About The National Gallery of Victoria
Founded in 1861, The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) is the oldest and most visited gallery in Australia. NGV has two buildings located in the heart of Melbourne, in the south-east of Australia. One is NGV International and the other is The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia.
NGV International houses the Gallery’s Collection of International art ranging from antiquities through to the latest in contemporary art and design.
The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia presents work of major artists and designers across the historical, social and cultural contexts that have helped shaped Australian art history. It is also home to NGV’s extensive collection of art made by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The Indigenous collection charts the evolution of contemporary Indigenous art throughout all regions of Australia and across materials and media.
Both sites host several diverse and dynamic temporary exhibitions of work from around the world each year.
You can explore and discover much more by visiting the NGV’s website.
Project Objectives
- Reflect on the power of art and design to inform change
- Contribute to a collaborative creative project that draws upon students’ responses to what’s happening in their own communities and the world more broadly
- Encourage continued relationship, connection and dialogue between AUS and PNG partnership communities
- Involve students from both countries in conversations about global and local current affairs.
Project Summary
- Attend a virtual introduction to the project, a virtual tour of the PNG National Museum and Art Gallery and exploration of the exhibition We Change the World at the National Gallery of Victoria
- Begin designing a poster for change
- Attend an online progress catch up (optional)
- Submit final poster designs for display in a virtual exhibition.
Timeline and Key Dates
Tuesday 15 February – Virtual Project Launch
Tuesday 29 February – Informal online progress catch up
Wednesday 20 April – Poster submission deadline
Tuesday 3 May – Online virtual exhibition viewing and group discussion
Australian Curriculum Mapping
This project is mapped to the Australian Curriculum but provides PNG schools with a good indication of curriculum and learning outcomes that can be achieved by participation in this project.
Visual Arts
Year 9 & 10
- Conceptualise and develop representations of themes, concepts or subject matter to experiment with their developing personal style, reflecting on the styles of artists, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists (ACAVAM125)
- Manipulate materials, techniques, technologies and processes to develop and represent their own artistic intentions (ACAVAM126)
- Develop and refine techniques and processes to represent ideas and subject matter (ACAVAM127)
- Plan and design artworks that represent artistic intention (ACAVAM128)
- Evaluate how representations communicate artistic intentions in artworks they make and view to inform their future art making (ACAVAR130)
Achievement Standard
By the end of Year 10, students evaluate how representations communicate artistic intentions in artworks they make and view. They evaluate artworks and displays from different cultures, times and places. They analyse connections between visual conventions, practices and viewpoints that represent their own and others’ ideas. They identify influences of other artists on their own artworks. Students manipulate materials, techniques and processes to develop and refine techniques and processes to represent ideas and subject matter in their artworks.
Capability: Intercultural Understanding
Recognising culture and developing respect
Explore and compare cultural knowledge, beliefs and practices
- Analyse the dynamic nature of cultural knowledge, beliefs and practices in a range of personal, social and historical contexts Develop respect for cultural diversity (Level 5)
- Critically analyse the complex and dynamic nature of knowledge, beliefs and practices in a wide range of contexts over time (Level 6)
Develop respect for cultural diversity
- Understand the importance of maintaining and celebrating cultural traditions for the development of personal, group and national identities (Level 5)
- Understand the importance of mutual respect in promoting cultural exchange and collaboration in an interconnected world (Level 6)
Reflecting on intercultural experiences and taking responsibility
Reflect on intercultural experiences
- Reflect critically on the representation of various cultural groups in texts and the media and how they respond (Level 5)
- Reflect critically on the effect of intercultural experiences on their own attitudes and beliefs and those of others (Level 6)
We Change the World at the NGV
In an everchanging world that is constantly presented with many challenges, how can art and design influence change and contribute to a positive future? We Change the World shares the many ways that artists and designers can inspire change through their work, positioning the idea of change as a creative gesture, large or small, that prompts us to question our current world and contribute to an optimistic future.
Following the Virtual Project Launch and introduction to We Change the World you can continue to explore the exhibition content with your students using the following links and the guiding questions below.
- Have a look around the exhibition with the We Change the World virtual tour
- Read more about the artists and designers included in the exhibition on the We Change the World
Start by viewing the exhibition themes more broadly, then selecting one or two artists that interest you. You may wish to work in pairs or a small group to answer these guiding questions to help you understand the artist or designer’s intentions.
Guiding questions
Make a note of your responses as they might help you with your poster design.
- What issue is being explored by the artist/designer?
- How do the materials or medium chosen by the artist/designer contribute to the meaning of the work?
- What message is the artist/designer attempting to communicate with their audience? Is the aim of the work to raise awareness, consider an alternative future, change our behaviour, or something else?
- What ideas could you use from this work to inspire your poster for change?
You can also use the We Change the World Education Resource for additional activities and more detailed questions that relate to specific artworks in the exhibition.
Designing a poster for change
A guide for teachers and students
Key points
- Students are invited to design and produce a poster that communicates a change they would like to see in the world. The issue they choose to address can be local or global.
- Students can work individually to create their own poster, work in pairs or work in a small group. We suggest teachers consider which approach will work best for their learning environment.
- The recommended size for each poster is A4 or A3.
- While there are no restrictions on the use of media and materials used to make the poster, final submissions must be digital. If you create a poster on paper, you can take a photo or scan your work in order to submit it.
The following step-by-step guide contains activities and suggestions to help teachers and students generate and refine ideas for their poster designs and produce their final pieces.
Step 1: Brainstorming ideas
A great way to start planning a design for your poster is by doing a brainstorm. This will help you identify and define the key issues you want to focus on and how you might communicate your ideas in an eye-catching poster.
Begin with broad issues where you think change is needed, then brainstorm some more specific concerns that come to mind. Here’s an example:
Environmental issues
- Climate change
- Rising sea levels
- Pollution levels
- The extinction of animal species
Some other broad issues to explore could be:
- An issue in your community
- Something you want to change in your school
- Social justice concerns
- Health issues
- Animal welfare
Step 2: Refining ideas
Now that you’ve done your brainstorm, it’s time to look at all the ideas you listed and identify which are the best for informing and shaping your poster for change.
If you’re finding it hard to decide which idea to choose, try asking yourself the following questions:
- Which issues do you feel the most passionate about? Why?
- What kind of change you hope your poster will encourage?
- What imagery comes to mind? What could you include in your design?
- What materials are available to you, and which ones will aid the communication of your message?
Step 3: Do some research
Carry out some research into your chosen idea/s to inspire and inform your design.
- Is the idea that you want to communicate relevant to a local or a wider, global community?
- Would it have an environmental, social, or political impact?
- Which symbols or images are already associated with the idea?
- Are there words or phrases commonly associated with the idea? Is there a common colour palette associated with pre-existing visual representations of the idea? Describe it.
- How have artists and designers already responded to the idea? What makes their approach effective
Step 4: Create a draft for your poster design
Now it’s time to get creative and sketch a draft design for your poster. Think of your draft as a simplified version of your finished product that contains symbols, images, colours, words and/or phrases that will capture the attention of those viewing your work. If you need to, you can do more than one draft for your design.
Before you start, think about some of the key elements in a design for a poster. What do you think makes a poster design effective at communicating a message?
You can assess the effectiveness of any existing poster design using the following questions:
- Composition: How does the overall design communicate a message?
- Text: How can words enrich the ideas expressed in a poster?
- Imagery: How do pictures and/or symbols relate to the poster’s message?
- Colour: How does the colour scheme add meaning to the poster? How does it help create a mood or feeling?
- Focal point: What is the main point the poster is making, and how does the design of the poster make it stand out?
- Clarity: How easy is it to understand what the poster is communicating? You can also use these questions to assess the effectiveness of your draft before moving on to producing your final presentation.
Remember to join the online informal progress catch up to share what you’ve done so far, get some feedback on your designs and ideas, and see what other students and schools are doing.
You might even inspire others with the work you’ve done so far!
Step 5: Produce your final poster design
When you are happy with your draft, you can create the final version of your poster.
How you make your poster up to you, but we suggest the following:
- Dimensions: Depending on your choice of materials, you might like to make a poster either A3 or A4 in size.
- Materials: Depending on the materials available in your school’s art room or classroom, you can either create a poster on paper using pencil, collage, or paint or you can work digitally.
- Submission format: You will need to submit a digital version of your poster so it can be added to a virtual gallery space for everyone to see. If you create a poster on paper, you can take a photo or scan your work in order to submit it.
Step 6: Submit your poster and reflection
Submit a copy of your poster design to pngaus-partnership@unimelb.edu.au or via the Google Classroom.
Along with your poster, share a few thoughts about your work by submitting answers to these questions:
- What idea did you choose to represent and how have you expressed your feelings towards it in your design?
- How effective is your work in expressing your feelings around the idea you chose to represent in your work, and why do you think this?
- How do you think your poster might impact those who view it and inspire change?
Virtual exhibition
To celebrate the conclusion of the project and the wonderful contributions made by the students and teachers involved, the submitted posters for change will be displayed in a virtual exhibition. All participants will be invited to attend a live viewing online to discover and explore the exhibition content together.