On Friday, the 15th of March, Year 11 and 12 Visual Arts students travelled by train to the Museum of Contemporary Art at Circular Quay. Our visit to the MCA began with a welcome to country, where we viewed a powerful contemporary installation piece exploring concepts of identity, sovereignty, pride, resilience, and connection to country located at the entry of the MCA.

In our workshop Unpacking Unseen Images, we engaged with a variety of contemporary works and unpacked several key pieces in the 24th Biennale of Sydney: Ten Thousand Suns. This workshop allowed students to gain a valuable understanding of the artists who created the pieces, their practice, the artwork, and the meaning behind the construction of the work. 

After lunch, we travelled to the AGNSW to view Art Express and the Louise Bourgeois: Has the Day Invaded the Night or Has the Night Invaded the Day exhibitions. The HSC showcase of astounding works produced by the 2023 cohort of high-achieving Visual Art HSC students included artworks across a range of expressive forms and a sampling of Visual Arts Process Diaries. 

Then students were treated to the extensive body of work created by artist Louise Bourgeois in the exhibition Has the Day Invaded the Night or Has the Night Invaded the Day. This exhibition spand 70 years of the artist's working life and gave students significant insight into the relationship between the artist, artwork and their audience.

The excursion was highly beneficial to students and many were a buzz throughout the day inspired by new ideas in developing their bodies of work. Each experience provided students with valuable insight in guiding their theoretical and practical studies in the Visual Arts.