Beaufort Secondary College featured on Pyrenees Projections
Published on 29 September 2021
Beaufort Secondary College students will have their digital artworks displayed on the Pyrenees Projector. The display launched Friday 1 October, and works will be shown until Monday 18 October.
The artworks from the year 9 and 10 students are the result of a 6-month creative residency program with multi-award-winning art duo PluginHUMAN (Betty Sargeant and Justin Dwyer). The residency was part of Regional Arts Victoria’s Creative Workers in Schools Program.
Beaufort Secondary College Teacher, Simone Conroy said the art program, like most school activities was affected by lockdowns, but it continued virtually.
“We were able to utilise the program to engage students that were at risk of totally disengaging in their schooling, and tailor individual projects to keep them motivated throughout this time and engaged with their learning,” Ms Conroy said.
Artist Betty Sargeant said to see the work on public display was a testament to the students’ willingness to keep working through the lockdown.
“[Students can be proud] to walk down the street get their fish and chips on a Friday night and point out to their parents or their siblings and say, ‘this is what I did – I achieved something over this time’. Because it’s been a really challenging, difficult year, especially for youth and teenagers,” Dr Sargeant said.
The project involved students generating their own ideas for creating a digital artwork. Students created work by extending their existing interests such as working with make-up, music and digital coding.
“We weren’t teaching the students just to be artists, we were teaching them to extend their confidence in the digital realm," Dr Sargeant said.
Council Mayor Damian Ferrari said showcasing the students work was exactly the type of content suited for the projector.
“The aim of the projector was to encourage people to stop and spend time in the street, and to also showcase the students’ artwork in a COVID-safe way is just the icing on the cake!”
“Council is proud to support the creative work of the local Secondary College,” Cr Ferrari said.
Pictured are Beaufort Secondary College students Olivia Allan on the left, and Kayla Talbett on the right.