Swinburne Senior Secondary College acknowledges the traditional owners, including the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people as the original custodians of this land. We pay respect to their Elders – past, present and future.

We are pleased to showcase the highly anticipated Swinburne Senior Secondary Art Show and The Swinnies for 2021. This is the second iteration of our school exhibition being curated online after yet another incredibly challenging year. Although presented in digital format, resilience shines through this collection of artworks, revealing our student’s resourcefulness and capacity to rise above adversity to produce artworks of a high calibre. It is also a reflection of the devotion, passion and expertise that our art and technology teachers cultivate within our students.

The collective struggle that we have endured throughout the year has been significant, yet the power of art as a tool for expression, discourse and catharsis is shown through the vast explorations and interpretations of ideas, subject matter, styles and innovative designs reflected in this exhibition. Our students have practiced art making for self-expression, to address important social issues and strengthen relations with others during a time of isolation. The work produced celebrates the connection we find through art and one other – this exhibition brings us together as a community. Our students should be proud, as we are of them.

Our guest speaker is Steven Rhall whose art practice finds expression in ideas of institutional critique, interrogating modes of representation, classification and hierarchy both within and external to the art world(s). He works across various forms and interventions, including installation, performance, process-led methodologies, curatorial projects, sculpture and art within the public realm. We warmly welcome you to view speeches by our school principal Daryl Bennett and Steven Rhall, explore the exhibition and watch The Swinnies.

Congratulations to award winning students for their achievements and to all students of Art, Studio Art, Photography, Textiles, Fashion, Visual Communication, Product Design and Technology and Media. Please stay in touch and let us know about your future horizons, exhibitions and explorations of art and life.

Tameka Carter – on behalf of the Visual Arts Team