They don’t do things by halves at ‘The Gate’. Students from Walgett Community College, in the state’s far north west, are painting suitcases as part of an art project linked to the NSW Schools Spectacular, and they need your help.
There’s 100 students involved in the project… and so they need 100 suitcases.
With the help of the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group, the school has already collected around 50 suitcases, but they obviously need 50 more, and are appealing to people all over the country to help secure the rest.
The project is part of the 2015 NSW Schools Spectacular, the theme of which this year is ‘This is Our World’.
Walgett is putting their own local spin on the global concept.
In a written statement calling for donations of suitcases, Ros McGregor, the Senior Leader, Community Engagement Officer at Walgett Community College said the school was asking students to consider the world they live in, and how they travel in it.
“A lot of people think Walgett is at the end of the world. But for people who live here and come from here, it’s the centre of our world,” Ms McGregor said.
“We could have just asked our kids to paint on a piece of paper, but painting on a suitcase is about using it as a vehicle for self-discovery and proud representation of country.”
Each suitcase will profile a different part of the world – for example ‘From Walgett to Paris’ – but students will be asked to also incorporate into the artwork their local country, and the things that are important to them.
“We’re asking students, ‘If you were leaving Walgett – if you were going on the Freedom Rides, for example – what would you pack with you that keeps you connected to your country’?
“Those are the things we want the kids to depict in their artworks. The things that are important to them.”
12 students from Walgett will be performing in the Schools Spectacular in November, as part of the choir and dance performance. And 17 of the best artworks will also travel to Sydney, to be displayed at St James train station to promote the Spectacular.
The suitcases can be old, new, large, small, any colour and any surface (soft or hard) – but they need to be in reasonable condition, particularly the outer surface which will be painted.
The NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG) in Sydney is collecting the cases on behalf of Walgett. You can drop yours off to the AECG at 37 Cavendish Street, Stanmore, or phone them on 9550 5666 for more details.
More details on the project are available from Roslyn McGregor on 0488 044 253
Students will start painting the suitcases on October 12, so donated suitcases need to arrive at the NSW AECG by the end of next week (October 9).
You can also send your suitcases directly to the Walgett Community College, Connected Communities, Arthur Street, Walgett NSW 2832.
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