Shaun Tan Art Award

Shaun Tan Youth Art Award First Place

Melissa Viti's (9 Kildare) incredible art piece was awarded First Place in the Year 7-9 (lower secondary) category at the Shaun Tan Youth Art Awards.

The 30x30cm graphite artwork was one of 1400 entries from across Western Australia - 50 of those entries were shortlisted for the exhibition.

Caitlin Murray (12 Kildare) was also amongst those shortlisted, with her beautiful painting selected in the Year 10-12 (upper secondary) category.

Shaun Tan, famed Perth artist, writer, and film maker most known for his fantastical illustrations, attended the awards ceremony via Teams from Brisbane. Offering commentary on the many showcased pieces, he said the following of Melissa's:

"...there is a fairy-tale reference that is pulled into sharp contemporary reality which also captures the feelings of self-awareness, self-consciousness and critique that are so often on the unwelcome agenda of teenage life. Technically, in line and shading, composition and concept development, this is a brilliant piece, without losing any emotional charge for all the attention to precise execution".

Well done to both Melissa and Caitlin for producing such commendable works of art, and a heartfelt thank you to our Production Arts Department for encouraging girls to reach their artistic potential through these wonderful opportunities.