Presentation and Workshop Summaries
National Visual Art Education Conference 2022
![Hetti Perkins stands in front of two artworks.](https://media.nga.gov.au/qq9uF1OHXWPE3VyVPadllAacpEs=/adaptive-fit-in/1000x0//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/Hetti_Portrait_2_jXo1MuX.png)
Hetti Perkins, Arrernte/Kalkadoon peoples, pictured in front of Uta Uta Tjangala, Pintupi people, ‘Untitled’, 1984, purchased with the assistance of the Foundation Gala Dinner Fund 2018 © the estate of the artist, licensed by Aboriginal Artists Agency Ltd, and Doreen Reid Nakamarra, Pintupi people, Untitled, 2005, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, Purchased 2005. © Doreen Reid Nakamarra / Papunya Tula Artists / Aboriginal Artists Agency Ltd.
4th National Indigenous Art Triennial: Ceremony
Hetti Perkins, Arrernte and Kalkadoon peoples, Senior Curator-at-Large, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art at the National Gallery of Australia.
Thu 21 April, 10am AEST
Online or on site in the James Fairfax Theatre, National Gallery of Australia
Ceremony remains central to the creative practice of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. Hetti Perkins provides an introduction to the exhibition which animates and heals to reveal how ceremony is at the nexus of Country, of culture and of community.
From the intimate and personal to the collective and collaborative, ceremonies manifest through visual art, film, music and dance. Ceremonial practice has a performative element. At its heart is the concept of iteration, the artist’s conscious engagement with what has come before. Iteration can be expressed in the painted minutiae of tali (sandhills) or the click of a shutter.
The Triennial is the National Gallery’s flagship exhibition of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art.
Hetti Perkins is the Senior Curator-at-Large, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art at the National Gallery of Australia and curator of the 4th National Indigenous Art Triennial: Ceremony.
![Portrait photo of a female standing outside wearing a patterned blouse, hair pulled back and wearing round earrings](https://media.nga.gov.au/PkaPC3maDnNvJGBt060-KjGO2T0=/66x1674:4447x6217/adaptive-fit-in/1000x0//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/Krystal_Hurst-portrait.jpg)
Krystal Hurst, Worimi people, First Nations Lead Artist Educator, National Gallery of Australia
Art Ways of Learning at the National Gallery of Australia
Krystal Hurst, Worimi people, First Nations Lead Artist Educator, National Gallery of Australia
Thu 21 April, 11.40am, AEST
Online or on site in the James Fairfax Theatre, National Gallery of Australia
The Art Ways of Learning principles provide a values-based framework and foundation for learning programs at the National Gallery of Australia. Developed by Krystal Hurst and First Nations educators at the Gallery, these principles support teaching and learning experiences that focus on teaching through culture. The principles prioritise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing, focusing on how we teach as well as what we teach.
Krystal is a Worimi woman from Taree and Forster on NSW’s Mid North Coast with ties to the Biripi and Guringai peoples. Her kinship lines are the Russell, Leon, Dumas, Maher, Clarke, and Simon families. She currently works as the First Nations Lead Artist Educator at the National Gallery of Australia, leading and delivering the Art Ways of Learning program to enrich learning about First Nations arts and cultures in the National Gallery’s collection. Krystal is lead artist and Creative Director of Gillawarra Arts, a creative venture that began on Purfleet Aboriginal Mission during the 1980s to create arts opportunities for local mob. Krystal has exhibited her work in Canberra, Sydney and Darwin and been a participant of the Honouring Cultures Project and the Indigenous Jewellery Project, where her key interests are seen in fashion and contemporary jewellery expressed through story telling.
![](https://media.nga.gov.au/vyJarFuhHYpkiu_RGVlt06d5wng=/0x950:3648x3876/adaptive-fit-in/1000x0//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/Joel_Bray_Portrait_1.jpg)
Joel Bray, Wiradjuri people, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, 2021, image courtesy the artist
Artist Talk
Joel Bray, Wiradjuri people, exhibiting artist, 4th National Indigenous Art Triennial: Ceremony
Thu 21 April, 12.15pm, AEST
Online or on site in the James Fairfax Theatre, National Gallery of Australia
Naarm-based Joel Bray is a proud Wiradjuri man who danced in Europe and Australia with CeDeCe, Kolben and FRESCO Dance Companies, Niv Sheinfeld & Oren Laor and Roy Assaf and CHUNKY MOVE.
Joel’s works: Biladurang, Dharawungara and Daddy have toured to the Brisbane, Sydney, Darwin, Midsumma, Auckland, LiveWorks and Dance Massive Festivals and Arts Centre Melbourne.
Joel was the 2019 National Library of Australia Creative Arts Fellow, and continues this Burbang research into Wiradjuri ceremony as Chunky Move’s inaugural Choreographer-in-Residence.
Joel works spring from his Wiradjuri heritage, are intimate encounters in unorthodox spaces, in which audience-members are invited in as co-storytellers to explore the experiences of fair-skinned Aboriginal people, and of gay men in an increasingly digital/ isolated world.
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Dr Melissa Chiu Photo by Greg Powers
Betty Churcher Memorial Oration
Dr Melissa Chiu, Director, Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Thu 21 April, 7–8pm AEST
Join Dr Melissa Chiu, Director, Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden for the inaugural Betty Churcher AO Memorial Oration.
Dr Melissa Chiu is one of Australia’s most successful international curators. After completing her postgraduate studies and working with the collection of Western Sydney University, Chiu helped to establish Sydney’s Gallery 4A, a dedicated exhibition space devoted to promoting cultural dialogue about issues important in the Asia Pacific region. In 2004, she was appointed director of the Asia Society Museum in New York City and Director of the Hirshhorn in 2014. Chiu is also currently Curatorial Director of the 2022 Hawai‘i Triennial, Pacific Century - E Ho‘omau no Moananuiākea that interweaves themes of history, place, and identity within the context of Hawaiʻi’s unique location at the confluence of Asia-Pacific and Oceania.
Betty Churcher AO (1931–2015) was a leading Australian arts educator and administrator. During her esteemed career, Churcher was the first woman to lead an Australian tertiary education centre as Dean of the School of Art and Design at Phillip Institute of Technology in Melbourne (1982–1987), first woman to lead a state gallery as Director of Art Gallery of Western Australia (1987–1990) and first and only woman Director of the National Gallery (1990–1997). Established in 2022 as part of the National Gallery’s Gender Equity Action Plan, the Betty Churcher AO Memorial Oration is a major annual event featuring leading women in the arts who inspire creativity, inclusivity, engagement and learning.
![Portrait photo of female wearing a floral blouse, with a dark brown shoulder length straight hair with her hands resting on another person's shoulders](https://media.nga.gov.au/htOkvGLTKnuMOdxb3qUGCKcoxFU=/adaptive-fit-in/1000x0//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/Dr_Melanie_Riwai-Couch.png)
Dr Melanie Riwai-Couch, educational leader in Aotearoa, New Zealand and author of Niho Taniwha: Improving Teaching and Learning for Ākonga Māori (Huia Publishers, 2021)
Niho Taniwha: an Indigenous framework for teaching and learning
Dr Melanie Riwai-Couch, educational leader in Aotearoa, New Zealand and author of Niho Taniwha: Improving Teaching and Learning for Ākonga Māori (Huia Publishers, 2021)
Fri 22 April, 10am, AEST
Online or on site in the James Fairfax Theatre, National Gallery of Australia
Dr Melanie Riwai-Couch is the author of the recently published book Niho Taniwha: Improving Teaching and Learning for Ākonga Māori (Huia Publishers, 2021). Niho Taniwha is named after a traditional Māori design used in carving, weaving and other Māori artforms. Melanie is a researcher and evaluator who has worked in local and national leadership roles in the education sector, as well as internationally in tertiary education. Melanie has worked in and with schools, kura as a tumuaki (principal), with kāhui ako, for iwi (Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu) and the Ministry of Education. For nine years she trained secondary school teachers at the Christchurch College of Education.
Melanie is an appointed member of the Ngārimu VC 28th Māori Battalion Scholarship Board and served as a member of the Competence Authority of the New Zealand Teachers Council | Matatū Aotearoa for three years. In 2021 and 2017 she was a judge for the National Ngā Whakataetae Manu Kōrero speech competitions.
Melanie has a PhD in Education awarded by the University of Canterbury in 2015. Her doctoral research investigated iwi-school communities of practice and their contribution to Māori student achievement. Prior to her doctorate Melanie completed two Ed.D. papers in Education Leadership and Change through Griffith University, has a Master of Education with Distinction (University of Canterbury), a Bachelor of Education specialising in Physical Education and a Secondary Diploma of Teaching.
Melanie and her husband Jared live in Christchurch with their five children aged 21–12 years old.
![](https://media.nga.gov.au/zSZ2nni5NBg0entyRvoocmS7960=/adaptive-fit-in/1000x0//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/Joel_Spring_Portrait.jpg)
Joel Spring, Wiradjuri people, work in progress, Strathnairn Arts, Kamberri/Canberra, 2022, image courtesy and © the artist
Artist Talk
Joel Spring, Wiradjuri people, exhibiting artist, 4th National Indigenous Art Triennial: Ceremony
Fri 22 April, 11:45am, AEST
Online or on site in the James Fairfax Theatre, National Gallery of Australia
Joel Spring is a member of the Wiradjuri nation, raised between Gadigal Country in Redfern, Sydney, New South Wales, and Mparntwe/Alice Springs, Northern Territory. Trained at the University of Technology Sydney, Spring is a Co-Director with Genevieve Zoe Murray of Future Method Studio, a collaborative and interdisciplinary practice working across architecture, installation and speculative projects. Future Method Studio projects focus on material culture and impact- and process-driven creative methodologies.
At present, Spring’s work explores the contested narratives of Sydney’s and Australia’s urban culture and Aboriginal history in the context of ongoing colonisation. In recent years, he has been researching and recording the impact of climate change and colonial land management practices on Yuin Country. Spring is also a radio broadcaster and writer. In 2021 he guest edited Runway Journal’s 44th issue themed around ‘time’.
![Portrait of a female sitting in a chair](https://media.nga.gov.au/xlkAvYYUBqXQ8Nr8lpJMlYeoMTw=/adaptive-fit-in/1000x0/filters:focal(384x207:1969x1419)//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/Aunty_Mary_AtkinsonCharles.jpg)
Indigenous Arts Leadership
Aunty Mary Atkinson/Charles, Senior Elder, Educator and Cultural Practitioner
Fri 22 April, 12:15pm, AEST
Online or on site in the James Fairfax Theatre, National Gallery of Australia
The Indigenous Arts Leadership Program is a professional and cultural development opportunity for First Nations arts workers. The Program is run by the National Gallery of Australia and is supported by Wesfarmers Arts as part of their commitment to First Nations leadership in the arts. The Program is designed and led by the Wesfarmers Indigenous Arts Leadership Program Coordinator and guided by the Elder-in-Residence.
Mary Atkinson/Charles is a proud Wiradjuri/Ngunnawal woman with family connections to the Carrols, Merritt, Charles and McGunnies clans. She has lived in Wagga Wagga for over 20 years where she has raised 4 children and is helping with 12 grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Currently Mary is enrolled in the Wiradjuri language course at Charles Sturt University so she can share her cultural knowledge with her family. She works in education and has a real passion for sharing her culture to the young ones and whoever wants to listen. Mary believes that reconciliation can happen through listening and sharing with each other.
![Portrait black and white photo of female and male](https://media.nga.gov.au/EU4W1nz_Dpug30wjCs3RaQ8Z5k0=/adaptive-fit-in/1000x0//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/MichelleAdams_MarkLeahy_v2_Rvh88l3.jpg)
Michelle Adams, Yindjibarndi people, Cultural Advisor, NEO-Learning and Mark Leahy, Creative Producer, NEO-Learning
NEO-Learning: Future focussed education grounded in community
Michelle Adams, Yindjibarndi people, Cultural Advisor, NEO-Learning, and Mark Leahy, Creative Producer, NEO-Learning, conversation facilitated by April Phillips, Galari People of the Wiradjuri nation, First Nations Learning Designer, Australian Children’s Television Foundation
Sat 23 April, 11am – 12pm AEST
Online or on site in the James Fairfax Theatre
NEO-Learning is an education platform a decade in the making. A place for teachers and students to give access to quality First Nations digital arts content, resources and live virtual experiences
In this presentation, we will discuss how NEO-Learning champions First Nations young people of Roebourne via futuristic content and modes of online learning. We will discuss how this content can empower teachers to feel confident, so we can deliver First Nations content in the classroom, together.
Future Focussed education, grounded in community.
Michelle Adams is a Yindjibarndi woman from Roebourne, WA and Cultural Advisor to Big hART. Michelle has been a senior government adviser in Indigenous Affairs and the Department of Communities,and is a trained language specialist with over 20 years’ experience in community development and education.
Mark Leahy is an artist, an educator and the Creative Producer of NEO-Learning having worked with the community of Roebourne since 2016. Mark Is passionate about education, social and cultural innovation.
Onsite Workshops and Experiences
![Portrait photo of a female standing outside wearing a patterned blouse, hair pulled back and wearing round earrings](https://media.nga.gov.au/PkaPC3maDnNvJGBt060-KjGO2T0=/66x1674:4447x6217/adaptive-fit-in/1000x0//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/Krystal_Hurst-portrait.jpg)
Krystal Hurst, Worimi people, First Nations Lead Artist Educator, National Gallery of Australia
Art Ways of Learning
Krystal Hurst, Worimi people, First Nations Lead Artist Educator, National Gallery of Australia
Thu 21 or Fri 22 April, 2–3:30pm
Dining Hall, Lower Ground, National Gallery of Australia
This workshop shares the Art Ways of Learning principles developed by Krystal Hurst and First Nations educators at the National Gallery of Australia. These principles provide a values-based framework for shaping teaching and learning experiences that prioritise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing; focusing on how we teach as well as what we teach. This workshop will share strategies for engaging with artworks by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and approaches to artmaking.
Krystal is a Worimi woman from Taree and Forster on NSW’s Mid North Coast with ties to the Biripi and Guringai peoples. Her kinship lines are the Russell, Leon, Dumas, Maher, Clarke, and Simon families. She currently works as an Indigenous Arts Educator leading and delivering the Art Ways of Learning program to enrich learning about First Nations arts and cultures in the National Gallery’s collection. Krystal is lead artist and Creative Director of Gillawarra Arts, a creative venture that began on Purfleet Aboriginal Mission during the 1980s to create arts opportunities for local mob. Krystal has exhibited her work in Canberra, Sydney and Darwin and been a participant of the Honouring Cultures Project and the Indigenous Jewellery Project, where her key interests are seen in fashion and contemporary jewellery expressed through story telling.
Hermannsburg Potters: individuals in community, on Country
Krysia Kitch, Manager Learning Programs, National Portrait Gallery and Marina Neilson, Visitor Services Coordinator, National Portrait Gallery
Thu 21 April, 2–3.30pm
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Galleries, National Gallery of Australia and National Portrait Gallery.
Discover the Hermannsburg pots in the NGA and NPG collections. Explore the diverse and playful individual artistic expressions of identity, centred in country and community. The workshop includes a range of drawing activities. This workshop will begin in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Galleries of the National Gallery of Australia. The group will then walk across to the National Portrait Gallery for the second part of the workshop.
Krysia is the Manager of Learning Programs at the National Portrait Gallery. Krysia believes in the transformative power of art – how it enables us to connect with others, mirrors our own experience and provides windows into alternate worlds.
Marina is the Visitor Services Coordinator at the National Portrait Gallery. Marina loves art, cats and yoga. And while being passionate about the natural world, she struggles with her tendency for navel gazing.
![Female wearing glasses, with shoulder length blonde hair, wearing a black top and orange patterned skirt, standing at a lecturn](https://media.nga.gov.au/cbnqZmr88P0mMr1Oy2oUcJaKh3o=/adaptive-fit-in/1000x0//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/Sharon_Davis_-_AIATSIS._Image_credit_AIATSIS.jpg)
Sharon Davis, Bardi and Kija peoples, Director of Education and Ethics, The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies (AIATSIS)
Dots or Not: Critiquing Curriculum Resources
Sharon Davis, Bardi and Kija peoples, Director of Education and Ethics, The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies (AIATSIS)
Fri 22 April, 2–3.30pm
AIATSIS, with bus transport to and from the National Gallery
A hands-on, two-hour workshop for educators to begin evaluating curriculum resources related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content, including how to discern quality resources from offensive material, and when to remove resources from teaching circulation. This workshop will take place at AIATSIS, with bus transport to and from the National Gallery.
Sharon Davis is from Bardi and Kija peoples of the Kimberley. She holds a bachelor's degree in education (primary, specialising in Aboriginal studies), and a master's in applied linguistics and second language acquisition from the University of Oxford. Sharon is the Director of Education and Ethics at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, and a board member of both Reconciliation Australia and The Stronger Smarter Institute.
Larry Brandy, Wiradjuri people, storyteller and author
Connecting to culture in the early years
Larry Brandy, Wiradjuri people, storyteller and author
Fri 22 April, 2pm
Sculpture Pavilion, National Gallery of Australia
Introducing Aboriginal culture in a fun and interactive way helps children become interested in Aboriginal culture from an early age. Wiradjuri man, Larry Brandy, will show how he presents Aboriginal culture to young children in a way that encourages them to get involved in the learning. This is a very interactive session and delegates will be invited to participate in his presentation and become hunters, kangaroos and emus. Larry uses real tools and weapons and shows how they were used in traditional times. He does this in a way that appeals to young children (boories) and in a way that they remember. Larry is a regular performer in preschools in Canberra, as well as in New South Wales. He has also performed overseas. He will share how children respond to learning about Aboriginal culture at such a young age.
Larry feels that it is important for children to learn about Aboriginal culture from as young an age as possible, and preschools and childcare centres can play a major part in helping to do this. On many occasions he has had young Aboriginal children come up to him at the end of a performance saying ‘I am Aboriginal’. Larry thinks there is nothing better than seeing these young children being proud of who they are.
![](https://media.nga.gov.au/Etp1hVkURIZT-Bn0Mdefdlk1Kn0=/adaptive-fit-in/1000x0//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/THALU_0009_09.jpg)
Thalu, Weerianna Street Media. Photo: Margaret Ellen Burns
First Nations stories take us places: skills and strengths in the Thalu series
April Phillips, Galari People of the Wiradjuri nation, First Nations Learning Designer, Australian Children’s Television Foundation
Sat 23 April, 12:45–2:15pm
James Fairfax Theatre, then Learning Studio, Level 2, National Gallery of Australia or online
In this workshop, participants will view an episode of children’s series Thalu and respond in small groups to simulate a lesson that can be replicated in the classroom. We will reflect on Thalu characters with a focus on their powerful, diverse and complimentary skills and strengths. Once we have identified these character qualities, we can apply them to ourselves: What are my skills and strengths? When and how have I needed or used these skills and strengths? Participants will then leverage the unique skills and strengths in their group, working together to stop a mysterious dust cloud which is making the country and people sick.
Educators are invited to participate in an extension activity to further engage in the content. Map possible student learning outcomes from Thalu that combine elements of the Personal and Social Capabilities: Learning Continuum and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures: Key Ideas. Submit ideas within a week of the workshop to receive personalised feedback.
About the series:
Thalu
Weerianna Street Media, 2020
With their country under threat from a huge dust cloud and the mysterious Takers that lurk within, a small group of kids have to make their way to the Thalu, a place of great power, in order to stop the cloud before it destroys everything in its path. Along the way, they encounter friends and foe alike as they search for eight sacred stones and a special key that will unlock the power of the Thalu and, they hope, stop the Takers in their tracks.
April Phillip is the First Nations Learning Designer at the Australian Children’s Television Foundation. She works with a focus on the student experience for fun, interactive, multi-modal learning.
![Portrait of a female sitting in a chair](https://media.nga.gov.au/7VC6Q-ZvEROvrRy-brqYsVXrKUY=/229x251:1964x1560/adaptive-fit-in/1000x0//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/Aunty_Mary_AtkinsonCharles.jpg)
Aunty Mary Atkinson/Charles, Wiradjuri and Ngunnuwal peoples, Senior Elder, Educator and Cultural Practitioner
Reflection Session
Facilitated by Aunty Mary Atkinson/Charles, Wiradjuri and Ngunnuwal peoples, Senior Elder, Educator and Cultural Practitioner
Fri 22 April, 4–4.30pm
Dining Room, Lower Ground, National Gallery of Australia
Onsite delegates are invited to an in-person session to reflect on their conference experience, ask questions and share ideas.
Mary Atkinson/Charles is a proud Wiradjuri/Ngunnawal woman with family connections to the Carrols, Merritt, Charles and McGunnies clans. She has lived in Wagga Wagga for over 20 years where she has raised 4 children and is helping with 12 grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Currently Mary is enrolled in the Wiradjuri language course at Charles Sturt University so she can share her cultural knowledge with her family. She works in education and has a real passion for sharing her culture to the young ones and whoever wants to listen. Mary believes that reconciliation can happen through listening and sharing with each other.
Online Workshops
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Curriculum and Culture
Louise Campbell, Gumbainggar Dhungutti Yuin
Thu 21 or Fri 22 April, 2–3pm AEST
Online
This presentation and facilitated discussion will discuss the education system, curriculum and culture as a pathway to a better future for Indigenous youth. With 30 years experience in the education system, as well as being part of the stolen generation, Louise Campbell offers an informed perspective through examining cultural protocols, education and the arts. Louise is currently doing her Masters in Education (Leadership & Management) while working as an educator in the primary education sector.
Louise Campbell, with her brothers and sisters, was stolen from her parents in Bowraville in the early 1960s. She and her siblings were further separated and for the next 20 years had no knowledge of each other’s whereabouts until they were finally reunited by their father. Louise spent her formative years in the homes of her foster families as well as homes and institutions in the interim. All this has given her a strong sense of what it means to be wrenched from your family and culture. Her background has made Louise a woman of substance. Throughout her youth it was the Catholic Church and her faith that provided a thread in her life. Louise developed a strong sense of social justice working with disadvantaged Aboriginal people, overseeing land and environmental issues, advocating within the criminal system and working with young Aboriginal people. Louise completed a Bachelor of Education (PE), has undertaken studies in a Bachelor of Jurisprudence (LLB) and has a Diploma in Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Education. She recently completed a Bachelor of Education. Louise is passionate about promoting awareness of the Aboriginal story and its links with the Christian story. This passion has led to involvement in many projects and initiatives: the Awabakal Dreaming Stories Kit; Aboriginal Stations of the Cross and Easter Story with Richard Campbell; involvement in World Youth Day 2008 at parish, diocesan and national level (Aboriginal Committee member for Cardinal Pell and Bishop Anthony Fisher), and the development of education programs and resources with an Aboriginal perspective.
![](https://media.nga.gov.au/UvEdXYU2rYtAlkejVkl0TThe_i4=/adaptive-fit-in/1000x0//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/2009.162.1.a-o_Marcia_Langton_B_Andrews_T_Walter_NPGA_copyright_NPGA.jpg)
Marcia Langton 2009, by Brook Andrew and Trent Walter (printer) screenprint on paper 252.0 x 242.0 x 7.1 cm (frame) National Portrait Gallery of Australia. Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2009, © Brook Andrew
Portraits from A to B, focus on Brook Andrew and Shirley Purdie
Krysia Kitch, Manager Learning Programs, National Portrait Gallery and Marina Neilson, Visitor Services Coordinator, National Portrait Gallery
Fri 22 April, 2–3.30pm AEST
Online
Join Krysia and Marina from the National Portrait Gallery to explore concepts, symbolism, techniques and storytelling contained in dynamic portraits by Brook Andrew and Shirley Purdie in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery. Find out how you can use National Portrait Gallery learning resources to centre the artist’s voice in classroom learning experiences.
Krysia is the Manager of Learning Programs at the National Portrait Gallery. Krysia believes in the transformative power of art – how it enables us to connect with others, mirrors our own experience and provides windows into alternate worlds.
Marina is the Visitor Services Coordinator at the National Portrait Gallery. Marina loves art, cats and yoga. And while being passionate about the natural world she struggles with her tendency for navel gazing.
To participate in this online workshop you will need:
- A3 or A4 paper
- 2B and 4B pencils
- Coloured pencils or watercolours
![Portrait photo of a female with long auburn hair wearing a colourful sleeveless dress, standing in front of a wall of art inside a Gallery](https://media.nga.gov.au/dYya-9pKZWinIl48FInvWB9OxdM=/adaptive-fit-in/1000x0//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/Kylie_Neagle_photo_Saul_Steed.jpg)
Kylie Neagle, Education Coordinator, Art Gallery of South Australia
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art in the Classroom – strategies for engaging in a culturally appropriate and meaningful way
Kylie Neagle, Education Coordinator, Art Gallery of South Australia
Fri 22 April, 2–3.30pm, AEST
Online
Kylie Neagle on behalf of AGSA Education will deliver a 90min online workshop about how to incorporate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art into the classroom in an appropriate and meaningful way. Teachers will learn best practice methods and practical tips on ways to integrate First Nations art, cultures and histories into daily learning environments based around the National Curriculum. This workshop will include a hands-on making activity responding to the work of Trawlwoolway artist Lola Greeno using AGSA’s ‘using artists as a starting point’ flowchart.
Kylie Neagle is the Education Coordinator at the Art Gallery of South Australia. As an art museum educator she aims to provide teachers and students with authentic visual arts learning experiences that provide opportunities to develop critical and creative thinking and spark curiosity.
To participate in this online workshop you will need:
- Box cardboard (eg. an old delivery box)
- Scissors
- Masking tape
- String
Reflection Session: Online
Facilitated by Aaliyah Bradbury, Erub Island of Meriam Mir peoples and Larrakia people, Producer, National Visual Art Education Conference, National Gallery of Australia
Fri 22 April, 4–4.30pm
Online
Delegates are invited to an online session with National Gallery staff to reflect on their conference experience, ask questions and share ideas.
![Portrait black and white photo of female and male](https://media.nga.gov.au/EU4W1nz_Dpug30wjCs3RaQ8Z5k0=/adaptive-fit-in/1000x0//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/MichelleAdams_MarkLeahy_v2_Rvh88l3.jpg)
Michelle Adams, Yindjibarndi people, Cultural Advisor, NEO-Learning and Mark Leahy, Creative Producer, NEO-Learning
NEO-Learning Virtual Classroom Tour
Michelle Adams, Yindjibarndi people, Cultural Advisor, NEO-Learning, and Mark Leahy, Creative Producer, NEO-Learning
Sat 23 April, 1.30–2pm, AEST
Online
Join Michelle and Mark in the NEO-Learning virtual classroom. They feature the Unit of Learning: People, Places and Futurism, which showcases the multi-modal and interactive features of the online learning space for all classrooms. Get a sneak peek of some of the incredible artwork created by the young artists in the NEO-learning digital lab. NEO-Learning is an education platform a decade in the making. A place for teachers and students to give access to quality First Nations digital arts content, resources and live virtual experiences.
Michelle Adams is a Yindjibarndi woman from Roebourne, WA and Cultural Advisor to Big hART. Michelle has been a senior government adviser in Indigenous Affairs and the Department of Communities, and is a trained language specialist with over 20 years’ experience in community development and education.
Mark Leahy is an artist, an educator and the Creative Producer of NEO-Learning having worked with the community of Roebourne since 2016. Mark Is passionate about education, social and cultural innovation.
![](https://media.nga.gov.au/Etp1hVkURIZT-Bn0Mdefdlk1Kn0=/adaptive-fit-in/1000x0//national-gallery-of-australia/media/dd/images/THALU_0009_09.jpg)
Thalu, Weerianna Street Media. Photo: Margaret Ellen Burns
First Nations stories take us places: skills and strengths in the Thalu series
April Phillips, Galari People of the Wiradjuri nation, First Nations Learning Designer, Australian Children’s Television Foundation
Sat 23 April, 2.45–3:45pm, AEST
Online
In this workshop, participants will view an episode of children’s series Thalu and respond in small groups to simulate a lesson that can be replicated in the classroom. We will reflect on Thalu characters with a focus on their powerful, diverse and complimentary skills and strengths. Once we have identified these character qualities, we can apply them to ourselves: What are my skills and strengths? When and how have I needed or used these skills and strengths? Participants will then leverage the unique skills and strengths in their group, working together to stop a mysterious dust cloud which is making the country and people sick.
Educators are invited to participate in an extension activity to further engage in the content. Map possible student learning outcomes from Thalu that combine elements of the Personal and Social Capabilities: Learning Continuum and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures: Key Ideas. Submit ideas within a week of the workshop to receive personalised feedback.
About the series:
Thalu
Weerianna Street Media, 2020
With their country under threat from a huge dust cloud and the mysterious Takers that lurk within, a small group of kids have to make their way to the Thalu, a place of great power, in order to stop the cloud before it destroys everything in its path. Along the way, they encounter friends and foe alike as they search for eight sacred stones and a special key that will unlock the power of the Thalu and, they hope, stop the Takers in their tracks.
April Phillip is the First Nations Learning Designer at the Australian Children’s Television Foundation. She works with a focus on the student experience for fun, interactive, multi-modal learning.
To participate in this online workshop you will need:
- Pencil and paper