Top Arts: VCE 2007

• 27 March–09 June 2008
• Free Entry
• The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia

“Top Arts provides an invaluable opportunity for students to work alongside arts professionals and reinforces for them and their peers that the visual arts is a sustainable and significant career path.”

Frances Lindsay, Deputy Director, National Gallery of Victoria, 2008

The artistic achievements of VCE Art and Studio Arts students will be showcased at the National Gallery of Victoria for the fourteenth year. Top Arts: VCE 2007 will be on show at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia profiling the art and innovation of young Victorians.

This year Top Arts will showcase more than 60 works by 57 students from government, independent and Catholic schools from across Victoria.

The exhibition will include works from a range of media, including painting, photography, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, textiles, digital imagery, animation and works on paper. Works reflect a wide range of themes, with a special focus this year on the environment.

Merren Ricketson, Top Arts Curator and Manager of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority’s VCE Season of Excellence said the exhibition gives students the opportunity to visually display their ideas, celebrate their work, and gain recognition for their talents.

“Top Arts provides students with exceptional experience of the arts industry. We build a bridge between the school curriculum, tertiary studies and the industry, enabling students to combine their classroom knowledge with practical industry experience by working under the guidance of curators, designers and technical staff,” Ms Ricketson said.

“The NGV is a rich and diverse resource for teaching and learning and Top Arts plays a crucial role in promoting and strengthening the links between VCE studies, the arts industry and the community.”

The exhibition provides a platform for Victorian students to convey their attitudes and ideas to the public and explore current themes in society.

Frances Lindsay, Deputy Director, NGV said the exhibition highlights the National Gallery of Victoria’s commitment to contemporary art and art education.

“It’s a wonderful experience for us to see fresh and unique work reflecting the issues faced by today’s young people. The NGV is proud to be supporting and encouraging the next generation of Victoria’s visual artists.

 “There are some outstanding works in this year’s exhibition and I encourage all members of the community to come and celebrate the achievements of these young artists,” said Ms Lindsay.
 
Students selected for the exhibition have completed Art or Studio Arts as part of their Victorian Certificate of Education. This year, 171 Victorian artists were short-listed from over 2,000 applicants.

Top Arts is hugely popular with VCE students, teachers, schools and the general public. Last year 238,853 people visited The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia during Top Arts: VCE 2006 – a daily average of 2,986 viewers across the 80 days the students’ works were on display.

Visitors will be encouraged to vote for their favourite artworks in the exhibition. The art departments of the three schools whose exhibitors obtain the most votes will receive a cash reward as part of the Goldman Sachs JBWere People’s Choice Award.

An extensive Education and Public Programs schedule will run alongside the exhibition including opportunities to meet the artists and listen to talks about the artworks on display and the creative processes involved.

Top Arts is a VCE Season of Excellence 2008 event in Melbourne, a festival of outstanding VCE students’ visual and performing art managed by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. 

Top Arts: VCE 2007 will be on display at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, Federation Square from Thursday 27 March to Monday 9 June 2008. Admission is free.

The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia is open 10am–5pm. Closed Mondays (schools by appointment). The exhibition will also be open late every Thursday until 9pm.

For more information go to ngv.vic.gov.au or call 03 8620 2222.

Principal Sponsor: Goldman Sachs JBWere

Education Supporters:
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority
Catholic Education Office
Association of Independent Schools of Victoria

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For media enquiries please contact:
Alison Murray: 03 8620 2347; 0439 348 357 alison.murray@ngv.vic.gov.au
Kitty Walker: 03 8620 2411; 0417 575 088 kitty.walker@ngv.vic.gov.au