Arts Blast Workshops for Schools

Home is Where the Art Is, a Big Draw program, was held in March 2011 at Carclew as part of the Come Out Festival.

The workshops provided opportunities for almost 100 Year 5/6 students from Eden Hills Primary, Mawson Lakes School and Magill Primary to participate in day-long visual arts workshops with professional artists, James Parker and John Whitney.

Inspired by the Come Out theme of Belonging, students utilised an array of visual arts techniques and mediums (many recycled) to create their own distinctive dioramas - 'a modelled miniature world where their favourite things and wildest imaginations co-exist'. The students created everything from imagined worlds in space to their favourite sports activities and a popular choice with many was an artistic representation of their favourite room at home.

At the conclusion of the workshops, the artists wove their magic, building almost 100 dioramas to shape a dramatic installation in the DECS Centre Gallery, which was on display for the duration of the Come Out Festival.

Home is Where the Art Is workshops offered a unique opportunity for the participating students to spend a day at magnificent Carclew house – the perfect setting for creating and making.

‘Home is Where the Art Is’ was a highly valuable program to have my class involved in. It was very beneficial when the artists visited our school and shared art work, giving students and myself a strong headset of what we needed to do to prepare for the day. The students were fully engaged and the whole day workshop was extremely well organised with ample resources and support for the students who all produced work to their full potential. Thank you.’
Teacher, Mawson Lakes School

Big Draw - Yorke Peninsula Tour

In 2010 Carclew and Murray Bridge North Schools partnered to deliver the Big Journal – Big Draw Creative Education Partnership – an intensive artist residency with a focus on drawing. The 5-week residency was lead by highly-skilled and experienced visual artists, James Parker and John Whitney and went on to win the international Drawing Inspiration Award (Campaign for Drawing, U.K.).

The artists and Arts & Education Program Manager, Leigh Mangin felt strongly that the award money would be put to good use by offering the Big Draw experience to regional schools with limited access to these types of arts experiences.

As part of the annual Arts Blast program, the team planned a week-long tour to two schools on the Yorke Peninsula, in November 2011. James and John developed and lead two days of intensive workshop activity with Yr 4 – 7 students at Curramulka Primary followed by three days at Yorketown Area School with a group of Yr 7 -10 students with a keen interest in drawing.

The Big Draw workshops at each of the two schools were tailored to each of the groups and included a diverse variety techniques and mediums: dry-pointing, sketching, collage, mono-printing, rubbings and Japanese-style bookmaking. Students at Curramulka explored the theme of their township and in Yorketown the secondary students explored the local environment while recording and interpreting significant flora.

A highly successful and rewarding week packed with great arts and education outcomes - for the students, teachers and artists.

'The school felt very lucky to have such a sophisticated, yet accessible program here at Curramulka. A privaledge, thank you!'
Principal, Curramulka Primary School

'...it [the project] further reinforced our commitment to spreading the word...the importance of drawing for everyone.'
John Whitney (artist)

'The kids at Curramulka Primary were very proud and excited to show John and I their town... the small aspects were just as important as the vast horizon and were just as interesting to draw. The kids instilled in their drawings something of that - the bigness and smallness of Curry...'
James Parker (artist)