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Showcasing the spirit of young artists

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17 March 2025

Artwork by current and former students from Melbourne ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ Catholic Schools (ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ) schools is featured in NGV Australia’s Top Arts exhibition. As part of the VCE Season of Excellence, 40 works of photography, drawing, painting, sculpture, mixed media, ceramics, textiles, film and printmaking produced by VCE Art Creative Practice and VCE Art Making and Exhibiting students were selected for this prestigious exhibition from approximately 1400 applications.

‘Top Arts 2025 offers a captivating look into the inventive and imaginative spirit of young artists’, states the NGV website.

Molly Thomas, a Year 12 student at Iona College Geelong, Charlemont, completed Units 3 and 4 of VCE Art Making and Exhibiting last year, and dedicated three months and 220 hours to producing her piece Seal of sorrow, now on display at the NGV.

‘I found the process of drawing to develop as a form of meditation … Investing all my time into the project enabled me to expand my mind. I was able to take my mind to a space of tranquility and block out all thoughts and distractions. I have found this to be a place that I can return to for separation from everyday routines and connect with the present.’

Molly’s advice to current VCE Art students is to ‘[d]raw inspiration from your passions and experiences to retain motivation’.

Molly Thomas with Jodie Carter-Blackhall
Molly Thomas (right) with Jodie Carter-Blackhall, Unit 3 & 4 Art Making and Exhibiting teacher and Iona College’s Learning Area Leader (The Arts)

Lara Mancuso, former student at Penola Catholic College, Broadmeadows, ‘was a dedicated Art and Visual Communication Design student who enjoyed the creative offerings that the college provided’, said the school’s Head of Visual Arts, Margaret Borg. ‘She meticulously planned her folio, dedicating enormous time and energy to the documentation of her art making.’

Lara’s artwork, Confined in the shadows, is part of the Top Arts exhibition and she is pursuing Design at Monash University.

Her advice to current students is ‘to delve deep into your passions and interests. Creating artwork on themes and ideas relevant to my own experiences, as well as developing a style of artwork relative to my interests and personality enabled me to remain consistently passionate and energized throughout the course of the year’.

Lara Mancuso (left) in an art studio at Penola Catholic College

will run until Sunday 20 July.

To see more inspirational works from our students, visit the Creative Arts Exhibition, which showcases the wonderful artwork of primary and secondary students in the ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ of Melbourne. It reflects their creativity in a broad range of impressive and inspiring works across various disciplines, including painting, photography, sculpture, fashion and film.

The Creative Arts Exhibition is open for public viewing at Catholic Leadership Centre from Sunday 16 March to Saturday 22 March.

Book online via .