Visitors to Melbourne Museum, the National Gallery of Victoria and audiences at Melbourne Recital Centre will see the work of some of Ballarat's most talented young designers, artists, composers and performers.
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The creative works of at least eight Ballarat senior secondary students have been chosen from thousands of submissions as part of the prestigious Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority's VCE Season of Excellence.
The 2024 editions of Top Designs, Top Acts, Top Arts, Top Class, Top Screen and Top Talks highlight the cream of the crop from the works of 2023 VCE and VCE VET students.
Three locals - Ballarat High School graduate Jasmine Goon, April Crumpler a graduate of Ballarat Clarendon College and current Ballarat Grammar student Will Newton - will have works at Melbourne Museum from March 23 as part of the Top Designs exhibition.
Jasmine's utility jumpsuit for fine artists came about from her own struggle to maintain desk space and organise materials during her own art-marking.
"I created this utility jumpsuit to address fine artists' need for practical and convenient storage," she said.
"Designed to redefine a conventional art apron, my unique garment has biodegradable full body coverage that safeguards the user from mess. With strategic arm, torso and leg pocket placements, effective material accessibility is supported whilst eliminating desk clutter."
April Crumpler created a suite of products for Complement Brewing Company including beer can label designs, and a 3D model of a proposed brewery.
"Complement Brewing Company required a set of graphic labels for the six different beer cans they produce, all following a complementary colour scheme of yellow/purple, blue/orange, and red/green," she said in her design submission.
"I used digital methods to produce the sticker labels and adhered them to aluminium cans. Complement Brewery also required a 3D model to present a proposed brewery design that would show the contemporary, vibrant nature of the business and their passion for brewing."
Will Newton from Ballarat Grammar composed, wrote and produced a post-rock and psychedelic rock inspired piece called Cloud as part of his VCE VET Music Industry (Sound Production).
"It is the culmination of years' worth of riffs, chord progressions, and melodies that hadn't yet found their place in a piece of music. I experimented with production techniques such as layered and double tracked guitars and combined those recordings with digital drums and bass," he said.
"These techniques emulate the slow burn builds and crescendos of the post-rock genre which influenced this song."
School mates Wil Oldaker and Lilla McIntyre were both selected for Top Class Music for their works created as part of their VCE VET Music Industry (Performance) course.
Year 10 and 11 students studying dance at Ballarat Clarendon College attended the Top Class Dance exhibition at Melbourne Recital Centre as inspiration for their own choreography and to support current year 11 student Mahlee Yuanjit who was selected to perform her 2023 examination solo.
Loreto College student Millie Wakefield was also chosen to perform at Top Class Dance, as was former Damascus student Poppy Boucher who will also perform in the regional VCAA Top Class Dance 2024 tour in April.
