THE ART - Canberra 100

THE ART 

OF BRINGING 

THE ARTS TO 

CANBERRA 

EDUCATION 

RESOURCE

Cover Image: courtesy of Ben Wrigley

CONTENTS 

SECTION 1 

Introduction: the purpose of this resource 2 

The Educational Landscape 3 

The Centenary of Canberra 3 

Acquiring public works of art 4 

SECTION 2 

Early Canberra 1913, A E MacDonald, at the Canberra Museum and Gallery 6 

Great Hall Tapestry, Arthur Boyd and the Victorian Tapestry Workshop 

Parliament House, Canberra 8 

Icarus, Jan Brown, Petrie Plaza, Civic, Canberra 10 

SECTION 3 

StellrScope, Eleanor Gates-Stuart, A major visual arts production, 

Questacon 2013 12 

Prime Time, John Shortis and Moya Simpson, to be performed in 2013 14 

Hipbone Sticking Out (the Yijala Yala project) Big hART - Canberra Theatre, 2013 16 

SECTION 4 

The Australian Curriculum 18 

* Copies of additional sheets can be downloaded from canberra100.com.au 

CONTENTS 

1

INTRODUCTION 

The following pages will present material 

for Arts teachers to use concentrating on 

three existing public art works, and three 

works that have been commissioned as 

part of the celebrations of the Centenary 

of Canberra. 

THE THREE EXISTING WORKS ARE: 

•• 

A E MacDonald’s oil painting Early 

Canberra, at the Canberra Museum 

and Gallery, Civic 

•• 

Arthur Boyd’s Great Hall Tapestry in 

Parliament House 

•• 

Jan Brown’s Icarus, a bronze sculpture 

in Petrie Plaza, Civic 

THE THREE COMMISSIONED 

WORKS ARE: 

•• 

Eleanor Stuart-Gates’ StellrScope, an 

installation based on scientific images 

and data 

•• 

Shortis and Simpson’s Prime Time, 

a satirical musical production about 

Australia’s prime ministers 

•• 

Big hART’s Hipbone Sticking Out a 

multi-media performance through 

music, dance and theatre, about 

connections between the past and 

the present in the Pilbara region of 

Western Australia. 

When students have the opportunity 

to view, explore, research and reflect 

on these six works of art, they will be 

enriched in their understanding of 

the contribution public art makes to 

the cultural life of Canberra, and the 

importance of having processes for 

acquiring public art. 

Author: Chris Melican 

Welcome to this resource for Arts teachers. Your role in the 

education of children and young people is extraordinarily 

important as you enable them to find their creative talents and to 

participate in the wide world of artistic expression and innovation. 

You teach and enable students to ‘see’ into this world. 

“One only admires what one has first learnt to see” 

- Ernst H Gombrich 

Canberra abounds in art works, not just in well-known cultural institutions 

such as the National Gallery of Australia, National Portrait Gallery, 

National Museum of Australia and Australian War Memorial, 

but also in smaller galleries and museums, offices, banks and restaurants, 

and, of course, in outdoor public spaces. The bronze kangaroos poised 

to drink at Nerang Pool in Commonwealth Park, the woolly knitted steel 

sheep at the Kambah Shops, the statue of a swimmer at the entrance to 

the National Sports Swimming Centre and Ethos standing outside the ACT 

Legislative Assembly are just four examples of art works that people in 

Canberra walk past every day. 

What is public art? The ACT Government’s paper Action Statement for Public 

Art (2006) says: ‘The term “public art” is used here to refer to artworks that 

enrich our experience of public places.’ 

How does public art get to be where it is? Who makes it? Who pays for it? 

Who is responsible for it? These are good questions for students of the Arts 

to pursue. Some art works are produced for competitions—for example, the 

famous Archibald portrait competition. Others are commissioned—but by 

whom and for whom? What does the term ‘patronage’ mean? How do artists 

get government grants or residencies? What is the range of processes for 

acquiring public art? 

This resource, The art of bringing the Arts to Canberra, is very timely. 

It brings together a significant aspect of the Arts, specifically public art, with 

the development of the Australian Curriculum: The Arts and the Centenary 

of Canberra in 2013. For teachers of high school students, particularly years 

9 – 12, there is a rich opportunity to immerse their students in the world, 

not just of the production and appreciation of art works, but also how they 

are acquired by a government, by galleries or by an individual, and made 

accessible to the community. There is most definitely an art to bringing 

the Arts to Canberra. This is a very specific aspect of the Arts’ world, and 

while it is one that is not often explored, it contributes to a fundamental 

understanding about what it means to be a citizen and how citizenship 

and government connect. 

Workspace4 by Eleanor Gates-Stuart 

2 THE ART OF BRINGING THE ARTS TO CANBERRA

THE EDUCATIONAL 

LANDSCAPE 

THE 

CENTENARY 

OF CANBERRA 

The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young 

Australians (December 2008) is a pivotal document that 

has led to the development of the Australian Curriculum. 

The Declaration states that there are two educational goals: 

•Goal • 1: Australian schooling promotes equity and excellence 

•Goal • 2: All young Australians become successful learners; 

confident and creative individuals; active and informed 

citizens. 

The second goal is more relevant to 

the work presented in this resource. 

Active and informed citizenship 

involves understanding the 

responsibilities of government and 

the expenditure of public money, 

raised through taxes, for the good 

of its citizens. A state and territory 

government budget will include 

expenditure on works and projects 

to do with the physical well being of 

citizens as well as their intellectual 

and cultural needs. The Arts as 

a whole has an important part to 

play in the achievement of Goal 2, 

and this resource assists teachers 

of the Arts in developing in their 

students an inclusive understanding 

of citizenship. 

Some students will become artists; 

a larger number will participate 

in amateur artistic activities, but 

what about the others? As students 

emerge from their secondary 

education it is important that they 

be consumers of, and appreciators 

of, the remarkable area of human 

endeavour called the Arts. 

Appreciating artistic works involves 

engaging with and responding 

to traditional and contemporary 

works of visual and performing 

artists. Through these experiences, 

students develop aesthetic values 

and appreciate ways of making 

meaning through art. They explore 

and appreciate the values, beliefs, 

traditions and identities of diverse 

cultures. They investigate how 

artistic works contribute to society 

by building cultural identity and 

social commentary. 

The teacher of the arts, while 

teaching and sharing knowledge 

and skills within art forms and 

encouraging all students to be 

creative, needs to develop in 

students a lifelong appreciation 

and enjoyment of the arts and an 

understanding of their place in 

their own and other cultures. 

Canberra, as the capital of Australia, took 

some years to come into being. During 

the 1850s, discussion had occurred about 

a federation of the Australian colonies. 

This was achieved in 1901. Almost a decade 

later, 900 square miles of land of the 

Molonglo Valley were declared, by the 

Labor Government of the day, to be the 

Federal Capital Territory. Then began 

possibly one of the most important 

competitions in Australia’s history, one 

that included great emphasis on art, 

design, creativity and innovation: the 

Federal Government, on 30 April 1911, 

advertised an international competition 

for a design for the capital. On 23 May 1912 

the announcement was made that Walter 

Burley Griffin, from Chicago, USA, had 

won the competition. 

On 12 March 1913, Lady Denman, wife 

of the Governor-General, stood in a 

dry paddock in the Molonglo Valley 

and declared, ‘I name the Capital of 

Australia … Canberra’. The same year, 

Walter Burley Griffin was appointed 

Federal Capital Director of Design and 

Construction. 

The Arts were there right from the 

start. The capital was designed with 

public spaces, which the architect of 

the National Portrait Gallery calls ‘the 

living rooms of the city’—and most living 

rooms display objects d’art that are 

important and significant for those who 

live there. 

This celebration of Canberra’s 100 years 

as the national capital offers a rich 

opportunity for students to explore and 

understand several issues about the arts: 

•• 

how works of art are commissioned 

and acquired 

•• 

the importance of the arts in revealing 

the city’s history and culture 

•• 

public views about the arts. 

SECTION 1 3

ACQUIRING PUBLIC WORKS OF ART 

Both federal and state/territory governments play a significant role in the provision of public art 

and support for the Arts. There are many generous benefactors of the arts, from both the private 

and the community sectors (whose names are often written in the foyers of cultural institutions), 

who commission new artistic works and thereby support artists. However, governments are pivotal 

in providing, from their annual budgets, funding to support artistic endeavour and the acquisition 

of art works. This aspect of fiscal responsibility is to do with promoting and enhancing cultural 

development for the city’s citizens. Because the history of the ACT and the Commonwealth has 

been intertwined in much of the development of cultural institutions in the nation’s capital and 

the acquiring of art works, the ACT is home to a diverse collection of public art work that has 

been commissioned by the ACT and Australian Governments. 

In 1995, the ACT Government’s Public 

Art Program was established with the 

aim of commissioning art works to 

complement Canberra’s urban design 

and provide new experiences of the 

everyday environment. The Program 

undertakes a range of activities including 

planning, commissioning new works, 

maintenance and education. 

In 2006, the ACT Government 

produced a document, Action 

Statement for Pubic Art, 2006 – 2008, 

which outlined three commitments: 

•• 

to care for and promote the 

existing collection of public art 

•• 

to encourage the non-government 

sector to commission public art 

•• 

to plan for and commission new art 

works for Canberra. 

The then Chief Minister, Jon Stanhope, 

wrote in this document: 

The national capital is home to a 

diverse and diverting collection of 

public art and we Canberrans have the 

pleasure of enjoying the work of some 

of Australia’s finest artists as we go 

about our daily lives. 

Public art doesn’t just beautify our 

city. It is a means of remembering 

and celebrating who we are as a 

community. It can inspire us and 

it can challenge us. 

Public art is one of the most 

important ways that the ACT 

Government contributes to the 

cultural life of our city… 

Last year I established an ACT Public 

Art Panel to advise the Government 

on new commissions and the existing 

collection. The Panel is already playing 

a crucial role in bringing a greater 

focus and a more stringent eye to the 

Government’s public art activities. 

The Government introduced a 

‘Percent-for-art Scheme’ whereby the 

Government committed an amount 

equivalent to 1% of the new capital 

works program in a financial year 

to support public art projects. The 

allocation of the money was managed 

by artsACT with advice from the ACT 

Public Art Panel. 

The Action Statement for Public 

Art guided the acquisition and 

commissioning of much public art 

during those years. The statement 

has now been superseded with a new 

ACT Arts Policy Framework (draft). 

Its goals are: 

Goal One: To Increase Community 

Participation and Access to the Arts 

Goal Two: To Support Artistic 

Excellence and Artistic Diversity in 

the ACT 

Goal Three: To Strengthen the 

Capacity of the Arts to Contribute 

to Social and Economic Outcomes 

in the ACT 

Goal Four: To Foster Artistic 

Innovation, Creative Thinking 

and Sustainability 

At the beginning of the new policy 

framework, the ACT Minister for the 

Arts, Joy Burch, writes: 

All great cities around the world are 

proud of, and distinguished by, their 

arts and cultural activity; Canberra 

is no exception. Remarkable for its 

unique design and inspiring natural 

vistas, Canberra is home to National 

Cultural Institutions ... More than this, 

Canberra’s artistic life is underpinned 

by a myriad of vibrant local arts 

facilities, activities and opportunities 

for all. 

The new ACT Arts Policy Framework 

supersedes Arts Canberra: Action 

Statement for the Arts 2006-08 and 

provides a new focus for government 

support for the arts in coming years. 

Under the guidance of this document, 

I look forward to Canberra remaining 

the ‘cultural capital’ for many more 

years to come. 

ART IS ALL AROUND US. 

From the wonderful music and 

performing arts that bring iconic 

Canberra Festivals such as Floriade 

and the Multicultural Festival to 

life, to the Canberra Symphony 

Orchestra concerts in Commonwealth 

Park enjoyed by an audience of 

thousands… Canberra is also home 

to artists and arts industries that 

are recognised for their excellence 

locally, nationally and internationally. 

Canberra’s artists are distinguished 

and we are proud to support and 

celebrate their achievements. 


GOING FURTHER 

ART CHALLENGES OUR PERCEPTIONS. 

We find a part of ourselves in the 

visions of artists, through art forms 

such as poetry or painting that help 

us look differently at our everyday 

experiences, or through literature and 

film, telling the stories that we know, 

or want to know, or want to be part 

of, or are glad that we are not part of. 

Theatre makes us laugh and cry. Music 

uplifts and inspires us. The capabilities 

and language of the body can move 

us through dance. Whatever form it 

takes, art transforms chronicles and 

illuminates the world around us. 

ART CREATES COHESION IN OUR 

COMMUNITY. 

The arts contribute immensely 

to the ACT and are a central and 

sustainable part of life in our 

community. Research shows us that 

the arts help to build an inclusive 

society, create career pathways, 

provide avenues for expression, 

drive innovation, and contribute to 

productivity and economic growth. 

Art is a language transcending barriers 

and cultural differences, invigorating 

and engaging audiences, participants 

and practitioners alike. It enhances 

our quality of life and our experience 

of public spaces and the people that 

inhabit them. 

ART IS FOR EVERYONE. 

The acquisition of art works has a 

long tradition and in the following 

pages there is information about six 

works of art. They have been acquired, 

either through a competition, a 

commissioning, or the intervention 

of a benefactor leading to public 

recognition. The aim of this resource 

is for it to be a launching pad for 

work with students that leads them 

to richer, deeper understandings of 

both the works and how they were 

acquired and why. Teachers will be 

able to build on the material in ways 

that most effectively meet the needs 

of their students and extend them. 

•• 

Find out about CAPITheticAL, 

a design ideas competition for 

a hypothetical Australian capital 

city for the 21 st century. The original 

1911 competition was bold and 

innovative and now, those who 

wished to participate in the 

CAPITheticAL competition, were 

invited to conceive the big ideas 

that will shape future cities. 

Entries had to be in by 31 January 

2012, and 114 were received from 

24 countries, from people such 

as architects, artists, urban 

planners and environmentalists. 

A short list was announced on 

17 May 2012, with the winners 

being announced in March 2013. 

See www.capithetical.com.au for 

more information and invitations 

to follow this interesting 

competition. 

•• 

Look at the designs in 1913 that 

didn’t win the competition (and 

all were hypotheticals at the 

time). There were 137 entries 

publicly nominated and 46 were 

shortlisted. The design brief 

reveals the fact that the capital 

was to be a beautiful and artistic 

city. The prime minister of the day, 

Andrew Fisher, understood the 

importance of symbols and their 

design. This is another interesting 

area for research. The designs 

that won second, third and fourth 

places were on display for a few 

months in 2012 in Parliament 

House. Their differing elements 

of design are fascinating and to 

find out where the designs are, 

teachers can contact the National 

Archives of Australia. 

•• 

Investigate why the commissioning 

of public art can be a source of 

controversy. Occasional letters 

to the editor, in the Canberra 

Times, express a range of views 

about people’s varying tastes 

in art, and varying views about 

the money spent on public art. 

Such issues offer a rich source 

of ideas that could be debated in 

classrooms. An example could be: 

Jon Stanhope made the following 

comment that “public art … is 

what a cosmopolitan, dynamic, 

young city should be investing 

in”, Canberra Times, Thursday, 

22nd March 2012. Is he right? The 

same article quoted Mr Stanhope 

(previous chief minister) as saying: 

“I’m calling on the government 

to embrace public art and not be 

bashful”. Is public art important? 

Why? Is spending public money on 

public art works ethical? Why? 

•• 

Visit the National Portrait Gallery 

which runs programs focussed 

on “patronage” and “the politics 

of art prizes”. The programs take 

approximately 90 minutes and 

are led by the gallery’s Learning 

Facilitators. Booking is essential. 

Image courtesy of Brenton McGeachie 

SECTION 1 5

EARLY CANBERRA 1913 

BY A E MACDONALD—CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY (CMAG) 

A.E. Macdonald Early Canberra 1913 oil on canvas 

THE STORY OF THIS ARTWORK AND ITS ACQUISITION 

This painting is pertinent to the 

celebration of Canberra’s centenary 

and it is the result of a competition, 

a significant way of acquiring art for 

the public. A notice was issued from 

the Prime Minister’s Department on 

Thursday 19 December 1912, and then 

advertised in the Commonwealth of 

Australia Gazette No. 80, Saturday 

21 December 1912. The notice was an 

invitation from the Historic Memorials 

Committee to Australian artists to 

submit paintings of the site where the 

Federal Capital of the Commonwealth 

was to be built. The idea was that 

of G V F Mann, director of the Art 

Gallery of NSW at the time and also a 

distinguished architect and painter. 

Little is known about A E MacDonald. 

He was living in Sydney, in Wahroonga, 

at the time of the competition, and 

when he submitted his painting 

on 25 June 1913, he used the nom 

de plume, ‘Molonglo’. Perhaps he 

wanted to identify strongly with the 

landscape. The 21 December notice 

not only asked for ‘Australian artists 

resident in the various States of the 

Commonwealth to submit paintings 

illustrative of the site upon which it is 

proposed to erect the Federal Capital 

of the Commonwealth but also stated 

that the subject will necessitate a 

painting of a panoramic nature and 

must be correct in regard to the 

geological features of the landscape in 

every respect. Midday effect is desired 

in preference to evening or scenic 

effects’. The notion of capturing the 

view when it is at its most luminous is 

a reference both to Australia’s unique 

light and to the symbolic use of that 

light to point to the bountiful future 

open to the newly federated country. 

If we want to ‘see’ what Canberra 

was like 100 years ago, MacDonald’s 

painting reveals a great deal. It is 

an oil painting on canvas showing 

the site of Canberra looking from 

the present-day suburb of Ainslie, 

towards what would one day be 

the city, with St John’s Church, 

Canberra’s first church, in the middle 

ground. There is evidence of the 

farms that were present at the time. 

The bright light, undulating hills 

and the open view were intended to 

invigorate national pride and build an 

expectation of a bright, open future. 

The painting clearly addressed the 

competition brief. The decade after 

Federation seemed to introduce a 

new nationalism, which was reflected 

in much of the art of the time. 

The works of the well-known artists 

Arthur Streeton and Hans Heysen, for 

example, expressed this nationalism 

with strong, powerful, almost heroic 

landscapes. MacDonald’s landscape 

also reflects these ideals. The Historic 

Memorials Committee’s choice of 

landscape as the theme for this 

important competition reinforces the 

notion that the Australian landscape 

was understood as symbolic of 

Australian identity. 

Who won? It wasn’t A E MacDonald. 

The competition attracted ten 

submissions and the winner was 

William Lister Lister whose work, 

and that of the runner-up, Penleigh 

Boyd, are displayed in Parliament 

House, Canberra. Their paintings 

are of the same scene, in a general 

sense, but each has a slightly 

different perspective, with different 

light and colour. 



MacDonald’s painting is a wonderful 

acquisition by the Canberra Museum 

and Gallery (CMAG) and a gift to all 

who come to see and appreciate it. 

How did it arrive at the gallery? Prior 

to ACT self government the painting 

was Commonwealth property and 

hung in executive offices of the 

Department of Territories. It was 

transferred to the ACT Government 

in 1989 and placed in storage. In 

1996 it was removed from storage, 

conserved and hung in the Hospitality 

Room of the Speaker of the ACT 

Legislative Assembly. On Canberra 

Cultural Centre (CCC predecessor 

of CMAG) curatorial recommendation 

the painting was acquired by the 

CCC, whose Interim Acquisitions 

Committee endorsed the transfer 

at its 20 March 1997 meeting. 

•• 

Visit all four paintings, those of 

William Lister Lister and Penleigh 

Boyd, as well as MacDonald’s, 

and a further painting submitted 

to the same competition, by T 

Brooke Hansen titled Landscape 

C, 1913, also to be on display at 

CMAG, and offering students 

a fascinating insight into 

landscape oil painting. 

•• 

Gain further insights into the 

painting: CMAG may be able 

to provide a talk for students 

about Early Canberra and its 

significance. 

•• 

Explore some of the extensive 

evidence of the lives of the 

traditional owners of the 

Canberra region—trees that have 

had large slabs of bark removed, 

prior to European settlement, 

possibly to make canoes; axe 

grinding grooves found on large 

flat rocks. Examples can be easily 

found in the Tuggeranong Valley. 

The National Trust of Australia 

(ACT) provides a brochure for 

a self-guided heritage tour 

of Tuggeranong. For more 

information visit 

www.act.nationaltrust.org.au 

•• 

Engage in discussion and research 

—when a viewer looks at Early 

Canberra, it is important to 

remember that this painting 

doesn’t depict the earliest view 

of the area. Australia’s first people 

lived here for at least 20,000 years 

before European settlement. 

What did the area now called 

Canberra look like? In the painting 

there are few trees. Was this 

always so? What is the history of 

this landscape? Who were the 

original owners of the land? How 

did the Indigenous population 

manage it? Why are there so few 

trees? In 1913, what was life like 

for early Canberrans? How was it 

different for settlers who’d come 

from England and Europe? How 

has modern conservation and 

caring for this area developed? 

•• 

Through careful study of the 

painting appropriate the ideas in 

Early Canberra into the students’ 

own paintings with oils. 

•• 

Arrange to visit Mugga-Mugga 

to experience a cottage and 

landscape that closely resembles 

the landscape of 1913, the same 

year A E MacDonald painted 

Early Canberra. 

SECTION 2 

7

GREAT HALL TAPESTRY 

BY ARTHUR BOYD AND THE VICTORIAN TAPESTRY WORKSHOP—PARLIAMENT HOUSE 

THE STORY OF THIS WORK OF ART AND ITS ACQUISITION 

Everyone who has visited Australia’s Parliament House will have seen 

the large, remarkable tapestry at the end of the Great Hall. How did 

it get there? Who designed it? Who wove it? 

Before the tapestry came a painting 

by Arthur Boyd (1920 – 1999), one of 

Australia’s most famous artists and from 

a family of painters, potters, architects, 

writers and sculptors. 

The commissioning of the tapestry was 

intricately connected with the building 

of Australia’s new Parliament House. 

The architects, Mitchell/Giurgola & 

Thorp, asked Boyd to propose an idea 

for a creative work to be situated on 

the south wall of the Great Hall of 

Parliament House. The hall was to be 

used for ceremonial and state occasions 

and Boyd proposed the idea of a 

tapestry, which was accepted. There 

was much discussion and planning 

of the work as it had to fit with the 

architectural design of the space, and 

emphasise, with the rich timbers, the 

importance of the land. The brief for 

the project, stated: ‘What must evolve 

is a mutual design scheme between 

the architecture and the work of art 

in which the south wall becomes a 

magnetising focal point which is the 

catalyser of the entire space… the 

subject of the tapestry to be developed 

for this design submission is envisaged 

as a landscape at the scale of the 

room, devoid of man… The tapestry is 

expected to be hung in such a way that 

its edges would be slightly free from the 

wall surface rather than being tightly 

constrained by a peripheral frame or 

stretcher, thus giving the wall and the 

work of art a greater three-dimensional 

quality within the massive scale of 

the room.’ 

Boyd was commissioned by the 

Parliament House Construction 

Authority to submit a design for the 

tapestry. He painted three large canvases 

as possible designs and in 1984 the 

Authority chose one of these, which 

depicted a dense forest of eucalypts in 

the Shoalhaven River valley in southeastern 

NSW (where Boyd lived in the 

1970s and 1980s), as the design for the 

tapestry. The painting is ‘Untitled’ and 

reflects Boyd’s love of the area with 

its light, colour and the texture of 

the forests. 

Once the painting was chosen, the 

making of the tapestry began. It was 

woven by the equivalent of 14 weavers 

at the Victorian Tapestry Workshop and 

it took over two years to complete. 

The scale and complexity of the project 

required much research and planning to 

resolve the technical problems involved 

in producing one of the world’s largest 

tapestries (measuring approximately 

20 metres wide by nine metres high), 

woven in four separate pieces. Boyd 

worked closely with the weavers in 

selecting the specially dyed yarns to 

match the colours in his painting. 

Based on the painting, cartoons (scale 

drawings) were prepared by the 

weavers, mounted behind the loom and 

the colour fields traced on the warp. 

Wool was dyed in 300 different colours 

and threads mixed together to obtain 

thousands of colours. The tapestry was 

woven in wool, on a cotton and linen 

support. The finished tapestry is held up 

with velcro fastening. 

The architecture of Parliament House, 

and the artworks and materials inside 

the building, are intended to reflect the 

Australian landscape and emphasise 

the importance of the physical 

environment in shaping Australian 

values. The Great Hall tapestry has 

provided a striking backdrop for many 

important ceremonial and community 

events at Parliament House. 


Great Hall Tapestry (1984 - 88) Artist: Arthur BOYD (1920 - 1999) Interpretation and execution: Victorian Tapestry Workshop (est. 1976) Wool, mercerised cotton 

and linen weft on a seine warp, 9m x 20m. Reproduced courtesy of Courtesy of Parliament House Art Collection, Canberra, A.C.T. 


•• 

Research Arthur Boyd’s life and 

work, and that of others in the 

Boyd family. 

•• 

Research the details of the design 

of Parliament House and its 

symbolic places—the forecourt 

which refers to the period before 

the arrival of Europeans. The foyer, 

Great Hall and the Members’ Hall 

also have symbols in their design. 

•• 

Find out more about tapestry 

(which has a long tradition of 

telling stories from history, e.g. 

the Bayeux Tapestry). How have 

the techniques used in making 

tapestries changed over time? Of 

special significance, in this context 

of looking at tapestries, is the work 

of Valerie Kirk, Head of Textiles 

at ANU School of Art. She was a 

weaver at the Victorian Tapestry 

Workshop, earlier in her career. See 

www.valeriekirktapestry.com. Many 

of her works are on display around 

Canberra, for example, at ANU’s 

University House. 

•• 

Follow the progress of the Canberra 

Community Centenary Tapestry, 

which is an 18-month community 

arts project to create a large 

scale woven tapestry to celebrate 

Canberra’s 100 th birthday in 2013, 

www.canberra100communitytapestry. 

com. This project has been funded 

by the Community Centenary 

Initiatives Fund, with support from 

the Legislative Assembly of the 

ACT and the Textiles Workshop at 

the Australian National University 

School of Art. The finished tapestry, 

along with the smaller tapestries, 

will be exhibited in the Legislative 

Assembly of the ACT in late 2013. 

After the exhibition, the large scale 

Canberra Centenary Community 

Tapestry will become part of the 

Assembly’s extensive and significant 

art collection, which recognises the 

breadth and depth of artistic talent 

and interests in the region. 

•• 

Visit Parliament House where the 

paintings (canvases) as well as the 

tapestry can be seen. As mentioned 

earlier, the paintings by William 

Lister Lister and Penleigh Boyd 

are also on display at Parliament 

House; discover the range of 

timbers used in Parliament House. 

•• 

Research the ongoing work of the 

Victorian Tapestry Workshop, now 

known as the Australian Tapestry 

Workshop. 

•• 

Design and make a tapestry for 

a significant event in a school’s life. 

Could the school commission such 

a work? 

SECTION 1 9

ICARUS 

BY JAN BROWN—PETRIE PLAZA, CIVIC, CANBERRA 

THE STORY OF THE ART WORK AND ITS ACQUISTION 

This sculpture, by Jan Brown, a 

renowned Canberra artist with an 

international reputation, stands 

imposingly along the walkway of 

Petrie Plaza, Civic. It became available 

to the public through the intervention 

of a Canberra gallery owner. It depicts 

the story of Icarus, from Greek 

mythology, and his attempt to escape 

from Crete by means of wings that 

his father constructed from feathers 

and wax. His pride led him to ignore 

instructions not to fly too close to 

the sun, and the melting wax caused 

him to fall into the sea where he 

drowned. This story of human folly 

is remarkably depicted in the four 

works that make up Icarus, and that 

Brown created between 2004 and 

2006. The four bronze figures are 

part human and part bird showing 

the transition from a robust form 

in Icarus 1, to broken and pitiable 

appearances in Icarus 2 and 3, and then, 

in Icarus 4 a transformation into an 

almost complete bird form, perhaps 

one who now can fly well and has 

learnt the lesson—to beware pride. 

In 2008, the Beaver Gallery in Deakin, 

an inner suburb of Canberra, hosted 

an exhibition of sculptures by Brown, 

who loves the bird and animal life of 

the region. The exhibition included 

bird bronzes and the Icarus group— 

a smaller version than the one we 

see outside the David Jones store. 

As mentioned earlier in this resource, 

a Public Art Panel had been established 

by the Chief Minister. The panel 

members were impressed by Brown’s 

sculptures, especially with the Icarus 

work and made the suggestion 

that Icarus be scaled up to make it 

suitable for a public art work in Civic. 

This project was commissioned under 

the Percent for Arts scheme. 

Icarus was made by what is called 

the lost wax method, an ancient 

technique that was first developed 

by the Chinese in 3000 BC. Very little 

about the fundamental process 

has changed. The basic idea of the 

process is to make a wax positive of 

the shape that is to be cast. The wax 

is then molded with a refractory (heat 

resistant) material. The mold is then 

heated to melt away the wax. Molten 

metal is then poured into the cavity 

that the “lost wax” has created. This 

way, large hollow sculptures can be 

made without shrinking and cracking. 

The whole process of creating 

bronze sculptures is collaborative, 

with the artist working closely with 

foundry colleagues. 

The challenging process of scaling 

up Brown’s original Icarus sculptures 

was done at the Australian National 

University (ANU) sculpture workshop 

and the actual bronze casting at the 

Meridian Foundry in Melbourne. 

Overcoming considerable difficulties, 

large clay models were made at the 

ANU, silicone-coated, and plaster 

was cast for each part of the whole 

sculpture. These were transported to 

the Meridian Foundry in Melbourne, 

and members of the Meridian Foundry 

assisted in the various stages from 

mold making, wax chasing, bronze 

casting, welding and application 

of patina and coating. It was then 

transported back to Canberra, where 

the artist, the Redbox Design group 

who had constructed the plinth, and 

others, managed the difficult job of 

installing the sculpture. It is a thoughtprovoking 

presence in Civic, Canberra, 

watching over workers and shoppers 

as they pass by. 


Image courtesy of Ben Wrigley 


•• 

Investigate the process of making bronze sculptures. Jan Brown uses 

ciment fondu, a relatively inexpensive, endurable casting material that 

is suitable for works being made in a small workshop. What are other 

methods/processes of casting bronze? What are the impacts for the 

artist and the buyer? 

•• 

Research the life and works of Jan Brown, a Canberra resident. 

The previously mentioned, and famous, kangaroos at Nerang Pool, 

in Commonwealth Park, are her work. She was invited by the National 

Capital Development Commission in 1979 to make a sculpture for 

Commonwealth Park—Kangaroos was the result. 

•• 

Go on a tour of sculptures and installations around Canberra. On February 20, 

2012 The Canberra Times included In the City Magazine/Arts Trail Souvenir 

Liftout containing an excellent article, by Douglas Fry and Miled Achi, called 

Arts Trail, about public art and in particular 60 public art works around 

Canberra. There is also a map and information about, and photo of, 

each art work by Andrew Babington. Icarus is on this Arts Trail. 

•• 

Visit the Sculpture Garden at the National Gallery of Australia. 

•• 

Research the life and work of Henry Moore, a famous English Sculptor, 

who taught Jan Brown at the Chelsea Polytechnic School of Art, London, 

and find his work in Canberra. 

•• 

Visit Canberra Museum and Gallery, where some of Jan Brown’s drawings 

can be found. 

•• 

Visit Strathnairn Gallery which has a metal sculpture foundry—Stockdill 

Drive, Holt. 

•• 

ANU—Sculpture Workshop. 

SECTION 1 11

“THE CENTENARY OF CANBERRA IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL AUSTRALIANS TO 

CELEBRATE THE GREAT ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE CANBERRA REGION AND INDEED 

OUR NATION. THAT IS WHY THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT HAS CONTRIBUTED 

$67.6 MILLION TO THE CENTENARY OF CANBERRA.” (Simon Crean, MP Minister for 

Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government, in a news release 

regarding the Centenary Scientific Residency Commission, 30 March 2012) 

As part of the centenary, and the many commissioned works to be presented in 2013, 

three commissioned artistic works are presented as part of this resource. 

STELLRSCOPE 

BY ELEANOR GATES-STUART—A MAJOR VISUAL ARTS PRODUCTION, QUESTACON 2013 


StellrScope is a perfect example of the 

fusion of art, science, mathematics 

and digital technologies to produce 

an extraordinarily creative and 

innovative art work. It is sure to 

inspire all viewers, including school 

students, about the beauty of, not just 

the visual arts, but also science and 

mathematics. 

This exciting project comes about 

through the Centenary Science 

Art Commission. The Centenary of 

Canberra Unit of the Chief Minister 

and Cabinet Directorate of the ACT 

Government launched a Science 

Art competition for a commission 

and exhibition in 2013 of new work. 

The Request for Proposal, late 2011, 

called for a research and development 

program in collaboration with 

a nominated science institution 

approved by the Territory. The 

intention was that an artist from 

the Canberra region would work in 

residence with a nominated science 

institution to develop a new work 

for exhibition for the Centenary of 

Canberra. An associated aim was to 

draw attention to the great strengths 

of Canberra in the field of science 

and some of the interesting ways that 

Canberra artists are working with 

scientists and innovative technologies 

to produce new works. 

Eleanor Gates-Stuart was awarded 

the commission with her concept 

of StellrScope and her residency is 

with CSIRO. Her project explores and 

builds on the story connecting the 

Canberra region to Australia’s major 

crop, wheat, from the time of William 

Farrer through to the modern era. 

As a fine arts practitioner, to an artist 

working in fields of design, digital 

art and communicating science, 

Gates-Stuart has taken on what she 

describes as a ‘massive’ project, to tell 

this agricultural and scientific story in 

new and exquisitely beautiful ways. 

As more than one person has said to 

her, ‘Who would have thought wheat 

could be so interesting!’ 

StellrScope focuses on the physical 

and biochemical traits of organisms in 

physical plant structures, simplifying 

complex visualisation data and 

images to construct a digital video. 

It uses the latest technology, multiple 

digital projects and digital alignment 

to immerse viewers in the world 

of wheat so that they can see the 

remarkable stages of wheat growth 

and development and the importance 

of, as one of Gates-Stuart’s science 

colleagues expressed it, researching 

‘the holes in bread’. William Farrer 

understood the importance of wheat 

for Australia and he experimented 

with cross breeding, one of his main 

tools being tweezers. CSIRO continues 

to work with wheat, using highly 

sophisticated tools and techniques, 

to improve the quality of bread for 

the benefit of today’s citizens and 

associated economic growth. 

In the media news release, 30 March 

2012, announcing that Gates-Stuart 

was the local artist to take up the 

Centenary scientific residency, the 

ACT Chief Minister, Katy Gallagher, 

commented that recognising 

Canberra’s role in the nation’s 

scientific achievements was an 

important goal and legacy of the 

Centenary and Mr Crean, MP, said 

that Gates-Stuart’s proposal joined 

the dots between art, science and 

agriculture. The acquisition of this 

project is significant for Canberra and 

Australia as a whole. 

This project, probably more accurately 

described as an event, will result in 

a series of scientific art works for 

exhibition at Questacon in August 2013, 

during the celebration of 25 years of 

Questacon. It will be an interactive, 

immersive environment. An exhibition 

documenting the StellrScope 

residency will also be presented at 

the CSIRO Discovery Centre including 

a series of digital art works. 



•• 

Research the life and work of 

Eleanor Gates-Stuart who comes 

from an English background and 

is a printmaker by trade. Like Jan 

Brown (Icarus) she studied at the 

Chelsea College of Art. 

•• 

Explore Gates-Stuart’s association 

with the Australian National 

Centre for the Public Awareness 

of Science (CPAS). It is the world’s 

most diverse academic science 

communication centre, located 

at the ANU in Canberra. They train 

highly qualified scientists to 

become skilled communicators 

who can excite the imagination 

of the public about science and 

encourage informed decisions 

about scientific issues that will 

concern us in the 21 st century. 

•• 

Follow Gates-Stuart’s work— 

www.eleanorgatesturat.com.au/ 

egs/RESEARCH. 

•• 

Visit the CSIRO Discovery Centre 

regarding the work being done 

around the issue of food. 

•• 

Visit Megalo Print studios. 

•• 

Experiment with digital image 

processing (e.g. photoshop) to 

layer students’ photographs. 

•• 

Research William Farrer (b. 

1845) and his work with wheat, 

conducted in the Canberra region. 

He and his wife, Nina, lived at 

Cuppacumbalong near Tharwa, 

and then at Lambrigg, just a short 

distance from the suburb of 

Gordon, where he is buried. 

MAGICal (re)Mix by Eleanor Gates-Stuart 

SECTION 3 13

PRIME TIME 

BY JOHN SHORTIS AND MOYA SIMPSON—TO BE PERFORMED IN 2013 

THE STORY OF THIS ART WORK AND ITS ACQUISITION 

Music and singing are loved and 

appreciated art forms. Songs express 

the widest range of human emotions 

and experiences, including the painful, 

the hilarious, the lovely and the 

critical. Satire has frequently found 

a home in song and John Shortis and 

Moya Simpson are expert and highly 

talented musical performers and 

satirists. Shortis writes the songs 

and scripts, gaining his inspiration 

from newspapers, biographies and 

stories accessed through libraries 

and archives. Simpson sings, acts and 

can mimic a wide range of accents. 

Together they write, produce and 

perform shows that reflect Australian 

history and politics. 

In 2008, Shortis gained a fellowship 

that entitled him to a residency at 

the Prime Ministers’ Centre at the 

Museum of Australian Democracy 

at Old Parliament House and which 

provided financial support of 

approximately $16,000. The residency 

enabled him to research eight 

Australian prime ministers and write 

two songs about each-one about the 

politics and one about the person. 

Shortis then launched into writing 

two songs about every prime minister 

and received funding from artsACT 

to work with a writer, director and 

actors to explore the possibility of 

developing a show from some of 

these songs. Robyn Archer AO, the 

Centenary of Canberra creative 

director, attended a showing of that 

development stage and expressed 

an interest in supporting the work 

through further creative development 

and a possible performance outcome 

in 2013. From this came a definite 

commission of the work, called 

Prime Time, for Canberra’s centenary 

celebrations. 

Prime Time is a full-length musical 

theatre production about Australia 

since Federation, told through 

the personal and political lives 

of Australia’s 27 prime ministers. 

It explores the drama and humour 

surrounding them and their eras, 

telling of a people and a democracy 

evolving, adapting and responding 

to dramatic events, social and 

technological changes, big issues, as 

well as the day-to-day tasks involved 

in daily living. Prime Time looks at 

power, the urge to win, and how 

politics plays out its drama. Canberra 

is very much at the heart of this story. 

Prime Time has been conceived 

by John Shortis, and it is funded 

primarily by the Centenary of 

Canberra. Shortis is joined by Moya 

Simpson and two other actor-singers, 

and a chorus, (from the Worldly 

Goods Choir) that will also provide 

vocal backing as well as being used 

to form tableaux scenes of crowds, 

parliamentarians and other needed 

groups. The show is being written/ 

dramaturged by John Romeril and 

directed by Catherine Langman. 

The show combines musical cabaret 

with theatre and multi-media 

elements. Resources from the 

National Film and Sound Archive 

will add drama to the production. 

While the prime ministers and the 

populace occupy the foreground of 

the show, through the cast and the 

choir, the sites where they worked 

and the speeches they made will 

be projected all around the theatre. 

There will be intimate glimpses of the 

lives of the prime ministers and the 

irony of some situations. An example 

is that of our Australia’s first prime 

minister, Edmund Barton, a brilliant, 

scholarly man, who lived in Sydney 

with his family. When in Melbourne, 

where parliament met, he was 

accommodated in a small, cheap 

attic, where he is known to have, 

on occasions, cooked a chop over an 

open fire for his dinner. Barton was 

also pragmatic and humble. No doubt 

his English peers would have been 

astonished at such circumstances, 

let alone politicians of today. 

Creating such a show requires much 

research, sifting through enormous 

amounts of material to find the ‘gem’ 

that then becomes the focus of the 

scene or the song. Sometimes there 

are stories attached to the making 

of the song itself, as in the case of 

George Reid (prime minister for 10 

months, eighteen days, 18 August 

1904 – 5 July 1905). His Scottish 

grandmother was a subject of a poem 

of Robert Burns. John Shortis, having 

discovered this interesting fact about 

Reid’s family, has used the poem in the 

song about George Reid. 

Writing about the production, 

John Shortis says: ‘Australia’s PMs are 

a fascinating bunch. We’ve had a Latin 

speaker, a Mandarin speaker, one born 

on a ship off Chile. There have been 

spiritualists, atheists, republicans, 

monarchists, graziers and bodgies. 

One governed for 16 years, another 

for 40 days and 40 nights. Some have 

had universities named after them, 

others swimming pools and pubs. 

While a few of their houses have been 

preserved as museums, one of their 

houses became a fast food outlet. 

Many are Rhodes Scholars, others 

self-educated, and they’ve been called 

everything from affable to merciless. 

They’ve given us an array of eyebrows, 

hairdos, pipes and spectacles, and 

between them they’ve had the 

unenviable task of leading our country 

through eleven turbulent decades.’ 

In advertising the production the 

following accurately describes this 

show—funny, moving, informative, 

entertaining—Prime Ministers at their 

best and worst. Don’t miss ‘Prime 

Time’ at The Q, Queanbeyan, 

May 22 – June 1, 2013. 


It’s time. 

MOST SECRET 

PRIME T IM E 

27 PRIME MINISTERS 

AT THEIR BEST & WORST 

Design by Design Edge, photo Fred Harden 

GOING 

FURTHER 

•• 

Attend a performance of Prime Time. 

•• 

Illustrate serious and comical aspects 

of one fact/person in text, song or 

visual art. 

•• 

Experiment with lighting with different 

colour lamps, e.g. using cellophane and 

experiment with projections combined 

with live performers. 

•• 

Write satirical verses on topics of choice. 

•• 

Research a prime minister, in depth. 

SECTION 3 15

HIPBONE STICKING OUT 

(YIJALA YALA PROJECT) 

BY BIG HART—CANBERRA THEATRE, 2013 

Young men from Roebourne, known as the Love Punks, on set 

for one of the films made as part of the Yijala Yala Project. 


Big hART is made up of researchers, 

artists, art workers, producers, 

community builders and field 

workers, all committed to the arts 

and social change. As a creative 

production company it has produced 

two previous works, Namatjira and 

Ngapartji Ngapartji One, that have 

received national acclaim. This work, 

Hipbone Sticking Out, is the third in 

what is seen as a trilogy. It comes from 

one of Australia’s most isolated and 

exhilarating communities, Roebourne 

(Ieramugadu), in the Pilbara, Western 

Australia. It is a fascinating inclusion 

in the commissions for the Centenary 

of Canberra and reminds us that the 

centenary is for all Australians. 

There is a story behind the story 

of this production. Big hART is a 

national, award-winning organisation, 

working to re-engage marginalised 

communities and individuals through 

arts-based projects. The organisation 

was founded on the north west coast 

of Tasmania in 1992, by John Bakes 

and award-winning writer/director, 

Scott Rankin, with an initial grant of 

$15,000. In 1992, the city of Burnie on 

the north-west coast of Tasmania was 

in turmoil. The local paper mills had 

sustained the region for decades, but 

now they were downsizing drastically. 

The community was in serious 

economic trouble, and starting to 

spiral into a complex web of social 

problems. Big hART became involved, 

working creatively with young people 

and families experiencing trauma 

and disadvantage. The outcome 

was a series of long-term projects 

which included Big hART’s inaugural 

production, GIRL—a theatre piece, 

designed and constructed using paper 

from Burnie paper mill, that followed 

the descent of a fragile young girl 

into the juvenile justice system. GIRL 

caught the eye of Artistic Director 

Robyn Archer, who invited the 

company to the National Festival of 

Australian Theatre in Canberra. Indeed, 

Robyn Archer said of the company, 

in March 2008, ‘There is no company I 

admire more in Australia.’ 2012 has seen 

Big hART celebrate two remarkable 

decades of expanding well beyond 

Tasmania and becoming a national arts 

and social change company. 

The Yijala Yala Project is the intergenerational, 

long-term arts project 

that works with the community of 

Roebourne to produce art across a 

range of media. The theatre work from 

this project is a highly collaborative 

and complex work that immerses 

the audience in drama, dance, music, 

visual art and multi-modal media. 

The main reason for the show, and 

where it draws a lot of its texture and 

ambience is the Burrup Peninsula, 

known as Murujuga to its custodians 

the Ngarluma people, which 

translates as ‘hipbone sticking out’. 

It is one of Australia’s most significant 

cultural heritage sites, with thousands 


of petroglyphs (art etched onto the 

surface of rocks) found throughout 

the peninsula – some thought to be 

over 30,000 years old. Hipbone Sticking 

Out tells the story of the Aboriginal 

people of Murujuga from ngurra 

nyujunggamu ‘when the world was 

soft’ and creation spirits carved the 

land, to the incredible mining boom 

of the present. Through a mythical 

narrator, the audience is taken on 

a journey that inverts history, with 

the Pilbara being the ‘old world’ and 

Europe ‘the new’ and includes familiar 

historical elements such as Greco/ 

Roman gods, the paintings of Vermeer, 

the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, the Dutch 

East India Company, Terra Nullius, 

damming of rivers, pearlers, Aboriginal 

reservations, the first mining boom 

and much more. There are ‘high 

moments’ that reveal the greatness 

of humanity but also some of the 

darkest moments of history, not least 

Australia’s tragic past to do with the 

deaths of Aboriginal people, whether 

‘in custody’ (as with John Pat) or from 

illness and lack of care. 

This production is exhilarating and 

challenging. It inverts our notions of 

nationhood and takes the audience 

beyond the usual linear view of 

history and looking to the future. 

The two words, Yijala and Yala mean 

‘now’ in Ngarluma and Yindjibarndi, 

the two main languages of the Pilbara 

region. The Yijala Yala Project and its 

production Hipbone Sticking Out is 

about the ‘now’ of all times, past, 

present and future. 

There are other threads running 

through the production of this 

artwork that make it extremely 

interesting. In Ieramugadu, burning 

issues include: how do the custodians 

of Murujuga maintain, conserve and 

manage this incredibly significant 

cultural site in amongst all the 

industrial activity, the complex 

relationship between the local 

Indigenous groups and the ‘fly-in, 

fly-out’ mining staff and contractors, 

how the resources boom affects 

land, culture, society and family 

relationships of the local people and 

what will be left behind once the 

mining ends. Alongside these complex 

issues is the fact that the mining 

industry also brings opportunity for 

communities in the way of increased 

employment and better social 

services. Yijala Yala Project’s major 

funding body is Woodside Energy 

Ltd, a gas company that seeks to 

establish long-term and meaningful 

relationships with the communities 

where they operate. They aim to 

achieve these relationships by 

understanding and managing the 

impacts its operations may have 

on communities and through the 

development and implementation of 

programs that deliver mutual benefits. 

When a Woodside employee saw 

Big hART’s play Ngapartji Ngapartji 

the company realised the healing 

potential in such productions. 

Woodside has a community relations 

strategy, one aspect of which 

contributes significant amounts of 

funding for regional programs, and 

the support of Indigenous well-being 

and cultural heritage. 

The Centenary of Canberra’s support 

of Hipbone Sticking Out ensures that 

an important production is seen on a 

national stage of celebrations, sharing 

the cultural strength and gift of the 

Pilbara. It involves the actor Trevor 

Jamieson, who played the central 

roles in Ngapartji Ngapartji One, 

Namatjira and many other artists, 

musicians and performers. 


•• 

Attend the performance of Hipbone Sticking Out. 

•• 

Research the Burrup Peninsula—what are the issues? 

What is the history of the area? 

•• 

Visit the Big hART website: www.bighart.org. There is a blog that can be 

followed as more work is done on productions by Big hART. 

•• 

Visit www.facebook.com/pages/yijala-yala for ongoing communication 

and updates about the production; also www.yijalayala.bighart.org. 

•• 

Discuss and debate topics to do with mining in Western Australia; deaths 

in custody; nuclear testing at Maralinga. 

•• 

Explore personal stories and art work, using a range of forms and media. 

SECTION 3 17

THE AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM 

At the time of writing this resource, the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting 

Authority, ACARA, has released curriculum for English, Mathematics, Science and History, 

Foundation—Year 10, with Phase 2 well underway (the Arts, Languages and Geography) and work 

beginning on Phase 3 learning areas (P/Health, Technologies Civics and Citizenship, Business and 

Economics). Curriculum for Years 11 and 12 is also being developed, released for consultation, 

rewriting and final release for implementation in schools. 

The Arts curriculum is being written and will go through 

a process of trialling, consultation, and rewriting, ready 

for release and implementation early in 2013. The five arts 

forms in the curriculum are music, visual arts, drama, 

dance and media and the art works explored in this 

resource cover the five forms. While the specific content 

is not yet available, the rationale for, and aims of, the Arts 

curriculum for all Australian students, Foundation to Year 

12, are expressed in the Introduction of the paper ‘Shape 

of the Australian Curriculum: the Arts’ (August 2011). 

The following points from the Shape paper have some 

highlighted parts, indicating particular relevance to the 

purpose of this resource: 

•• 

An education rich in the Arts maximises opportunities 

for learners to engage with innovative thinkers 

and leaders and to experience the Arts both as 

audience members and as artists. Such as education 

is vital to students’ success as individuals and as 

members of society, emphasising not only creativity 

and imagination, but also the values of cultural 

understanding and social harmony that the Arts 

can engender (National Education and the Arts 

Statement 2007). 

•• 

Through studying and engaging in the Arts, students 

will develop specific knowledge, skills and processes, 

and also create art works. Through learning to appraise 

and critique art works, artists and artistic practices, 

they will learn to value the uniqueness of each art 

form, and to understand the social, historical and 

cultural contexts of art forms. Students will learn 

that the Arts are central to creative communities 

and cultures. The Arts provide evidence of the 

creative and cultural life of a community. 

•• 

In a curriculum for the twenty-first century, students 

will experience and learn about the five Arts subjects: 

dance, drama, media arts, music and visual arts. In the 

Arts, students need to know what questions to ask, 

especially when encountering an art work of another 

era, culture or unfamiliar medium. Young Australians 

need the confidence to access the Arts, and to understand 

the contemporary manifestations of each art form as 

well as their social, cultural and historical contexts. 

•• 

As emerging critical and creative thinkers, students 

will gain the confidence and the tools to understand 

and critique the Arts in everyday life. Students will 

learn that the Arts exist in process as much as in 

finished artistic products. Process does not have to 

result in a product or performance. Through their 

Arts studies, students will discover that artists work 

both individually and in groups, and that the Arts 

connect many creative and mainstream industries 

contributing to the development of a vibrant, 

modern and inclusive society. 

This resource could form the basis of a unit of work 

that a teacher may want to develop, particularly for the 

centenary year. Likewise, it could support current units 

of work. It certainly connects with a large number of the 

aims iterated in that Introduction to the Shape paper for 

the Arts and which will be embedded in the content of the 

Arts curriculum. Likewise, when looking at the art works 

presented here, teachers will be able to make significant 

links with other subjects, English, History, Science and 

Mathematics and Technologies. Knowledge has traditionally 

been codified in these disciplines. However, the 21st century 

presents learners with a complex, information-rich and 

globalised world, and teaching in schools must reflect such 

a world with greater integration of knowledge areas and the 

development of understanding across disciplines. The Arts 

offer a significant opportunity to do just that. 

Teachers will readily see the connections between the 

art works presented in this resource and other important 

elements in the Australian Curriculum: 

LINKS WITH THE AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM 

The six art works presented in this resource offer many 

opportunities for teachers to make connections with the 

other learning areas that currently comprise, or soon 

will be included in, the Australian Curriculum: English, 

History, Geography, Science and Mathematics, Languages, 

Health/PE, Technology, Civics and Citizenship, Business and 

Economics 

The following are examples of, and prompts for, 

intentions and content (in the Phase 1 learning areas) 

that teachers could consider within an interdisciplinary 

approach to exploring the art works presented in this 

resource. The details of the Year 9 and Year 10 English 

curriculum demonstrate how pertinent and useful it 

is for Arts teachers to consider and build on content 

from other learning areas. The other subjects links 

have been presented in more general terms and teachers 

are encourage to look for those content links in the 

Australian Curriculum, Phase 1, and then as Phases 2 

and 3 are published. 


THE AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM: ENGLISH 

The Rationale says: The study of English is central to the 

learning and development of all young Australians. It helps 

create confident communicators, imaginative thinkers and 

informed citizens. It is through the study of English that 

individuals learn to analyse, understand, communicate with 

and build relationships with others and with the world 

around them. The study of English helps young people 

develop the knowledge and skills needed for education, 

training and the workplace. It helps them become ethical, 

thoughtful, informed and active members of society. 

The Australian Curriculum: English, Year 9: Students engage 

with a variety of texts for enjoyment. They interpret, create, 

evaluate, discuss and perform a wide range of literary 

texts in which the primary purpose is aesthetic, as well 

as texts designed to inform and persuade. These include 

various types of media texts, including newspapers, film 

and digital texts, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, dramatic 

performances and multimodal texts, with themes and 

issues involving levels of abstraction, higher order reasoning 

and intertextual references. Students develop a critical 

understanding of the contemporary media, and the 

differences between media texts. 

Content: 

ACELA1553: understand that authors innovate with text 

structures and language for specific purposes 

ACELA1557: explain how authors creatively use the 

structures of sentences and clauses for particular effects 

ACELA1561: identify how vocabulary choices contribute to 

specificity, abstraction and stylistic effectiveness 

ACELT1635: explore and reflect on personal understanding 

of the world and significant human experiences gained from 

interpreting various representations of life matters in texts 

ACELT1773: create literary texts, including hybrid texts, that 

innovate on aspects of other texts, for example, parody, 

allusion and appropriation 

ACELT1638: experiment with the ways that language 

features, images and sound can be adapted in literary texts, 

for example the effects of stereotypical characters and 

settings, the playfulness of humour and pun and the use 

of hyperlink 

ACELY1740: listen to spoken [and sung] texts constructed 

for different purposes, for example to entertain and to 

persuade, and analyse how language features of these texts 

position listeners to respond in particular ways. 

The Australian Curriculum: English, Year 10: Students engage 

with a variety of texts for enjoyment. They interpret, create, 

evaluate, discuss and perform a wide range of literary 

texts in which the primary purpose is aesthetic, as well 

as texts designed to inform and persuade. These include 

various types of media texts, including newspapers, film 

and digital texts, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, dramatic 

performances and multimodal texts, with themes 

and issues involving levels of abstraction, higher order 

reasoning and intertextual references. Students develop 

critical understanding of the contemporary media and the 

differences between media texts. 

Content: 

ACELY1572: evaluate the impact on audiences of different 

choices in the representation of still and moving images 

ACELYA1571: refine vocabulary choices to discriminate 

between shades of meaning, with deliberate attention to 

the effect on audiences 

ACELT 1643: compare and evaluate how ‘voice’ as a literary 

device can be used in a range of different texts such as 

poetry to evoke particular emotional responses 

ACELY1756: create sustained texts, including texts that 

combine specific digital or media content, for imaginative, 

informative, or persuasive purposes that reflect on 

challenging and complex issues 

Students in Years 9 - 12 are expected to read, view, listen to, 

speak about, and write about, a wide range of texts – each 

of the six art works is a valuable text. 

THE AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM: HISTORY 

•• 

The Rationale says: Awareness of history is an essential 

characteristic of any society, and historical knowledge 

is fundamental to understanding ourselves and 

others. It promotes the understanding of societies, 

events, movements and developments that have 

shaped humanity from earliest times. It helps student 

appreciate how the world and its people have changed, 

as well as the significant continuities that exist to the 

present day… The study of history is based on evidence 

derived from remains of the past. It is interpretative by 

nature, promotes debate and encourages thinking about 

human values, including present and future challenges. 

Clearly there are links between these concepts and 

each of the art works: Early Canberra (the history of 

Canberra); the Boyd tapestry (the history of Parliament 

House); Icarus (Greek mythology and the history of 

sculpture); Prime Time (the history of our Federal 

Government and its Prime Ministers); Hipbone Sticking 

Out ( Yijala Yala Project) (aboriginal history, particularly 

in the Pilbara as well as world history across centuries); 

and StellrScope (the history of wheat in Australia and 

the work of William Farrer). 

•• 

The history curriculum presents content about 

historical inquiry skills which would be useful tools 

for Arts students’ inquiries about art works. 

Romola TEMPLEMAN Portrait of Jan Brown 2009 oil on canvas 101 x 152 cm 

CMAG Collection 

SECTION 4 19

THE AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM: MATHEMATICS 

•• 

The Rationale says: Learning mathematics creates 

opportunities for and enriches the lives of all 

Australians… It develops the numeracy capabilities 

that all students need in their personal, work and 

civic life, and provides the fundamentals on which 

mathematical specialities and professional applications 

of mathematics are built… Mathematics aims to instil 

in students an appreciation of the elegance and power 

of mathematical reasoning. Mathematical ideas have 

evolved across all cultures over thousands of years, 

and are constantly developing. Digital technologies are 

facilitating this expansion of ideas and providing access 

to new tools for continuing mathematical exploration 

and invention. There are mathematical concepts 

involved in music and writing lyrics (Prime Time); 

any discussion with Eleanor Gates-Stuart and how 

she is creating StellrScope will include mathematical 

concepts; when casting a bronze sculpture, especially 

when scaling it up from a much smaller sculpture, 

mathematical concepts are involved (Icarus); when 

transferring a painting to a larger tapestry, mathematics 

is involved (the Untitled Tapestry, Parliament House). 

THE AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM: SCIENCE 

•• 

The Rationale says: Science provides an empirical way 

of answering interesting and important questions 

about the biological, physical and technological 

world… Science is a dynamic, collaborative and 

creative human endeavour arising from our desire 

to make sense of our world through exploring the 

unknown, investigating universal mysteries, making 

predictions and solving problems… In addition to its 

practical applications, learning science is a valuable 

pursuit in its own right. Students can experience the 

joy of scientific discovery and nurture their natural 

curiosity about the world around them. In doing this 

they develop critical and creative thinking skills and 

challenge themselves to identify questions and draw 

evidence-based conclusions using scientific methods. 

Scientific knowledge and skills have been used in the 

development of Icarus, the Untitled Tapestry and 

StellrScope. 

FURTHER LINKS WITH THE AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM 

•• 

The general capability, ethical behaviour, whereby 

students develop ethical understanding as they 

learn to recognise and understand matters of ethical 

concern, make reasoned judgments and, in so doing, 

develop a personal ethical framework. This includes 

understanding the role of ethical principles, and values 

in human life; acting with integrity and regard for the 

rights of others; and having a desire to work for the 

common good. (The Australian Curriculum Shape 

Paper v.3) The acquiring of public art work, as well as 

the content within some of them (e.g Prime Time) and 

the context of others (funding of Big hART in the Pilbara), 

offer opportunities for discussion and debate. 

•• 

The General Capability, Critical and creative thinking, 

whereby students develop critical and creative thinking 

skills and suppositions as they learn to generate and 

evaluate knowledge, ideas and possibilities, and use 

them in combination when seeking new pathways 

or solutions. This includes learning to think deeply 

and broadly in activities that require reason, logic, 

resourcefulness, imagination and innovation in all 

learning areas. (The Australian Curriculum Shape Paper 

v.3) Each of the artists represented in this resource is 

a model for this capability. 

•• 

The Cross-curriculum priority of Aboriginal and Torres 

Strait Islander histories and culture whereby all young 

Australians will be given the opportunity to gain a 

deeper understanding and appreciation of Aboriginal 

and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures, 

their significance for Australia and the impact these 

have had, and continue to have, on our world. (The 

Australian Curriculum Shape Paper v.3) In the pages 

at the beginning of each subject in Phase 1, further 

information is supplied. This priority involves students 

actively engaging with the world’s oldest continuous 

living cultures and the principles and virtues that are 

deeply embedded within these communities. These 

principles include caring for Country, caring for each 

other and respecting the systems embedded in the 

concepts of Country and Place, People, Culture and 

Identity, including the links and lessons from the past. 

The priority provides opportunities for learners to 

understand the histories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait 

Islander peoples before colonisation and investigate 

the shared histories and resulting relationships since 

colonisation. AE MacDonald’s Early Canberra could be 

a starting point for looking at Canberra’s development 

and how local aboriginal history links with that. More 

significantly, Hipbone Sticking Out (Yijala Yala Project) 

relates deeply to this priority. 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

This education resource was written and developed by 

Chris Melican. 

Thank you to the following people who generously gave 

of their time for interviews or to help with information: 

Jan Brown, Eleanor Gates-Stuart, John Shortis, Debra Myer, 

Kylie Scroope, Sophie Chessell, Amanda Poland and 

Ann McMahon. 

Thank you to Dr Susanne Ilschner for her development 

assistance. 

REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY 

The Australian Curriculum Phase 1 (English, Mathematics, 

Science and History) www.acara.edu.au 

The Shape of the Australian Curriculum v.3 

www.acara.edu.au 

The Shape of the Australian Curriculum: the Arts 

www.acara.edu.au 

Fact Sheets provided by Parliament House 

Deborah Clark (Curator, 2008), Jan Brown, Sculptures, 

Prints and Drawings, Canberra Museum and Gallery 

ACT Government (2006 - 08) Arts Canberra: Action 

Statement for Public Art 

ACT Government (2012), Draft ACT Arts Policy Framework 

Professor Sir Ernest Gombrich OM (1960), Art and Illusion: 

A Study in the Psychology of Pictorial Representation 

The Canberra Times 


FOUR BEAUTIFUL SEASONS, TWELVE FANTASTIC MONTHS, 

ONE VERY 

BIG YEAR 

Canberra’s 100 th birthday is an event to be celebrated, not only by Canberrans, but by all Australians. The ACT 

Government has established the Centenary of Canberra Unit to coordinate the celebrations. The vision and 

goals of the Centenary of Canberra are stated below. 

VISION 

All Australians proudly celebrate and share in the centenary of Canberra, our nation’s capital—the city that 

tells the story of our country’s freedom, spirit, achievements and aspirations. 

GOALS 

•• 

increase the pride and ownership of Australians in their capital 

•• 

fully engage the community of Canberra, the Capital region, and the broader Australian community in 

the celebrations 

•• 

establish enduring international recognition of Canberra, and its role as the capital 

•• 

build the positive image and reputation of Canberra as a city and community 

•• 

build lasting legacies of community value through memorable celebrations and high quality projects 

•• 

create impetus for future development of the national capital. 

Please refer to the www.canberra100.com.au for further information.

The celebration of the Centenary of Canberra would not be possible without the following corporate support: 

PRINCIPAL PARTNER 

MAJOR SUPPORTERS

THE ART - Canberra 100

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