Visual Arts

Emmanuel College has specialist Visual Art and Media Art teachers. Students are able to enjoy art in our specifically designed Art Studios.

Students are given the chance to view the skills and techniques of an artist and learn from them. They receive practical experience with a range of visual art materials, techniques and processes such as clay, fabric, canvas, charcoal and dye. Students also learn media production where they will design, produce and distribute digital art. This expands the student’s digital capabilities, improving their skills for many other subjects.

Students also have the opportunity to develop their creativity and self-expression through various art and media forms.

Visual and Media Art is celebrated with regular displays around the school as well as Art Exhibitions. 

Junior School Visual Arts

Visual Arts in the Junior School incorporates many creative projects throughout the year to integrate with the units being taught in the students' classrooms. This interwoven approach helps students to make connections across subject areas and apply knowledge learnt in one area to challenge or enhance another. As a result, this creates a more vibrant and collaborative educational experience for our students.

The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) found that through involvement with the Arts, children's potential to engage in learning was greatly enhanced and their self-esteem increased. Children were observed to have markedly developed their social, communication, team-work, training in life-skills, problem solving, persistence and self-expressive skills by being involved in a good Arts program, which is what we aim to do here at Emmanuel College.

The students will be experimenting and learning how to use a number of different materials and techniques throughout their time in the Art Room These include:

  • pencils, markers and crayons
  • charcoal
  • chalk (dry) pastels
  • oil pastels
  • tempera and acrylic paint
  • watercolour paint, dyes, inks
  • paper art collage
  • mixed media collage
  • fibre arts
  • printmaking
  • clay, play dough, model magic / 3D art

The playing and experimenting with these materials is called 'Process Art' and is more about the making and doing than the finished product. Of course, your children will still bring home lovely artwork, but more time will be given in class to 'play with' and 'experiment with' the elements of Art and new techniques.

As the year unfolds, we aim to broaden their perspective, allow their own ideas to come forward, challenge their thinking, create, master skills, make new connections, experiment with new materials, be persistent and enjoy the process by having lots of fun.

Our Senior School Visual Arts program includes:

  • Excursions to gallery spaces: Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane; Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane; Gold Coast Arts Centre; Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre. 
  • Guest Artists and Speakers 
  • Art workshops with practising professional artists 
  • Lunch-time and after-school art extension groups 
  • External Art Exhibitions: Emmanuel Graduate Exhibition; Creative Generations for Excellence in Art regional exhibition; Energies regional Art exhibition at HOTA 
  • Art Competitions