A collection of community art made for our Community Festival

The 2020 City of Whittlesea Community Festival, planned for 16 March 2020, was cancelled due to COVID-19. Prior to that, school children and community members around the municipality made art in response to the following theme: ‘Our Backyard’.

Once upon a time, an Australian backyard had a lawn, a hills hoist, a vegie patch, a barbeque, a cubby … it was a space for sharing time with others, for playing, for relaxing. With the development of apartments and houses that fill the property, back yards are changing, so ‘Our Backyard’ also refers to communal spaces in the neighbourhood…

The community was invited to reflect on questions like: What does ‘backyard’ mean to you? What happens in your backyard? Where is your backyard? Who do you share it with? And how do we keep our backyard beautiful?

Teachers and group leaders facilitated discussions that reflected on such questions then students responded. Some worked as individuals while others collaborated on a group artwork. Their artwork would have been displayed around an outdoor festival but instead, you can view it here:

Al Siraat College

Hazel Glen College

Lalor Primary School

Merriang Special Developmental School

Northside Christian College

St Mary's OSHClub

Thomastown Meadows

Thomastown Meadows grades 3 and 4

Whittlesea Community Garden's vegetables

Butterflies and Bugs

Sunflowers