The Whitefriars Visual Arts Learning Area functions as a creative laboratory where students are facilitated by staff with a vast array of creative skills. Students are encouraged and supported to explore a broad range of media and disciplines.
The Visual Arts Learning Area at Whitefriars College is dedicated to developing the creative skills of students across the ‘Arts’ spectrum, as well as their academic skills in aesthetics, critical theory, and art history in order to enable students to represent their unique visions within the contemporary cultural environment. We endeavour to have students engage in painting, sculpture, video, photography, mixed-media and a host of new digital technologies along with the richness of the imagination and the diverse possibilities of a creative and engaging experience. Staff believe that what unites us all is a belief that the pursuit of knowledge and the power of creative arts contributes to the development of our consciousness. It also helps our students and aids us in optimally engaging the cultural, social, and political questions and conversations of our times.
For students in Years 10, 11 and 12 the Visual Arts Learning Area offer VCE subjects in Studio Arts, Visual Communication and Design, Media and Product Design Technology. An exciting range of visual subjects are available for junior students with a focus on innovation and creativity.
Our aims are to provide opportunities for students to:
• Enjoy turning ideas into reality
• Strive for successful outcomes
• Be creative and develop thinking skills
• Work independently and develop self-esteem
• To develop attitudes of curiosity, enquiry, initiative, ingenuity, resourcefulness
• Experience a range of different material areas
• Engage with a variety of art forms, to explore values, attitudes, feelings and meanings
• Develop the ability to create, appreciate and make critical judgements about the world in which we live
• Encourage students to work independently and willingly share creative experiences
• Increase active and independent involvement in cultural opportunities.
Through our activities we strive to:
• Stimulate total involvement and commitment from students
• Enable all students to succeed and develop self-esteem
• Show that learning can be fun and inspiring
• Encourage respect for other people’s contributions
• Challenge students to consider complex issues, thoughts, feelings and actions
• Help students to think in different ways and to use different forms of intelligence
• Open our students’ minds and hearts and assist in building a lifelong appreciation of the Arts.
