that we get together in a shared space, it gives us the time to chat about art and teaching art.
Patricia Piccinini was an exceptional key note, speaking at length about her personal art practice and even mentioning the guiding influence of her high school art teacher. Reflecting with peers about ideas and topics that came up during the key note sessions was valuable.
It is fun doing the break out sessions together and I love looking at what other people chose and how their session went.
This year I did Alex Karaconji: Visual Storytelling. In this session Alex lead us through various exercises to create emotion through line and media choice. We then had to make a comic strip depicting an ordinary, mundane occurrence or task. I was out of my comfort zone and learnt so much and came away with a successful comic strip. I will definitely incorporate the comic strip ideas I learnt into my future programming.
ZART 2023
The ZART conference has become an annual highlight for AENT members. It is an opportunity to engage in a National Conference, but in the comfort of our backyard. This year CDU generously allowed us to use venues on Casuarina Campus where we collaborated with Pre-Service Education students who are studying the Arts for their teacher training. This was a great opportunity to share with student teachers and a professional networking for our Association members.
The conference itself was jam packed as always. The Day 1 keynote was really fascinating as Patricia Piccinini unpacked the evolving concept of care and empathy underpinning her artworks. Her meticulous descriptions and gradual development through the evolution of her practice gave me a much richer understanding of her incredible, yet at times confronting sculptures and installations. There is so much packed inside these artwork objects for viewers and students to explore – ideas around what it means to be human, what ethical roles we have when influencing changes in our environments, what should we care for in the world? And on a different note – I was intrigued that even after much international acclaim Patricia appeared wary about her own status and right to be an artist.
I participated in Andy Quilty’s drawing fundamentals where I was reminded of the value of drawing exercises and exploration of mark making. With Julia Gutman’s collage I developed a self-portrait collage built up with graduations of tone – reflective of her textile practice process. Both artmaking sessions were challenging and gave me the opportunity to stretch and develop my own making skills. I appreciated the opportunity to explore these with teaching peers and to have time to connect with my colleagues.
2023 ZART Conference Reflection by Veronica Hodges
2023 ZART Conference Reflection by Veronica Hodges
As a first time ZART Conference participant, I went in with an open mind to the opportunity to connect with other AENT members and be inspired by the presenters and Guest Speakers of this event online. The boxes of supplies were delivered to me promptly and I was impressed by the items received. Korin did a great job to secure a room for both days of the event to host the ZART Conference online and AENT provided some morning tea/coffee and food items to kick start the event.
Patricia Paccinini was the first Guest Speaker and she talked at length about her art and what it meant to be human with the ability of having empathy and care. Prompting me to consider “not art for art-sake” but what is it that I care about in my art, environmental care and personal purpose for my art?
I participated in the Mindful Felt Making with Norton Fredericks. I had never made felt before so enjoyed the creating, then slow stitching a “Power Word”. This concept was a great idea and how we applied that to our process to create a unique piece of work. I enjoyed the process for this and could apply this to my practice in a lot of ways.
Day 2 the Guest Speaker was Henry Ward who had a lot of great experience and ideas for engaging students to create their own ideas for artmaking.
The workshop was creating a self portrait collage with Julia Gutman. This process was paper collage as way of expressing the skin tones in layers and overlaying either cut pieces or ripped pieces after an initial self-sketched portrait from a photo reference. The last part of the day was some discussions by other artists, their processes and question time. Overall, a very engaging, enjoyable couple of days learning with lots of great tools and supplies to use in our kits, practice and teaching methods. Highly recommend to all. Thanks AENT.
ZART Conference Women in Art
I attended the first day of the conference on September 12. As expected, as with all the ZART conferences and PL, it was rewarding, informative and gave the opportunity to learn new skills. I attended in person at the Durack community art space, which gave the opportunity to network and have some valuable conversations with other arts teachers. What perhaps was the most exciting thing was the box of goodies arriving in the mail, including a welcome pack and all the materials you need for the practical workshops. The workshop pack contained 3 sets of beautiful waxy crayons called, “Slicks” which were delightful to use with gorgeous colours. The practical workshop I participated in was the “Stitching” workshop. It is great to have workshops where you can try new materials which you wouldn’t normally order for your classes.
It was also a privilege to listen to Julie Rapp speak about her practice and extensive career as an academic and artist. I found it personally of interest to hear her speak about how her work reflects on the body she inhabits and about “the gaze” and the female body and how it is perceived in art. In my experience as a Visual and Creative arts teacher, I would definitely consider her as an artist to focus on for Stage 1 or for a student whose theme is about the body in their Visual Study.
Zart Conference 2022
Another fantastic year for the Art Educators of the NT attending the Zart Conference, this year the theme of ‘Women in Art’. Julie Rapp opened the first day of the conference as the keynote speaker, sharing insights and motivations about her at-making career. Part of her sharing that I found inspiring was around how her work is a personal response to the world around her. That as an artist she is not trying to summarise or categorise a response but rather it is a very human and personal reply. Similarly, the panel discussion on day two wove together female voices gently articulating their motivations as artists. Many of the voices sharing cyclical, family-oriented, and gentle touches to political, cultural, and global issues. Both sessions were very intimate and stirring for me as both artist and art teacher, the theme of Women in Art was very much held in strong foundations.
The hands-on sessions were also excellent, I participated in Dawn Tan’s Creative Water colouring – Snack time Party! workshop and Natalie Ryan’s Sculpting Stingrays workshop, both of which were a lot of fun and practical tasks I can take directly into the classroom. The Zart materials were of course another highlight of the conference!
ZART Coference 2022: Women in Art
This conference https://zartconference.com.au/program/ was jam packed full of information about contemporary Australian artists, art-making by women and fabulous workshops with women artists. Fortunately it was online, because I am down with a lurgy and would not have been able to participate in person with the other AENT members at the Durack Community Arts venue.
Highlights for me where the keynotes. The conference opened with Julie Rrap’s keynote. Julie noted EH Gombrich’s 1950 text The Story of Art and how not one female artist was represented. She also reminded us that 25% of National Gallery of Australia’s collection is by women artists and suggested that institutions consider ‘Deep Collecting’ of women artist’s works thoughtfully. She then went through an unchronological survey of some of her artworks. Her performative practice presents an ongoing commentary on historical artworks, reinterprets bodies – in particular female nudes (often using her own body) to challenge how women are presented in imagery. She creates artworks through a range of mediums –photography, painting, sculpture, performance and video. Her exhibition Loaded, would be a great one to share with Primary classrooms with extensive mark making explorations and references to Jackson Pollack. In this exhibition Rrap explored how images become part of culture and how all imagery is ‘loaded’ with context and meaning. I was really challenged by Rrap to make sure that I include and make obvious to students the inclusion of female artists in my future lessons.
The other fabulous keynote presentation was with Tai Snaith, a multifaceted, multitalented artist who interviewed 5 other female artists – Angela Tia Tia, Marikit Santiago, Kim Leutwyler, Julia Gutman, and Stanislava Pinchuk. I have come across artworks by many of these amazing artists in southern gallery visits, and to hear them talk so openly and thoughtfully about their practice was really informative and enriching. They all explore contemporary female experiences through varied practices – Julia Gutman uses donated textiles in sewn portraits – reminiscent of painting, Stanislava Pinchuk uses text and sculpture, Kim Leutwyler is portrait artist known for her progressive representations of gender and beauty, Marikit Santiago is a Filipina-Australian oil painter whose artworks are rich with cultural symbolism, and Angela Tia Tia is a multidisciplinary artist who explores contemporary culture, commoditisation of the body and neo-colonial themes. So awesome to become acquainted with these inspiring talents… whose artworks are challenging, changing and rewriting female art histories.
The hands-on workshops with Tania DiBeradino Draw and Stitch, Kyra Mancktelow Weaving were so restorative and generous. They were great introductions to techniques I would like to use in my Primary classroom, a chance to trial ZART materials and another opportunity to acquaint ourselves with two more fabulous female artists. Tania DiBeradino is a ZART artist educator who likes to explore traditional feminine crafts in contemporary considerations. Kyra Mancktelow is a First Nations artist that explores untold histories through traditional weaving and printmaking.
It was very confirming for me to listen to Cassie Stephans (online US arts educator, blogger – whom I have borrowed from and applied many art tips & videos) about how she developed her philosophy for a happy Art teacher – aligning teaching and creating. This is the philosophy I sketched out during her session:
I am here (teaching Art Class) because I know Art affects me and helps me think through my place in the world. I love to make and create, and explore connections and ideas through and with Art. I want you (students) to know that Art changes the world and that your creative contributions are part of that change.
The final session for the 2 days was a presentation by Cindy M Foley a US museum educator who outlined the vital need for creativity to be included in institutions – galleries, museums and schools! She quoted a number of authors’ works on creativity. The research work of Tony Wagner, Harvard – on how schools are missing the mark and that creativity declines as we get older; work by Susan Engle who wrote The Hungry Mind: The Origins of Curiosity in Childhood; and she quoted Edith Cobb author of The Ecology of Imagination in Childhood. Cindy’s work is aligned with the Harvard Zero Visible Thinking work which I have been applying in my classroom and at the Gallery through Thinking Routines. I would like to read some of the above books because they sound like they would compliment and support Visible Thinking ideas and help me foster more curiosity in my short hour long Art lessons.
A jam packed 2 days! I am already looking forward to the ZART Conference next year – hopefully in wellness with some of my peers. 🙂
Zart Conference 2022, Woman in Art
Wow!!! What a talented bunch of female and non-binary artist! I am feeling so inspired to be creative!
Speaker 1, Julie Raap. Julie has an impressive and extensive body of work that I wasn’t previously familiar with. I love the way she combines photography/film with other visual art mediums such as charcoal drawings. As well as the way she portrays numerous view points within a photograph, I found that really interesting. I was also pleased to see that she continues to use her nude image in her work despite now having a more mature aged body.
Speaker 2, Cassie Stephans. I had no idea Cassie was Instagram famous. If you are an art teacher definitely check her out for loads of class room tips! I especially liked how Cassie helped us during the session to come up with a one sentence statement that we can display in our class room, that lets our students know why we are there, why we teach. I will be implementing that in my classroom!
Artist Panel, hosted by Tai Snaith. I thoroughly enjoyed discovering and learning about these 6 talented female and non-binary artists. It was interesting to hear about how each artist in their own way is responding to how women have historically been poorly treated in Art. Also, their stories and struggles to get to the point of finally accepting themselves as an artist and that that could be a career choice.
Speaker 4, Cindy M Foley. Cindy has done extensive research around how to foster creativity in our young people. I found it interesting her comment around schools and teachers getting bogged down by content, content, content and the data, standardized testing etc, that we are “teaching” the creativity out of our students. We need to foster WONDER, CURIOSITY and QUESTIONING! “Imagination is more important than knowledge” Albert Einstein.
Workshop 1, Sue-Ching Lascelles. Aussie Icons (fabric soft sculpture). See images in Gallery.
Workshop 2, Gemma O’Brien. Paint your Pronouns (mixed media). See images in Gallery.
Zart conference reflection
The highlight speaker for me was artist Julie Rrap. I considered myself quite familiar with her work however this presentation gave me so much information about works from her various exhibitions which really helped me understand her and value the work even more. I found her concepts so inspiring, particularly the way her work chronicles an aging woman in its self-portrait style, which brings another layer of meaning to the pieces. One of these recent works, Write Me (2022) had a powerful quote: “when we are silentwe are still afraid, so we are better to speak.”
Having picked two sculptural workshopsI thoroughly enjoyed doing these with other members of the AENT and would not have found them as satisfying by myself. Being able to exchange ideas and laugh with small failures meant this exercise was even more rewarding. One of the takeaways from the talks for me was that in teaching Art you can inspire and teach techniquesbut students need to find the drive within, so an important part of this process is to “create desire in oneself”- self motivation, and help students to do this. “You can’t use up creativity, the more you use the more you have.” (Maya Anderson)
Another quote which I found powerful was: “creativity is the process of using imagination and critical thinking to generate new ideas that have value.” This was the final speaker of the conference who also highlighted that non creativebehaviouris learned.
I loved these two days of professional development and will definitely try to participate next year.
Zart conference reflection
Cassies idea of aligning your own passions and practice with what is happening within the classroom was interesting to consider… both practical workshops were not only enjoyable but got me excited to teach again.
The panel discussions on day 2 was perhaps the most inspiring in term of being a female artist generally speaking. It was so enriching and Gave me lots of new artists to consider in future teaching units.
Nurturing Creativity – 2021 ZART Conference Reflection and Images
What were your best takeaways from the conference?
Overall I loved the two days! AND I thought it was very well organised, managed and presenters were eloquent and extremely articulate. I loved that speakers were honest, direct and shared so much about their experiences, as well as artwork. There is so much to talk about but as you guys were all there you know :). I was very pleased to hear the reinforcement of the ‘high expectations, high skills for indigenous kids’ from almost every speaker. At times I found myself gobsmacked at some of the comments from teachers in the chat boxes which is evidence of the need for more indigenous focused professional development for teachers. Thank you AENT for supporting this one! The accompanying downloads I found are a great asset for my future teaching and planning. The breakout sessions I attended were: Duf Leffler and Dominic White. Domonic, Maree and Vernon all made the point of ‘inspired and not copy’ which i think is a simple yet strong phrase for the classroom, – looking at concepts, intent and history. There was also a re-occurring mention of the need for truth telling. I loved that the presentations were prepared, well informed and authentic! I would like to hear about the Michele Davis session if anyone attended and would be happy to share?
What will you apply in your classroom or teaching practice?
I have certainly set myself some ‘homework’ delving deeper into the research and history addressed by Maree Clarke, Vernon Ah Kee and Dominic White, Kylie, Shelly and the Stronger Smarter Institution. It was Chris Sarra that first motivated me to go remote. On my to do list is to go back and finish the Stronger Smarter modules and become reacquainted with their ethos so that is it more at the forefront of my teaching. For me, these speakers were an overall re-set of where i started as an educator and getting back on that pathway with more learning and to keep bringing more artists and community members into the classrooms. This is often hard for teachers due to several systemic challenges but this was a reminder to keep persisting and also reassuring that I have sought out opportunities in the past despite the challenges.
Favourite quotes mentioned over the two days:
You have to make crap loads of art – Duf Leffler For me, this translates in the classroom to the importance of the Visual Diary and process. (and for myself as a ‘procrastinating artist’)
We can’t live in the past but the past lives in us – Charles Perkins
2021 Zart Conference Reflection by Korin Lesh
2021 ZART Conference Reflection and Images
Name: Korin Lesh
School: Millner Primary & Ludmilla Primary
I loved Maree Clarke’s keynote presentation about her artistic practice in Melbourne over the last three decades. During her presentation Maree took us through an artwork journey presenting her artworks from her jewellery maker beginnings, public artworks and recent installation practice. The chronology of her presentation revealed how Maree is such a significant figure in the recovery of southeast Australian Aboriginal art practices as she revives elements of Aboriginal culture that were lost due to colonisation. Her artworks include historical traditional elements such as the use of possum skin cloaks, kangaroo teeth and echidna quill necklaces, kopi mourning caps, and eel traps. These artworks are constructed by Maree with both traditional and contemporary materials including 3D printing, lenticular prints, photographs and glasswork. Her artworks are reflections on the lived reality and ongoing process of colonisation and contemporary aboriginality. In her keynote Maree spoke about her commitment to creating a memory and archive of historical and contemporary Aboriginal Art practices that will live on past her own practice. This interest in intergenerational memory through Art was confronting because of what has been forgotten in such a short period of time in Australia and inspiring because of what her and her family members have been able to revive, reinvigorate and share. Maree Clarke’s artworks are examples of contemporary culture making through art making. In the future I will definitely be referencing Maree Clarke’s art-making and artworks in my Primary Art program when exploring themes about place, culture and change.
Kylie Neagle’s break out session on ‘ATSI Art in the Classroom’ stepped participants through using ATSI artworks as starting points for art making responses. By exploring her text (provided by ZART) ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art in the Classroom’ (Art Gallery of South Australia, 2020) we applied a mind map to reveal possible themes and main ideas of artworks, their relationships to students and possible ways students could respond to the issues – without creating copies of the artist’s work. Kylie’s session and text highlights that ATSI artworks are artworks by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists – and that their art making is not restrained to historical conceptions of Aboriginality. Kylie wants educators to consider the potential for thoughtful responses to contemporary aboriginal artists and their artmaking. She suggests alternatives to responding to Aboriginal themes that delve deeper into themes and ideas that simple dot painting responses and clichéd historical imagery often ignores. Kylie highlights that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art is contemporary, dynamic and not just about the past but also possible futures.
Collaborative Clay Dry Season Art immersion
The Collaborative Clay Dry Season Art immersion short course gave 10 budding potters/ceramic artists the chance to realize the creative possibilities of hand built pottery. Under the expert tutelage of Gerald Clapham, we explored techniques including pinch pots, coiling and slabs. Day one started with hard labour grinding and sieving clay for a Terra Sigillata mixture, a surface slip used to seal and decorate pots by ancient Greeks and Romans. The mix was left to settle for a couple of days before we had to siphon off the usable liquid (yum).
Several days of building followed and individual projects included functional pieces, vases, bottles and plates. More organic forms included seed pods, and tropical flowers. The week of construction culminated in two alternative firings at Studio Elevenlee, Raku firing and smoke firing. Raku firing involved removing pots from the kiln and placing in containers filled with flammable materials such as saw dust and shredded paper. Smoke firing was in a converted steel rubbish bin and involved wrapping pots in a foil sagger filled with flammable materials and Gerald’s concoction of ‘swamp juice’. The danger and uncontrollable nature of these processes just made the results even more special and a real highlight to finish the course.
CDU Dry Season Immersion Course
The recent Adobe courses are CDU we’re both intense and valuable.
As the week went on the learning began to solidify much more and become something useful, not just a big scary unattainable program.
I feel much more confident to create using adobe and look forward applying many aspects of the course artistically and professionally.
Collaborative Clay Dry season workshop
The intensive ceramic workshop was a buzz of activity and artist camaraderie from day one. The students led by Gerald Clapham created a wide variety of hand-built ceramics. The course covered an in-depth introduction to Sager ware and the beauty of Terra Sigillata creation and application. The last day and a half were spent at Gerald’s studio, glazing and preparing pots for Sagger, Raku and electric kiln firing. The Sagger method involved wrapping the pots in two layers of foil with a variety of natural combustible materials such as seaweed and coffee, before placing in the kiln. The Raku ware was taken out of the kiln at a very high temperature and placed in a reduction container. This involved lots of exciting flames, billowing smoke, with safety rules and equipment. A big thankyou to Gerald for sharing his studio space and imparting so generously of his time and considerable ceramic knowledge.
CDU Art Immersion – Watercolour with Dr IanHance
Post By: Veronica Hodges
Contact Email: vrhodges@bigpond.com
Date: 19-08-2020 Time: 09:15 pm
Message:
This week long immersion was a thorough introduction for beginners into watercolour techniques. In the course, we learnt a great deal of colour theory, tools, paper and paints to use (and those to avoid), stretching water colour paper to a board, tonal values, flat wash, gradient washes, a variety of techniques to add textures and experiment. The course also enjoyed a morning at East Point to experience en plain air painting and sketching. From this experience we all completed a painting. A morning was also dedicated to spontaneous painting on a variety of papers. This course would suit anyone wanting to get a good grasp of watercolour techniques and painting.
2020 Dry Season Immersion Courses at CDU
Photoshop & Illustrator Course Reflection – for Korin Lesh, Amanda Rains, and Jane Kennedy
The week was certainly intensive for us. Korin Lesh, Amanda Rains, Jane Kennedy and Samantha Galletly all participated in a week jam packed full of the basics to help us get into Photoshop and Illustrator. Both software packages can be used for graphic design and digital art. Illustrator, we learnt, is a vector based editing software that can be applied to manipulate and create simple graphics that need to be printed or displayed at different sizes. We trialled a number of simple step-by step processes for editing and creating printable graphics. In the sessions related to Photoshop, we learnt how to modify already captured photos right down to individual pixels. We learnt different ways to apply filters, special effects and photo refining tools. Over the course it became apparent that it is so useful to know both programs as they can often be used together. In Photoshop its best not to add any text to an image because it can distort, while it is far easier to transfer edited images into Illustrator and add or manipulate into text there. After this week intensive we are far more familiar with the programs and feel we better understand which software will assist in possible Art projects in the future – although we are keen for more training! The week intensive – although huge- just scrapped the tip of the iceberg of the capabilities of both software packages.
Festival of Teaching – feedback from Lauren Wilson AENT Travel Grant recipient (PTANT Funded)
Image of Bronwyn Packwood in ‘Fantasy Maps’ session at 2019 FoT
Festival of Teaching
Lauren Wilson Bradshaw Primary School, Alice Springs
I had an absolute ball at the Festival of Teaching held this year in Darwin at Palmerston College. I can’t thank Art Educators NT enough for fantastic the opportunity to travel to Darwin this year and attend the festival. The Event was a fantastic day filled with a range of different learning spanning the curriculum as well as two engaging key note speakers.
I attended all four of the Art based workshops. All these workshops were fun, engaging and hands on. Veronica Hodges taught us the art of Gel Printing and how you can make your own gel plates, as well as incorporate a number of different found materials into our printing. Bronwyn Packwood showed us how we can incorporate other curriculum areas, such as history and geography into the art room with her session on fantasy maps. Alison Dowell taught us a new and exciting way to teach drawing portraits for students of all ages -including drawing, collage and mixed media materials. And to finish John Eaton from Oxlades showed us solarfast printing, and we were able to experimenting with a wide range of inks, dyes and mediums.
The event was also a great opportunity for remote art teachers, like me to meet and connect with other art educators in the Territory and be involved in practical art based professional learning. Thank you again Arts Educators NT for the opportunity to attend this event is has been the most valuable Professional development I have attended all year.
A personalised introduction to the Territory Wildlife Park for AENT members
This is a fantastic opportunity for teachers to get inside information from Jasmine Jan about what the Territory Wildlife Park has to offer children, art and teachers. AENT members will have free entry to the park. If families or friends want to join, they will need to pay to enjoy the day at their leisure outside of this event. Light refreshments provided. Please bring your own lunch and water – or purchase at the park.
Sunday 29th April free from 9 am until 1 pm
$10 for members
$20 for non-members
https://arteducators.nt.edu.au/product/a-personalised-i…for-aent-members/
2017 Teacher Reflection from FoT thanks to AENT (PTANT funded) TRAVEL GRANTS
Post By: Korin Lesh
Contact Email: korin.lesh@ntschools.net
Date: 13-09-2017 Time: 09:00 am
Message:
I would like to take this opportunity to thank AENT for supporting me in attending the Festival of Teaching in Darwin. It was a stimulating, informative and enriching experience. I had the opportunity to engage professionally with colleagues and contribute to collegial discussions. The workshops I attended gave me new content and teaching strategies that I will implement in my art classes. These experiences helped to broaden my knowledge of the Visual Arts and gave me new skills to improve my practice. As I live remotely having this opportunity to share and spend time with other art teachers was a rich and rewarding experience.
Thank you
Christine Jaya Regan
2017 Teacher Reflection from FoT thanks to AENT (PTANT funded) Travel Grants
I very much appreciate the opportunity to attend the Festival of Teaching and meet with other educators, particularly Art educators.
I have been working in remote NT for 3 years now and have not had the opportunity to engage with educators outside of my school. I found attending the workshops gave me the opportunity to reflect on my practice and also in some instances reassure me that I am doing my best to deliver equal opportunities to and have high expectations for my students.
Angelina Naidu
Come hang with us!
Post By: Korin Lesh
Contact Email: korin.lesh@ntschools.net
Date: 25-08-2017 Time: 06:30 pm
Message:
Come and join us to celebrate the opening of our 2017 members’ exhibition this Fri at DVAA!
2017 AGM at DVAA
Post By: Korin Lesh
Contact Email: korin.lesh@ntschools.net
Date: 18-08-2017 Time: 05:00 pm
Message:
5pm this afternoon is AENT’s 2017 AGM at DVAA (Darwin Visual Arts Association). Nibbles will be provided and drinks are available from the DVAA bar.
The AGM will be followed by our soft opening of ‘Out of the ART ROOM’ at 6pm!