Have you ever seen a flinosaur or a squiraffe?

Grade 6 students who will be transitioning to the Senior Campus next year took part in an Art Experience during Orientation Day with Mrs Alicen Kaye. The session challenged the future Grade 7 students to use their imagination while drawing inspiration from animals in the world around them. This lesson explores Surrealism with a strong focus on the elements and principles of art, also linking cross-curriculum into Science. As students create their Surreal Creature they naturally engage with their peers in conversations about their drawings and get to know each other.

This lesson not only gives students a taster into the world of Art at Launceston Grammar but also breaks down social barriers and encourages their positive self-talk. Each student walks away from the lesson able to say “I can draw”. Several museums globally such as the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Tate Modern Gallery in London and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, offer an introduction to and exploration of surrealism for children and families. The interactive activities the museums offer encourage young people to not only explore different art styles but also art history, their own imagination, storytelling and their capacity to draw something out of the ordinary.

Grade 7 students at Launceston Grammar are fortunate to also have the tremendous asset at the Senior Campus of Poimena Art Gallery. Students spend the majority of their lessons within the Log Cabin, an area designed to meet the developmental needs of young adolescents, whilst also having the opportunity to utilise the facilities of the wider campus such as the Gallery.

Poimena Art Gallery ensures a considered interaction with art practitioners, providing opportunities for exhibitions that challenge and extend the range of arts experiences available to students and the wider community. The gallery provides an excellent opportunity for students to appreciate how ideas become 2D or 3D within a gallery space.