General News
9 October, 2023
Student talent goes on show at free exhibition
This week, a local school will celebrate the creative talents of hundreds of students by showcasing their artwork to the public — with an official opening night set to be held tomorrow. The Maryborough Education Centre’s (MEC) art exhibition...
This week, a local school will celebrate the creative talents of hundreds of students by showcasing their artwork to the public — with an official opening night set to be held tomorrow.
The Maryborough Education Centre’s (MEC) art exhibition, which got underway on Monday for the first time since the pandemic, features visual, third-dimensional as well as audio pieces created by primary, secondary and specialist students.
To celebrate the week-long display, MEC is organising a launch party for the community on Wednesday, after school hours — the event will be marked by music, food and walls filled with colour and creativity.
“It’s going to feel like a real, professional exhibition,” the school’s art coordinator Jennifer Latch said.
“This is about inclusiveness, it’s not an exhibition where only the best pieces are put up instead, the aim is to get a piece of creative work from every student on display.
“There will be hundreds and hundreds of works to look at — there’s a lot of variation, we have traditional paintings, some mixed media as well as digital content, so it’s a big range of work.”
Anticipation is building for Ms Latch and the students, with locals encouraged to attend the exhibition in support of the young artists.
“The creative kids don’t always get to showcase their skills so this is very exciting,” Ms Latch said.
“For students especially, to have this event and the exhibition in the main hub of the school is pretty great — the work is so unique, their art isn’t mainstream and they’ve used different ways to be expressive and creative which is pretty amazing to watch.
“It’s something worth looking at and people can come in during school hours to view these beautiful pieces of art for themselves.”
One of the artworks people will get to see comes from year eight student Emily, who said the show gave her and her peers a chance to exhibit their work.
“I think the exhibition is going to be great and it’s going to be something people talk about, after which it could become an annual thing — it’ll go really well,” she said.
“I’m putting up a portrait of my aunt because she’s one of my biggest inspirations and I’m proud of my work but it’s also a bit scary.
“This opportunity is pretty special not just for me but for the rest of the students as well — a lot of kids don’t necessarily feel like their artwork gets seen but this gives them a chance to put their work on display and share it with everyone.”
MEC’s free art exhibition will be up at the school’s library from 9 am to 3.30 pm daily till October 13.
The opening night will be held tomorrow, October 11 between 3.30 and 4.30 pm — attendees can walk in from the front office.