FACULTY FEATURE: MEET THE VISUAL ARTS DEPARTMENT

“PLC Sydney is heaven for art teachers; it is a dream to have a facility where students' works are valued and presented, and have the chance to view works by artists first-hand and gain insights into their physical and material form,” says Head of the Visual Arts Faculty, Ms Jo Knight of the Adelaide Perry Gallery.

The Visual Arts staff view teaching at PLC Sydney as a privilege. To mentor our talented and passionate young artists through a range of artmaking processes and have the opportunity to explore ways to express and challenge themselves to extend their aesthetic results beyond their expectations. It is a thrill to have so many of our students continue to practise in the Visual Arts beyond their school career within the fields of Architecture, Fine Arts, Design, Education and numerous related courses. We are also extremely proud of our HSC students who are regularly nominated and selected for ARTEXPRESS exhibitions across the state.

Meet Our Team

Ms Jo Knight

Arriving with over 10 years experience as a Visual Arts Coordinator, and completing her Masters in Arts Administration at the College of Fine Arts UNSW, Ms Knight came to the College in 2012 as Curator, Adelaide Perry Gallery. She dedicated her passion for exhibiting cutting-edge professional artist practices to inspire our students. She moved into the Head of Faculty position in 2017 where she has since been committed to maintaining and improving the outstanding standard of the department.

Mr Andrew Paxton

Mr Andrew Paxton trained in the Painting Workshop of the School of Art & Design, ANU. He has been Adelaide Perry Gallery Manager at PLC Sydney since 2011, gaining experience in exhibition design and installation, art handling and arts administration. Each year, Mr Paxton assists the Visual Arts Faculty in the preparation of the College's student and professional artist exhibitions, including the Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing, the Gallery’s premier event, with a view to delivering outstanding shows that display the girls’ work at its best. He coordinates many aspects of the management and maintenance of the PLC Sydney Collection including its storage, cataloguing, documentation and restoration. Among his most favourite works in the Collection are Ken Searle’s Midnight Shakes the Memory, 2009 Perry Prize Winner, and My Le Thi’s Here & There

Mrs Alison Lloyd

With a passion for creativity, Junior School Visual Arts Coordinator, Mrs Alison Lloyd aims to assist students with gaining a level of confidence in their artmaking so that they may express themselves uniquely and create art works that they are proud of. With a background in Photographic and Digital Media, Mrs Lloyd came to PLC Sydney in 2015 after teaching Primary and Secondary Visual Arts for many years. She now teaches from the new Junior School Visual Arts Room in Evandale where students from Pre-Kindergarten to Year 6 enjoy their art lessons. “There are no ‘mistakes’ in our Art Room, just opportunities to learn and create amazing artworks,” she said.

Mrs Nicole Southworth Rader

Contributing to the diversity and expertise of the department is Art and Design Technical Assistant and practising landscape painter Mrs Nicole Southworth Rader. With a background in Graphic Design and having completed an advanced painting course at the National Art School, Mrs Rader is an asset to the team, lending her knowledge and skills to students across both the TAS and Visual Arts Faculties. Mrs Rader enjoys working on the co-curricular art programs of Hamilton After School Art and Art & Design Club in the Senior School, as well as supporting HSC students in the development of their Bodies of Work.

Ms Jen Gair

Connecting students with professional artists and the artworld is an integral ingredient of success for the Visual Arts Faculty at PLC Sydney. A focus that Ms Jen Gair shares in her dual role as a member of the Visual Arts teaching team and more recently as Curator. Having started at the College in 2017, Ms Gair hopes to build and extend our students' knowledge of Visual Arts and Design by showcasing works that both challenge and inspire them. She believes in encouraging an autonomous approach to the conceptual and material musings of student-making, whilst also learning from and celebrating the traditional and the academic. Having recently completed her Masters in Visual Arts Education, Ms Gair is passionate about encouraging students to become lifelong learners. She says, “I find personal enjoyment in building narrative connections for students where they can learn to acknowledge time, place, and culture and use this to explore new concepts with a renewed sense of understanding and confidence”.

Excited to be joining the PLC Sydney team in 2023 are highly experienced Visual Arts teachers Ms Renee Brown and Ms Kristen Privett, bringing a myriad of skills with them and a shared expertise in digital media.

Ms Kristen Privett

Ms Kristen Privett shares her experience in The Croydon as both a Visual Arts and Design & Technology teacher. Working professionally in digital design before beginning her teaching career, she draws on her expertise with technology to support our art students. Ms Privett encourages innovative approaches to artmaking and enjoys mastering new materials and techniques. She has honed her pedagogical approach for over 15 years and enjoys working with young people for their no-nonsense approach to life, and their energy. Her background of teaching internationally contributes to our understanding of a range of global art education perspectives at PLC Sydney.

Ms Renee Brown

Having taught for over 20 years in both Australia and the United Kingdom, Ms Renee Brown brings a wealth of experience to the fold. She has an extensive history in teaching Visual Arts from Years 7 to 12, including Photographic and Digital Media courses. Ms Brown is a passionate and committed teacher dedicated to helping students realise their full potential. She believes students' success is dependent on the development of a strong sense of belonging, engagement and affirmation. This provides the foundation for promoting critical and creative thinking, independent inquiry and a life-long commitment to grow and succeed. Ms Brown is thrilled to be our newest addition to the PLC Visual Arts teaching staff.

As a collegial, creative and caring team, the Visual Arts staff hope that the artists of PLC Sydney continue to feel safe, nurtured and empowered by the Visual Arts, and that The Croydon studios provide a sanctuary for innovation, critical thinking and meaningful artmaking. Through developing a community of makers, we encourage our students to engage with the Visual Arts as a way to connect with who they are as an individual, and contribute critically and passionately to the wider contemporary world.