Firbank. Aspire. Achieve. - Firbank Grammar School

From another part of the school:
Last Friday, Year 8 and Year 11 students went to the Melbourne Zoo with Lisa Roet, our artist in
residence, to observe and sketch the primates. The girls learnt how to draw animals in motion, a
very trick task! Lisa has a long relationship with the Melbourne Zoo, as primates have been the
focus of her work for the last 25 years. The girls were able to benefit from her knowledge and
experience of sketching these animals. They were fascinated to discover how similar humans
are to apes, Orang Utans share 97% of our DNA and chimpanzees,99%. Lisa has been a very
valuable addition to our faculty this term, engaging students from all year levels and helping to
develop our students’ awareness and empathy towards other species with who we share the
planet.
One of the Year 9 Skill Set electives extends students’ knowledge and experience by exposing
them to a large variety of contemporary art through visits to galleries and art spaces around
Melbourne. They have visited commercial galleries along Flinders Lane, Street art spaces,
Hosier Lane and ‘The Postcard Show’ at Linden Art gallery in St Kilda where over 1000 30 x
30cm mixed media works are currently on display. The next visit will be to the McCelland Gallery
in Langwarrin to see the contemporary sculpture prize.
The students who have chosen to study Photography as their Skill Set visited Brighton Beach
for inspiration this week. There, they had the opportunity to explore the foreshore and take
photographs of the sea and the boats, learning the correct way to focus on a point of interest.
The weather enriched the experience, wind and grey waves providing a changing backdrop to
the white sails. During this unit, students have visited Photography Galleries and the Ian Potter
Gallery in the city where they have had opportunities to speak to gallery curators about the
exhibition spaces and the role of the photographer as a recorder or journalist.
Rowena Hannan is a well-known artist whose exhibitions have won acclaim. We are fortunate
to have Rowena on staff at Firbank as part of our brilliant Art Department and delighted to have
an example of her talent to enjoy every day in the garden of the Centenary Student Centre.
‘The Marble Game’ was a gift to the School from the Senior School Parents Association in
2009. Rowena’s current Exhibition of Ceramic Sculpture opened on 19 March at the Mezzanine
Gallery, Chapel Off Chapel at 12 Little Chapel Street, Prahran. It will run until the 14 April and is
open 7 days a week from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. I commend her work to you.
Dr Anne Sarros