The lush colours of Vanuatu’s scenery have been ressurected within Wenona School.
The school are celebrating its local and international service learning program by hosting an artist in residence, Annette Barlow.
The new mural commemorates Wenona’s sister schools in Vanuatu where year 9 students have volunteered for a number of years during their holidays.
Ms Barlow, who has previously worked on murals at Sydney Aquarium and the Centrepoint food hall, said of her role as an artist in residence at Wenona:
“An artist in residence is a regular visitor for a period of time, in my case at Wenona, until August. Students are able to watch the artwork take shape and stop and discuss the process with me as they walk past.”
The life-like permanent mural was inspired by the students’s service learning projects in Vanuatu.
“Students shared photographs from their experiences in Vanuatu with me. They are very enthusiastic. Some of them are actually painting with me. It’s a learning experience for them, watching the artwork grow. They learn about perspective, colour and other details.”
Wenona has other international service learning opportunities including helping to build homes for victims of Agent Orange in Indochina, assisting at a soup kitchen in New York as part of a Creative Arts Tour to Berlin, Paris and New York, helping out at a school in Tanzania, and volunteering in Peru.
Students also volunteer their time locally, to support organisations such as Oasis, Anglicare, Barnados, the National Heart Foundation, Legacy and Cancer Council NSW.
By Afrah Fazli
