Screen-Shot-2020-06-12-at-5.08.25-pm

Social Justice Art (not just for Teens) – June

Call for Entries for an exhibition from students in Years Prep to Year 12 who live, study or work in Moonee Valley

Call for Entries will be open from 13 June to 13 July 2020

To enter, young artists (with the consent and help of their parents) will need to submit a photograph of their artworks via this online entry form.

This exhibition will exist in Boadle Hall Community Gallery and on Incinerator Gallery website. Artworks may be selected for one or both spaces.

A clear photograph of the entered artwork must be submitted with entry, alongside a brief artist statement that includes the artist’s name, title of the artwork, mediums used and a brief description of the story and message of the artwork.

We welcome artworks created using any medium of choice – digital art, collage, painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, textiles, graphic design or photography. The selection panel will be looking for artworks that are creative, distinctive and express the artists views on a Coronavirus related social justice issue.

View the full terms and conditions here.

Teachers wanting to submit an entire classes entries please email incinerator@mvcc.vic.gov.au to arrange.

Incinerator Gallery invite you to join the Social Justice Art for Teens and Children Facebook Group to get connected with other young artists wanting to have their voices heard and use art to raise  awareness and make a difference. #SJA4Ts

Background to the Social Justice Art exhibition

Social Justice Art for Teens was established in 2019 at Incinerator Gallery. The program vision was to capture the important voices of young people on issues that mattered most to them; using Art as the catalyst to provoke thought, capture their ideas and voices, and ignite social change.

However, 2020 saw the arrival of Coronavirus. The gallery and its programs temporarily closed, and the virus brought our collective lives to a standstill as we went into isolation and lockdown. Never before has humanity shared such an experience and one that will forever change our lives. Coronavirus has impacted all lives of young and old in many ways and the lockdown has given rise to increased isolation, disconnection, financial stress, heightened emotions, an increase in mental health issues, fear and anxiety and added pressure on the home environment. Coronavirus magnified social inequity and inequality at breakneck speed.

The big feelings people have experienced and the issues that have risen during this time need to be explored and unpacked. This is true for all of us, but even more so for young people as we try to find a ‘new normal’ in the coming months and process our experiences. A platform is needed for young people to express their feelings and have their voices, concerns and thoughts heard on how Coronavirus has impacted them. With its power to transform, illuminate, educate, inspire and motivate the visual arts is an exceptional vehicle to drive this important conversation. 

That’s why the Incinerator Gallery is inviting all young people, from Prep through to Year 12 who live, work or study in Moonee Valley, to participate in a Social Justice Art Exhibition. This exhibition aims to create a safe and inclusive virtual space for young people to visually share their thoughts and feelings on Coronavirus and this recent lockdown period in the hope of helping them process what has happened and how our world has changed. The exhibition will be a time capsule of young people’s experiences and perceptions through the pandemic.

Thinking Questions Prompts

Use the following questions to help guide young artists in the creation of their artwork.

Junior Primary Thinking Questions

  • When you think about Coronavirus, what comes into your mind?
  • If Coronavirus were a character, what would it look like?
  • How does Coronavirus make you feel? What would those feelings look like as an artwork?
  • When you had to stay home during Coronavirus, what things did you miss the most?

Middle Primary Thinking Questions

  • When you think about Coronavirus, what worries do you have?
  • How did being in isolation during lockdown make you feel?
  • If you could stop Coronavirus, how would you stop it?
  • What do you think Coronavirus looks like?

Upper Primary Thinking Questions

  • What impact has Coronavirus had on your life?
  • What are your greatest fears about Coronavirus?
  • What did isolation look like for you? If you could capture that in an image, what would it look like?
  • What items, symbols or people most represent Coronavirus?

Junior Secondary School Thinking Questions

  • If you could write a letter to Coronavirus, what would you say?
  • Think of all the things that come to mind when you think of Coronavirus. What are they? How could you use these things to create an artwork about Coronavirus?
  • How do you feel about Coronavirus? How could you capture these feelings in an artwork?
  • When you think about isolation and social-distancing, what images come to mind?

Middle Secondary School Thinking Questions

  • What were the hardest things about the pandemic for you and your family?
  • What did you learn about Coronavirus? How could this be represented in an artwork?
  • How did you feel about isolation and social-distancing?
  • What were the biggest adjustments you had to make in your life and what strategies did you use to cope with these during Coronavirus?

Upper Secondary School Thinking Questions

  • What social issues have arisen from Coronavirus?
  • What does isolation mean and look like to you? How did isolation impact people? How could you represent that impact in an artwork?
  • How do you think Coronavirus will change our world?
  • What impact did Coronavirus have on young people?
  • What’s one image stuck in your head right now that represents the pandemic for you?

Remember to watch the ‘Call for Entries’ video. It has many examples of Coronavirus art that may also inspire your own unique idea.