Visual Arts

At Ryde Secondary College, we encourage our Visual Arts students to develop their understanding of visual communication, learn to think creatively and analytically and become self-motivated learners.

Students have the opportunity to explore a broad range of artistic experiences in making and studying art.  The compulsory course in Year 7 and 8 includes traditional art forms such as drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics and sculpture as well as contemporary art forms such as digital photography and film-making.   

In the elective courses in Year 9 to Year 12, students may also explore other art forms such as darkroom photography, animation and computer graphics, installation and documented forms and textile and fibre works.

Ryde Secondary College also offers two additional courses in the Visual Arts:

            Years 9 and 10 Photographic and Digital Media

            Year 11 Photographic and Digital Imaging  

These subjects explore both traditional darkroom and digital photography in depth, from a practical and theoretical perspective.

Students engage with their school and local community through extra-curricular activities.  

Some of the exciting experiences in recent years have included:

            College mural projects; collaborative class paintings and sculptures;

            Production of a class magazine; the establishment of the RSC Photography Gallery

            RSC’s ‘The Hub’ Art Gallery in collaboration with the school’s Youth Work program.   

In 2007, students curated and hung the first of Ryde Secondary College’s Year 12 Art Exhibitions. 

Students have worked on cross-curricular projects such as set-making for drama productions, the annual RSC Fashion Show and studio and on-location fashion shoots with Textiles and Design classes.

Students are inspired to make art with excursions such as oil painting by the Parramatta River, drawing at the Field of Mars, photography at Taronga Zoo, The Rocks and The Royal Botanic Gardens and printmaking and life-drawing lessons with professional artists. Students also engage with the art world with excursions to the Art Gallery of NSW, The Museum of Contemporary Art and other Sydney galleries.