Eastern Fleurieu School

Eastern Fleurieu School Strathalbyn R-6 is located in the Southern region of South Australia. With an enrolment of 440, the student body includes students from Anglo-Saxon, Aboriginal and Philipino cultural and linguistic groups. In recent years, the school has established a strong partnership with its indigenous community.

This has been achieved through the work of the Aboriginal Student Support and Parent Awareness Committee. As a result of the work of the committee, Aboriginal community members have been involved in workshops with local artist - Gaynor Hartvigsen and have explored, using the medium of the arts, to tell their personal individual stories. Furthermore, this has been embraced by all of the Aboriginal students at the school.

PROJECT COORDINATOR: Paul Steele

ARTISTS:

Gaynor Hartvigsen
Lorell Lehman
Bruce Long
Kim O’Donnell

PROJECT: School Mural

Aims:
Create an artistic representation of the core values and mission statement on which the school is built - being:

Excellence through unity;
Caring for ourselves;
Caring for each other;
Caring for the environment;
Raise community awareness of the importance of art within the school’s curriculum; and
Provide students with the opportunity to get to know and work alongside local artists.

The project also sought to further develop the links between the indigenous and non-indigenous community members by incorporating elements of indigenous art forms through a process of consultation.

The Artists:
Local artists Gaynor Hartvigsen (painter), Lorell Lehman (sculptor), Bruce Long (mosaic artist) and Kim O’Donnell (indigenous arts worker), each lead students through a range of artistic processes in the creation of the school mural.

Each artist brought specific skills and expertise to the mural project – providing students with the opportunity to access a wide range of visual arts approaches through the creation of one larger final work. This unique approach proved to be very successful and demonstrated the outworking of the school’s core value, “Excellence through Unity”.

The Process:
The mural was designed by a previous student of the school, as a result of a competition held for this specific purpose. In the initial stages, the artists worked closely with project coordinator, Paul Steele, to discuss the materials and to set out the design on the wall. The artists also liaised with local Aboriginal families regarding their contribution to the mural and the significance of the design.

Over an extended period, the students worked with the artists through a range of practical hands-on workshops exploring a range of art forms including mosaic, painting, pottery and the design process. During this time, classroom teachers often adopted aspects of the project outside of their art lessons. All of the students in the school made a clay cast of their hands, which featured as the canopy of the tree. Later, small groups of students worked with artist Gaynor Hartvigsen to paint the mural and at times were joined by members of local Indigenous families and Indigenous cultural worker Kim O’Donnell. The project provided practical experience of this art form from conception and design to execution and completion.

Outcomes:
The outcome of this project is a large mural at the entrance of the school that was created with paint, tile, clay and render. The mural encapsulates the 4 cornerstones of the school’s vision and incorporates elements of Indigenous art. Creating the mural brought the school community together and the process involved students, artists, school staff, parents and friends. The project demonstrated the power of collaborative, community effort and has created a lasting visual legacy for future generations.

The project was successful in encouraging 100% participation from students and there is a sense that the whole community ‘owns’ the final product. The school’s staff and community alike have applauded the students and artists for their efforts. The school is now making plans to continue its work with the community to upgrade the area surrounding the mural to create an outdoor performance stage.

Highlights:
The mural has made a huge visual impact and has been included in the council Town Art Trail - ensuring that the school community will continue to reap benefits of this project as other artists and tourists visit the school to share and celebrate the students’ achievements.

‘When I did the mural I thought that it was good… I like putting my hands in the clay and it feels good… The mural is very colourful and it has made me more interested in Aborigines and their culture… The mural is beautiful and it make me think more about the community and the other culture around me.’ Students

‘The completed mural will be a visual statement which will enrich the school community and foster an appreciation of art.’ Artist

‘The mural fascinated students as it grew. The tree leaves being students hands made of clay were of great interest as they found their hand on the mural. The figures were intriguing as children watched them gradually develop out of clay' Project Coordinator

440 students were involved in this project.

Eastern Fleurieu School

Artists in Schools

The Ark

Active8 Arts Artists in Schools Arts Blast CARGO Innovative Community Action Networks Playfull - Live Performance for Schools State of Play The ark - Artist Resource Kit CARGO Roxby Blog Previous Projects Links	Eastern Fleurieu School Eastern Fleurieu School Strathalbyn R-6 is located in the Southern region of South Australia. With an enrolment of 440, the student body includes students from Anglo-Saxon, Aboriginal and Philipino cultural and linguistic groups. In recent years, the school has established a strong partnership with its indigenous community. This has been achieved through the work of the Aboriginal Student Support and Parent Awareness Committee. As a result of the work of the committee, Aboriginal community members have been involved in workshops with local artist - Gaynor Hartvigsen and have explored, using the medium of the arts, to tell their personal individual stories. Furthermore, this has been embraced by all of the Aboriginal students at the school. PROJECT COORDINATOR: Paul Steele ARTISTS: Gaynor Hartvigsen Lorell Lehman Bruce Long Kim O’Donnell PROJECT: School Mural Aims: Create an artistic representation of the core values and mission statement on which the school is built - being: Excellence through unity; Caring for ourselves; Caring for each other; Caring for the environment; Raise community awareness of the importance of art within the school’s curriculum; and Provide students with the opportunity to get to know and work alongside local artists. The project also sought to further develop the links between the indigenous and non-indigenous community members by incorporating elements of indigenous art forms through a process of consultation. The Artists: Local artists Gaynor Hartvigsen (painter), Lorell Lehman (sculptor), Bruce Long (mosaic artist) and Kim O’Donnell (indigenous arts worker), each lead students through a range of artistic processes in the creation of the school mural. Each artist brought specific skills and expertise to the mural project – providing students with the opportunity to access a wide range of visual arts approaches through the creation of one larger final work. This unique approach proved to be very successful and demonstrated the outworking of the school’s core value, “Excellence through Unity”. The Process: The mural was designed by a previous student of the school, as a result of a competition held for this specific purpose. In the initial stages, the artists worked closely with project coordinator, Paul Steele, to discuss the materials and to set out the design on the wall. The artists also liaised with local Aboriginal families regarding their contribution to the mural and the significance of the design. Over an extended period, the students worked with the artists through a range of practical hands-on workshops exploring a range of art forms including mosaic, painting, pottery and the design process. During this time, classroom teachers often adopted aspects of the project outside of their art lessons. All of the students in the school made a clay cast of their hands, which featured as the canopy of the tree. Later, small groups of students worked with artist Gaynor Hartvigsen to paint the mural and at times were joined by members of local Indigenous families and Indigenous cultural worker Kim O’Donnell. The project provided practical experience of this art form from conception and design to execution and completion. Outcomes: The outcome of this project is a large mural at the entrance of the school that was created with paint, tile, clay and render. The mural encapsulates the 4 cornerstones of the school’s vision and incorporates elements of Indigenous art. Creating the mural brought the school community together and the process involved students, artists, school staff, parents and friends. The project demonstrated the power of collaborative, community effort and has created a lasting visual legacy for future generations. The project was successful in encouraging 100% participation from students and there is a sense that the whole community ‘owns’ the final product. The school’s staff and community alike have applauded the students and artists for their efforts. The school is now making plans to continue its work with the community to upgrade the area surrounding the mural to create an outdoor performance stage. Highlights: The mural has made a huge visual impact and has been included in the council Town Art Trail - ensuring that the school community will continue to reap benefits of this project as other artists and tourists visit the school to share and celebrate the students’ achievements. ‘When I did the mural I thought that it was good… I like putting my hands in the clay and it feels good… The mural is very colourful and it has made me more interested in Aborigines and their culture… The mural is beautiful and it make me think more about the community and the other culture around me.’ Students ‘The completed mural will be a visual statement which will enrich the school community and foster an appreciation of art.’ Artist ‘The mural fascinated students as it grew. The tree leaves being students hands made of clay were of great interest as they found their hand on the mural. The figures were intriguing as children watched them gradually develop out of clay' Project Coordinator 440 students were involved in this project.	Artists in Schools The Ark