“The project began as a simple idea,” says visual arts teacher Peter Eglezos.
“The hope was to provide our 2023 Year nine students – the first graduating cohort of this campus – an opportunity to celebrate their achievements and successes.”
What grew from that “simple idea” was officially launched at Melbourne’s McKinnon Secondary College earlier this month – an enormous collaborative mural led by local artist Anthony Breslin.
The result is called A Frolic in the Mind’s Garden and the artwork has not only added life and colour to a previously dull – and very large – wall, but has also enriched the connections students have with their high school.
As the Learning Area Manager – Visual Arts at McKinnon Secondary College, Mr Eglezos played an important role in coordinating the project that was suggested by one of his teacher colleagues, Melinda Howard.
But with all 400 of the 2023 Year nine students – and the teachers at the new campus – working closely with the artist on-site, the real work, he says, was definitely a community effort.
At the formal launch of the mural, Mr Egzelos summed up the multiple benefits the arts project has brought to the school by asking the audience a simple question:
“How lucky are we that we can provide our students with a real-life art project of this scale?”
Mural captures school’s “unique sense of humanity”
Michael Kan is Principal of the growing school’s recent East Campus addition that is dedicated to students in years eight and nine and says the mural had a big job to do – but he believes it’s one that has been achieved brilliantly.
“We had a blank, neutral concrete wall that was crying out for something like this,” he told EducationDaily.
“When I took on the role as Principal of this campus after being at McKinnon for fifteen years, I knew we had a lot of work to do to imbue this place with our culture and our unique sense of humanity – and I thought this would be a great idea.”
He knew he wanted a mural but says his school’s art department took that concept to “the next level” by engaging local artist Anthony Breslin.
“He produced some plans of what it might look like, and we decided we would go ahead with this. Each different panel has been painted by different kids. Each perspective is different and unique but when it comes together it’s a united work.”
Mr Kan says he loves the way Indigenous culture is incorporated into the mural and says he is “immensely proud” that its “significant presence” in the community will be enjoyed for generations to come.
Community-led purpose
The work’s lasting legacy also inspires the artist himself.
Anthony Breslin’s artistic career spans over 30 years, including painting, performance, poetry, design and production. Now, after several years battling blood cancer and surviving bone marrow and kidney transplants, his career has refocused back to its roots of visual art.
Up until his illness, he created more than 50 solo exhibitions both nationally and internationally, including shows in Hong Kong, Zurich, Prague, Barcelona, Shanghai, Bern, London and Dublin.
Today, he is passionate about working with various communities, marginalised groups and schools to build awareness and focus on the importance of community, belonging, and rites of passage.
.”This has been an amazing experience for me – primarily because I had this design idea in my head, and I needed the means to turn it into reality,” says Mr Breslin.
“Thanks to the school for letting me do what I wanted to do. I am very grateful for the opportunity. That’s all that matters to me in my life now – having a purpose to do something that serves something beyond myself.”
Transforming and enhancing students
“Seeing the impact the conversations Anthony has had on our students has also been really inspiring,” says Mr Eglezos.
“One of our VCE students, who ended up working quite closely with Anthony to complete this mural, has since transformed her own art-making practice. It has ignited a passion for the subject and for art-making which has been fantastic to witness.“
The power of collaboration
He says that, as an arts department, “we are lucky that McKinnon sees the value in our subject and has provided us with these opportunities to add value to the school culture and community”.
“Students did not create individual artworks and they had no ownership over a single artwork or piece – instead students worked as a collaborative group to paint the flowers, bugs, hearts and trees on the mural,” he told EducationDaily.
“This experience allowed us to have really powerful conversations about the concept of collaboration.”
The experience also enabled the McKinnon students “to understand and experience what a career in the Visual Arts can look like – not just as an artist, but as an engineer and product designer, a filmmaker and manager”.
“They have been able to have meaningful conversations with Anthony’s team about the process of community-based projects,” Mr Eglezos says.
With the mural’s bold visibility from the street outside the school gates, Mr Eglezos says the project “has transformed the exterior of the school, and now acts as a landmark”.
“My hope is that it draws in the community and sparks ongoing conversations of how we can continue to create spaces that bring people together.”
Connecting students with school culture
Liv, 15, is now in Year 10 at McKinnon and is proud to see her artistic contributions as part of the school’s first graduating Year nine cohort officially unveiled for everyone to enjoy.
Her involvement in the project started during art classes, lunch and recess when she asked to help paint a previously blank wall bright blue, without even understanding what the final outcome would be.
When she was told it would be the backdrop for a new mural, her motivation to be part of it became even more focused – and the fact that “everyone got to have their individual touch” is something she saw is “really great”.
She points to a colourful creature to highlight just how the collaboration worked.
“See that little dragonfly in the middle? Maybe 20 people had a touch on that.”
Worked closely with “an actual artist”, Liv says, was an experience she won’t forget.
“it’s really cool that we’ve done this big piece and it’s going to be here for a very long time,” Liv told EducationDaily.
“It looks very bright and appealing to look at. There was a lot of effort by all the teachers and Anthony and everyone else involved. I think it’s amazing.”
One of her year 10 classmates, Zane, also 15, holds similar memories.
“I really like painting, so I was very much involved,” they told EducationDaily.
“Hanging out with Anthony was really lovely.”
What made the process more special, Zane says, is the level of autonomy he gave them to add their own individual style.
“He wanted to sit and watch what we did, and I think that’s really cool. Rather than giving us something to do, he was there assisting us to do what we wanted.”
Zane says Breslin simply told the students and teachers involved to “make it look pretty”.
But Zane admits that, because “there’s a thing that happens when you give year nines paint and free will” – although “he didn’t really control the environment” – he did reinforce his overarching artistic vision with some final touches one the input had all been contributed.
“Later on, he did fix a few things up a bit,” Zane says. “I guess that’s the life of an artist.”
What made the project meaningful was the time the students got to spend with someone who wasn’t one of their regular teachers, Zane told EducationDaily.
“That was really important. There was no mark set. There was nothing due by a certain date. It was about having fun and leaving a mark on the school. I think it’s really nice that they gave us a way to be remembered.”
