Anna Bligh MP, Premier of Queensland and Minister for the Arts
Young writers offer fresh views and insights into our world, especially into the world of art. Until now, there have been limited opportunities to reflect their views and publish their voices in print. Write About Art changes this.
Write About Art, a Queensland Government initiative, encourages senior secondary students to write about art in everyday life.
Students from across Queensland were selected by their teachers to participate in a mentoring workshop in late 2008 at the Gallery of Modern Art. Here, they worked with professional writers John Birmingham, Louise Martin-Chew, Dr Sally Breen, and Angela Goddard to develop their ideas in an artistic environment.
There was plenty to inspire students’ imaginations at GoMA where they visited the exhibitions Contemporary Australia: Optimism, Placemakers: Contemporary Architecture and the Premier’s New Media Art Awards as well as the Gallery’s permanent collection.
Mentoring sessions continued online through the Learning Place, Education Queensland’s online learning platform. The final essays are now featured in this beautiful magazine produced by Eyeline Publishing.
It is a first for Queensland, if not Australia, for a project of this kind that sets out to increase the skills and experience of students in writing about art. It is fitting that, in this Year of Creativity, such imaginative and engaging essays reveal to us the creative insights of our talented young writers and the value of art in our lives.