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Art to brightening communities

12 November 2009
By Andie Gatti

A scene from a week-long community art project that saw students from five north-western Queensland schools create artworks to brighten their communities.

A scene from a week-long community art project that saw students from five north-western Queensland schools create artworks to brighten their communities.

Dajarra students are flying the flag for a week-long Border Schools Cluster community art project held recently at five north-western Queensland schools.

Children, teachers and community helpers from Dajarra, Urandangie,
Boulia, Bedourie and Birdsville state schools worked with Port Adelaide artists Bob Daly and Kalyna Micenko last July to create artwork to brighten their communities.

Dajarra's 38 Prep to Year 7 students decorated applique flags with colourful self-portraits while other schools made lively murals and vibrantly painted chairs with themes of "sharing", "story telling" and "my place".

View the gallery.

Dajarra principal Wendy Johnstone said the project gave the students the chance to work with professional artists and to engage in different types of art.

'This is very different from our school art program as these artists work intensively over a week to create these pieces with the students,' Ms Johnstone said.

'They also have skills that we as general classroom teachers do not.'

Ms Johnstone said two children worked on each flag, drawing a combined self portrait which Mr Daly transferred to the fabric using a marking pen and tracing paper.

'The students then cut out the material for their faces and we helped them to pin the pieces onto the main fabric. This was done in layers so the finished product would show all the vibrant colours.

'Two ladies from the community, Cath Wright and Travina Rogers, helped the teachers and artists sew the pieces together. We then cut out each part of the face to reveal the underlying colours which made up the portrait.'

Ms Johnstone said the flags had flown on the school grounds for special visitors and were displayed at the Dajarra Rodeo, the township's main event for the year.

The Federal Government's Priority Country Area Program and children's charity Variety funded the projects.