This week, students in Year 1 were very excited to visit the National Gallery of Australia as part of an inquiry into ‘What art is and who makes art?’. We investigated Indigenous artworks as part of the Stories of Art tour. It was interesting for us to notice that artworks are not just paintings.  We saw sculptures made of metal and grasses, paintings on canvas and pottery, wood carvings and necklaces – all beautiful artworks with their own meaningful stories. Our tour guides were very knowledgeable. We learnt the story of the Seven Sisters and meanings behind the Aboriginal Memorial – an installation artwork made up of burial poles. It was interesting to hear that each of the shell necklaces we saw were made by artists with their own ‘signature’ or individual pattern. While we only experienced a small number of artworks on display, many of us are keen to get back to the National Gallery with our families to discover more of the amazing art!

After our guided tour, we visited the Sculpture Garden and were particularly intrigued by the playful ‘Cones’ sculpture. Year 1 really did an exceptional job of representing Campbell Primary and our school values at the Gallery.