Media release - Northland Secondary College students create art for human rights

26/06/2007

Year nine students at Northland Secondary College are developing an arts project to portray human rights. The students have been working on the artwork for the past month, with community artist Marion Singer.

Ms Singer has been contracted by the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission to work with different community groups to produce artwork that depicts the human rights contained in the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities, which came into effect in January this year.

The human rights themes of freedom, respect, equality and dignity will be explored by each community group and represented in a series of photographs and collages to be exhibited by the Commission at the end of the year. Northland Secondary College is the first group that Ms Singer is working with.

“The students have developed an understanding of the basic principles of human rights and have learnt practical skills in photography and the visual expression of ideas,” Ms Singer said.

“The students have enjoyed engaging with the community at the Preston markets and taking photographs to express the human rights principles of freedom, respect, equality and dignity.”

Marion Singer is an experienced community artist with a strong history of working with people from a diverse range of backgrounds to create meaningful art.

Commission Chief Executive Officer Dr Helen Szoke said the project was an innovative way of building awareness of the Charter of Human Rights in the community.

“We hope that human rights awareness within the community will grow as it is passed on from these young people to their peers and families,” she said.

Ms Singer and the Commission will work on future arts projects in the coming months with a youth mental health service clients, a group of older Turkish gardeners, a disability group and a regional single mothers group. The art will be exhibited by the Commission in December.

PHOTO OPPORTUNITY:
12.00pm
Wednesday 27 June
Northland Secondary College
62 Murray Rd
East Preston
Melways Reference: 19 B12

Media enquiries to Jessica Ardley, (03) 9281 7133 or 0428 881 254