Yugara Learning

The concept behind the design is the students’ connection to the land that they all meet on as they journey together through primary school life. The inspiration came from celebrating 2020 NAIDOC week as a school community and wanting to further explore and learn about and appreciate the wealth and breadth of the students themselves, their identities, and their cultures. The intention was that this project and the final artwork would build the self-esteem of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, promote the cornerstones of learning at Grovely State School: Collaboration, Communication, Curious Thinker and Self Manager, and prioritise the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum. The artwork is a direct representation of how the Grovely State School students experience the journey through primary school life and the relationship they have with the school grounds and surrounding area. While designing, the students did not suggest images of the built form of footpaths, roads, buildings and classrooms that would usually represent a school. Instead, they chose to use circles to represent gathering places and watercourses and animal footprints to represent journeys. A great deal of the design is embellished with trees, grasses and wildflowers. All of these elements give a feeling of movement to the artwork, rather than a static image. Therefore, the viewer might experience a feeling of liveliness and a celebration of nature. The viewer might recognise that the land and its plants and animals are more important to students of primary school age over other aspects of school life like books, colouring pencils and screens. The viewer might feel a spirit of inclusion, demonstrating the good effect that the reconciliation campaigns have had on primary school aged children. As the TSB is located directly outside the school grounds, the first instance of community contact was to involve the School Principal. From there, a group of like-minded students who identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander were gathered via a pitch during a school assembly and letters sent home to parents by Myfanwy. Yugara Yugarapul woman, Traditional Owner and Artist Deborah Sandy was commissioned to hold a brainstorming meeting with the students to come up with a design for the TSB. On the day of the meeting, Aunty Debbie brought along her family, one of whom is Shaniah Thomason who became the digital artist for this project.