We invest in our teachers an almost sacred trust - we count on them to discover and light that ‘spark’ of learning and personal growth that we know resides in each child and then feed and nurture the resulting flame through the TAS experience. It is incumbent upon all of us in the TAS community to help in that noble endeavour. My highest hope for this building is to help ignite the creative spark in every boy and girl and secure the resulting flame more firmly than would otherwise have been possible.
So wrote Old Armidalian and benefactor Mr Michael Hoskins who made possible the Creative Arts Centre bearing his name. However bricks alone do not make a culture that values and champions the creative arts; it takes our clever, talented and dedicated staff.
Visual Art Practice
In practice and theory, Visual Arts education is a core component of the Creative Arts curriculum, unleashing creativity and self-expression whilst gaining an appreciation of art history. Two specialist art rooms, one with potters wheels and kiln, provide students with every opportunity to develop and nurture a passion for visual arts, be it painting, pottery, drawing, sculpture or digital art.
Outside of the classroom, students at TAS have the opportunity to further explore art making as part of the co-curricular offering. Clubs for photography, pottery and filmmaking have been offered, dependent on student interest.
Exhibiting Students’ Visual Art
Our students benefit from being able to showcase their art in the professional art gallery space within the Hoskins Centre foyer. With all the time and skill needed to create a student’s precious visual art piece, it is incumbent on us to then hang and view their art rather than have it left in folders and school bags. The Hoskins Centre foyer is alive with student art throughout the year, carefully curated and presented to a continual audience. The aim of Visual Art is to encourage the observer to think and consider what is being expressed, for it to be appreciated. It needs to be hung in a worthy space and we are so fortunate to have that space at TAS.