On Friday night I happily accepted the offer from my old high school to open the 2011 Melbourne High School Art Exhibition in South Yarra. I was amazed not only by the standard of work but also the variety; installation art, design, theatre, architectural models, portfolios, interpretive, sculpture, traditional drawing and painting, and of course photography to mention but a few. The facilities and exhibition spaces are a far cry from those we utilized in my time at the school and are a credit to the vision of the schools leaders.

It was also pleasing to see the ease with which students can create and display works that in the past may have been frowned upon. My mother once demanded I remove a set of testicles from a surrealist drawing I’d created for my portfolio only to have the art teacher reprimand her at parent-teacher night. That seemed a far cry from the sculptured fetus wrapped tightly in clear plastic hanging in an installation piece before me!

Well done to all involved!