Melbourne Arts Tour

From Friday 16th October to Monday 19th October, a group of 20 students travelled to the Melbourne Arts Festival. On the trip students engaged in multiple cultural activities, or, in other words, went to plays, dances, art galleries, music performances, markets and much more. On the first day we saw a group called Grand DiVisions, a band made up of refugees and immigrants, each with a different, amazing story to tell. The next day we visited the Arts Centre and saw a play based on George Orwell's novel, 1984. 1984 is about rebellion against an oppressive, all-seeing system and how people don't notice that their life is secretly being controlled and manipulated. We also saw a play called Desdemona, which is a re-telling of the Shakespearean story of Othello from a woman's perspective. On Sunday morning we went to a church service at St John’s Lutheran Church at Southgate and then we headed to the historic St Kilda Markets that are right next to the iconic Luna Park. From here we went back to the Arts Centre to see an Israeli dance company named Batsheva perform a contemporary dance piece called Last Work. After dinner at a lovely little Japanese restaurant that went by the name of Chocolate Buddha, we saw Katie Noonan sing at the Foxtel hub right next to the Yarra River.

On the last day, we were led throughout the backstreets and alleys of the city by Zoe, a tour guide for Urban Scrawl, to marvel at the street art. The graffiti was anywhere from the size of a piece of paper, to covering entire walls of buildings. I think I speak on behalf of everyone that went in saying that the trip would not have been as amazing without the teachers, the wonderful Mrs Jacqui Layfield, the awesome Mr Doug Fitzpatrick and the fabulous Miss Anita Morton. The Melbourne Arts Trip was an amazing experience and I think I might just like to go again next year.

Rhett Ousley, Year 9 Student