Subtext

Overview

High School is already hard if you speak the language. Arriving from another country in turmoil, not knowing how to communicate, what to do when the bell rings or how to ask for the toilet makes it all considerably harder. Having a go at being articulate and stylish in public can be a big confidence boost, not to mention quite cool in and of itself. At the Carriageworks until March 5th, Art and Australia magazine, working with the Australian Literacy & Numeracy Foundation (ALNF), is putting students front and centre with the Subtext exhibition. Students from Lurnea High School in western Sydney worked with artist Locust Jones to produce the exhibition's star work — a 25 metre canvas illustrating the students' experiences.

The ALNF already puts out a collection of student-told stories with the Bankstown Youth Development Service called Westside Jr, which launched last year at the National Young Writer's Festival. Subtext is raising money for the ALNF's Refugee Action Support program, and as well as the Locust Jones canvas there are contributions of text-based art from over a dozen other artists on sale for the cause.

Image by servantofchaos.