The Wilkins Association for Visual Arts (WAVA) is a group of parents, practicing artists and Wilkins staff who are passionate about offering diverse art experiences to students and the wider school community. Throughout the school year the group run art-making projects and workshops both in and outside the classroom designed to stimulate students' creativity, improve technique and extend critical thinking. We work with Wilkins teachers by supporting the visual arts curriculum and making connections with professional artists and resources in the local community.
Feedback from students
Students say that WAVA:
- "lifts the spirit and joins people together"
- "lightens our life"
- "makes a happier environment"
(Wilkins students, 2014)
Getting Involved
Interested parents are encouraged to join WAVA. You can commit to as little as an hour helping with a project in your child's class, or offer more time for bigger works when you have it. We welcome all contributors and skills.
Contact us via email at wava2204@gmail.com or through the P&C Facebook page.
WAVA's Achievements
In its first two years WAVA designed, planned and helped raise funds for the following:
- Sketching in the Green, a fortnightly, after-school club with an introduction to botanical drawing and sketching in the Wilkins Community Garden.
- In 2014, we commissioned local artists to paint two school murals. Students were delighted to be involved in the murals' design and creation through workshops with artists Bafcat & Jumbo and Akisiew. You can see these dynamic works outside the library and the Park Road school entrance.
- WAVA engaged more than 90 year 6 students to create a Tawny Frogmouth mural, which will soon be permanently installed in the Kindergarten Eco-playground. Students worked from a broken template of carved clay which was bisque fired and glazed, then reassembled into a mosaic. Many students had little or no experience with clay, and joined in with enthusiastic dedication. We hope such projects will become a tradition so year 6 students can create a permanent legacy of their Wilkins years.
- In 2014, WAVA secured funding to buy and install a new school kiln and has since offered workshops with the education officer from the Australian Ceramics Association in ceramic techniques, modeling, building and glazing for staff and students.
A thriving visual arts program offers countless benefits for students, staff and the broader community. Art practice fosters creative thinking, problem solving and extends students' interpretations of the world. It broadens their knowledge of specific artistic practices throughout history and from diverse cultural traditions. By tapping into students' passions and talents, visual art practice contributes to a vibrant and inspired learning environment.
WAVA's program is developed in line with the NSW BOS Creative Arts Syllabus/National Curriculum.