Students Visit Dunedin Art Gallery

By Brigid Allan | Posted: Thursday September 12, 2019

Whilst Tournament week was in full throw, the remaining Year 10 Art students went to the Dunedin Art Gallery to see what was happening in the local Art scene.

Walking into the gallery there was a huge racket coming from the far corner, what sounded like someone hammering on metal. We were soon to find out that with a bit of luck our visit had coincided with the presence of Dunedin Art Gallery's Tongan Artist in Residence, Kalisolaite ‘Uhila (Tonga).

Unsure of what to make of this noise, in a normally quiet and reflective space, our students had a real opportunity to experience contemporary performance art. Uhila played traditional rhythms on makeshift drums made of steel cabin bread containers, similar to those his family and friends used to eat from and play on, when he was a child in Tonga. Some students even took up the opportunity to contribute to his exhibit by playing on the drums themselves, encouraging them to investigate who the artist was and what their idea of art is. Following this experience the Students were then taken through the entire gallery, looking at a range of art disciplines by the well known arts educator, John Neumegen. After the exploration of what art was, we then all created our own artwork. Using tapa pattern as an influence, we drummed the paint on our canvas using various implements other than a paint brush. Below you will see some of our creative outcomes.Absorbed with students fully engaged, this trip was a real success. 

 We wish to extend a warm thank you to the Dunedin Art Gallery, John Neumegen and Kalisolaite 'Uhila for the opportunity to be involved and Corrie Beaumont for helping on the day of our trip.

Image Gallery