This year’s Arts celebrations explored the theme ‘Spark’, celebrating the ideas, moments and people that ignite our passion and contribute to the journey of becoming who we are.
The celebrations began with a Dance Showcase, held the evening before Arts Night, where students shared their creativity, skill and passion through a range of performances.
The following evening, our Visual Arts and Technology Showcase and Performing Arts Concert brought the wider JPC community together for an evening celebrating creativity across the College.
The Visual Arts and Technology Showcase provided an opportunity for students to share the ideas, imagination and technical skills they have developed throughout the year. The range of work on display highlighted the different ways students can explore creativity, problem-solving and self-expression through Visual Arts and Technology.
The Performing Arts Concert showcased the breadth of opportunities available to students across Music, Drama and Dance. The program featured students involved in VCE Music, VCE Drama, VCE VET Dance, instrumental and vocal programs, co-curricular music and student bands. Students also played an important role behind the scenes, with the tech crew primarily made up of students.
The growth of the Performing Arts program was also evident throughout the evening, with enrolments in Performing Arts subjects continuing to grow. From students taking their first steps on stage to senior students preparing for their VCE examinations, the night reflected the many pathways students can take as they develop their skills and confidence.
Among the evening’s memorable performances was Year 12 student Remo’s rendition of Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence. The performance held special significance for Remo, who chose the piece in honour of his late father and as a dedication to his mum. After years of being encouraged by his mum to learn the challenging piece, Remo chose to perform it as part of his VCE Music journey and surprise her on Arts Night.
The evening also marked an important milestone for Monkeybone, a band made up of VCE Music students Cindy, Ashley, Haze and Noble. Having performed together since Year 7, their final performance as a band was a fitting opportunity to celebrate how they have grown as musicians, performers and young people over the years.
The celebrations were made possible through the work of our Arts Committee, with Arts Leader Miranda and committee members Hannah, Ollie, Aisling and Sheri helping to bring the events together. Staff across the Arts and wider College community also worked behind the scenes to support students and create opportunities for their creativity to flourish.
Across the two evenings, students were given opportunities to create, perform, experiment, collaborate and share their work with the JPC community. From visual art and technology through to music, drama and dance, the celebrations showed the many ways students can discover and develop their creative spark throughout their journey at JPC.