It was with great pleasure that I attended the opening of the Slawa: Modernist Art and Design exhibition on 10 May. Slawa Duldig was a Senior Art teacher at St Catherine’s from 1947-1963 and was held in high regard by her students, which was evident in one of the displays at the current exhibition, a postcard from a student travelling in Greece, recalling all she had learnt from Mrs Duldig. This fondness for her as a teacher was also reflected in the number of Old Girls who attended the opening. As a teacher, I am reminded every day of the impact I can have on how students react to what they are being taught. In the Visual Arts, it is often not teaching but instilling a passion and love of looking at and making art, and the joy that it can bring to students during their education, but more importantly after school as they venture beyond the safety of home.

It is with this in mind that I work closely with our Indigenous students to create artwork outside of the classroom, without the restrictions of curriculum and assessment, but for the opportunity to share with the community some of their cultural background. In preparation for the Yulendj Art Exhibition, each student researched images and ideas to reflect their individual totems and culture in a relief print artwork. It has been very rewarding watching them draw their artwork designs and take such care cutting out the images. They have taken such pride in the process of making the artworks that will be sold at the Yulendj Art Exhibition from 29 May-1 June, contributing to this important biannual event, which supports our Indigenous Scholarship Program. The Visual Arts at St Catherine’s has supported our Indigenous students outside the classroom to create artworks for Yalari and our scholarship program since St Catherine’s began supporting Yalari. The exhibition raises funds to support our Indigenous Scholarship fund and we hope that the St Catherine’s community visits Sherren House during the week of the exhibition to view the art and hopefully purchase an artwork. All proceeds from the sale of our Indigenous student’s artworks will go directly to the fund.