Visual and Performing Arts

Year 12 student, Ava Murdoch (pictured below with her artwork, Xplor) is one of only 30 artists who have been selected from across Queensland for the Creative Generation 2022 Excellence in Visual Arts Awards exhibition. This is a prestigious award and Ava's work will be on display in the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) in May 2023.

Xplor investigates how the natural world shapes our human existence. Appreciating the natural world brings an enriched understanding of life. Travelling to different places, learning from different cultures provides a different perspective. A relationship and understanding of nature are important. Transient moments in nature become fossilised in our memories, forming who we are. These memories eventually fade and are reconstructed until they no longer resemble their original form. Like our memories, the natural world is in a constant state of fragility and flux. We are forever bound to coexist and must care for the natural world.

Ting Jiang (Year 9) won the Next Gen Under 18 section of the Brisbane Portrait Prize 2022 for her artwork Tongue Tied. The Exhibition, at the Brisbane Powerhouse during October, showcased 60 artists who were selected as finalists including 56 entrants from the main competition and four from the Next Gen Competition. This is an outstanding achievement by this passionate art student who at the age of 14 has demonstrated commendable focus and commitment to developing her painting techniques through her art studies and the cocurricular painting workshops offered at St Peters.

JULIE SEIDEL Cocurriculum Leader The Arts VAPAr, The Visual and Performing Arts Revue, focuses on bringing Art, Drama, Film Television and New Media, Music and Fashion together in one event to celebrate the cultural qualities of a St Peters Arts education. Students have worked through challenges, developed and extended their skills and formulated a deeper understanding of the Arts through the process of making works that were screened, exhibited and performed. The red-carpet event in the amphitheatre, hosted by Year 11 students, Tabby and Han, opened with a final roll call for Year 12 Visual Art and Film students. Film and Television Awards were presented and student achievements in the Creative Generation Program and the Brisbane Portrait Prize were acknowledged. The Jazz Combo and Guitar Ensemble performed, energising the event. The screening of a diverse collection of student films continued throughout the event. The theatrical performance, The Picture of Dorian Gray, impressed audiences. Positive reviews noted that performances were ‘professional, polished and mature’ with the insightful direction by Bradley Chapman clearly evident.

"In an accomplished self-portrait, Ting has managed to communicate her concept and feelings with this outstanding work. Her articulation of her experiences as an immigrant and ability to communicate a sense of muteness through imagery displays a level of sophistication beyond the artist's years." Jenna Baldock, Next Gen Judge

BRADLEY CHAPMAN Cocurriculum Leader Drama To stage this work, the cast of 30 had to push themselves emotionally and physically whilst grappling with the plays complex dramatic meanings, questioning the very nature of life and humanity. The cast more than rose to the occasion, and audiences raved about the professional standards of their performances. Theatrical experiences at events like VAPAr benefit all students involved, not just those who aspire to a career in the performing arts. Research has repeatedly proven that theatre education has a myriad of other benefits. Through it, young people improve their capacity for empathy, self-expression, emotional regulation, creative thinking and problem solving, resilience, and self-efficacy. We hope to see audiences back for VAPAr next year!

The theatrical performance aspect of VAPAr is a rigorous process. Designed to challenge students’ performance skills, the process involves an audition in front of a panel followed by months of rehearsals and an intensive dress and tech week in the lead up to opening night. After a successful performance of the beloved Shakespearean comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2021, this year we changed gears to present the intense gothic drama, The Picture of Dorian Gray, based on the novel by Oscar Wilde. The play tells the story of a young socialite in 1890s London, who unknowingly enters into a Faustian bargain: his portrait, rather than his own body, will bear the physical effects of his sins and indulgences.