By Bridget Spinks
This year’s annual Santa Maria College Art Exhibition and Fashion Parade on October 18 was a glamorous affair as it took a ‘Gold Fever’ theme.
WA fashion designer and Santa Maria artist in residence Angela Ferolla officially opened the exhibition that showcased the artistic creations of close to 200 years 9-12 Santa Maria College girls.
Budding fashion designers at the school produced ‘wearable art’ and were required to follow a highly structured project brief that ensures modesty.
“One of the things we stipulate is that the garment must capture the theme but they need to be aware of the body and self-respect and they need to be aware of the audience – especially being in a Catholic school,” said Santa Maria visual arts coordinator, Lisa Bowdon.
While the brief is specific in the requirements, it allows for a lot of self expression and individuality and is always guided by the teacher.
The Olympic inspired evening also showcased sculpture, digital graphics and textiles inspired by the Beijing Olympics such as trophies, medallions and paintings using Chinese painting style.
Grecian based outfits made by the girls that paid homage to the first Olympics in Greece were also on display.
Ms Bowden said that the idea behind the showcase and team-building exercise is to build self-confidence, self-esteem and an awareness of others.
“We wanted to look at the major world event because of the collaborative-ness of it, many cultures appreciating each other at different levels,” she said in reference to the Beijing Games.
While the overarching theme also incorporated the ‘Saturday Night Fever’ 70s buzz to mark the college’s 70th anniversary, it also served to highlight the way the school appreciates its students’ qualities.
“We consider our girls to be winners regardless of whether they come first second or last, and they are our gold stars – that’s the idea behind the theme gold,” Ms Bowdon said.
The exhibition will be on show at Santa Maria College until October 23.