[Systems Engineering Teachers' Mailing List] Fwd: VCE Season of Excellence Update: Focus on Season Alumni

[Lorraine Tran]

Dear Product Design and Technology and Systems Engineering teachers

The following communication from the VCAA Season of Excellence team may be
of interest. There's an opportunity to provide feedback on the exhibition
and associated education program and an order form available for the Top
Designs catalogue.

I attended the Top Designs Exhibition a couple of weeks ago and thought it
was amazing! Congratulations to all teachers and their students who have
work exhibited.

All the best
Lorraine Tran.





---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: VCE Season of Excellence <seasonofexcellence at edumail.vic.gov.au>
Date: Wed, Jun 7, 2017 at 10:37 AM
Subject: VCE Season of Excellence Update: Focus on Season Alumni
To: tranlorraine at gmail.com


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*Update Wednesday 7 June 2017*

*Season’s greetings!*
[image: Image: Dominique Cowden on stage at the Melbourne Recital Centre
with Jesse Peters' Media Photography work 'Macro Photography of Reptiles
and Insects' from Top Designs 2017 in the background.]

*Image: Dominique Cowden on stage at the Melbourne Recital Centre with
Jesse Peters' Media work 'Macro Photography of Reptiles and Insects' from
Top Designs 2017 in the background. *

*Season finale *

*It has been so rewarding for us to see the thousands of students, friends,
family and teachers attend the Top Class concerts, Top Screen film
screenings and visit the Top Designs and Top Arts exhibitions. *We would
like to thank the student exhibitors and performers, as well as their
supporters, who make the Season events so special every year.

With the Season winding down for another year, preparation for 2018 has
already begun. We always strive to improve our events and processes, so if
you have any feedback on the VCE Season of Excellence 2017 please see the
links to our Feedback Surveys below.

Best wishes,
The VCAA Season team

Top Designs 2017 catalogue and Top Screen 2017 DVD

AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE NOW!
[image: Image]
The Top Designs 2017 catalogue and Top Screen 2017 DVD are available to
purchase online from the VCAA. Simply complete the order form available
below and send it into us electronically or in the post. The Top Designs
2017 catalogue is also available in-store at the Melbourne Museum shop
(while stocks last!), and the Top Screen 2017 DVD can also be purchased at
the ACMI shop.

The *Top Designs 2017 catalogue* contains detailed photography and
descriptions of the Top Designs exhibition including additional
content such as information about each subject area, interviews with Top
Designs alumni, and a USB with example folio pages from each exhibitor as
well as a digital copy of the catalogue.

The *Top Screen 2017 DVD* includes the 14 films from this year's
program, as well as an accompanying CD with the complete folios of
every filmmaker.


DOWNLOAD ORDER FORM
<https://www.vision6.com.au/ch/18689/2dbprjt/2584248/c7092133v4-1.pdf>

*We want to hear from you!*

*Complete a VCE Season of Excellence feedback survey for the chance to win
a Season prize pack containing every Top Designs catalogue from 2007 to
2017!*
[image: 2701730.jpg]

Here in the VCAA Season team, we are always striving to improve our
processes and events. One of the ways we seek to do this is by gaining
feedback from our valuable exhibitors, performers and audiences! Find the
link below to our VCE Season of Excellence 2017 feedback surveys.
TOP SCREEN AUDIENCE feedback survey
<https://www.vision6.com.au/ch/18689/2dbprjt/2585233/c7092m7mg-1.html>
TOP DESIGNS AUDIENCE feedback survey
<https://www.vision6.com.au/ch/18689/2dbprjt/2585234/c7092c8gf-1.html>
TOP CLASS AUDIENCE feedback survey
<https://www.vision6.com.au/ch/18689/2dbprjt/2585235/c7092g0h8-1.html>
TOP ACTS AUDIENCE feedback survey
<https://www.vision6.com.au/ch/18689/2dbprjt/2585236/c709215bg-1.html>
TOP SCREEN EXHIBITOR feedack survey
<https://www.vision6.com.au/ch/18689/2dbprjt/2585237/c7092cysw-1.html>
TOP DESIGNS EXHIBITOR feedback survey
<https://www.vision6.com.au/ch/18689/2dbprjt/2585238/c7092q7b4-1.html>
TOP CLASS PERFORMER feedback survey
<https://www.vision6.com.au/ch/18689/2dbprjt/2585239/c709212v4-1.html>
TOP ACTS PERFORMER feedback survey
<https://www.vision6.com.au/ch/18689/2dbprjt/2586764/c7092qdqd-1.html>

*Behind the scenes *
*with Season alumni*

This year, we caught up with former VCE Season of Excellence exhibitors and
performers to see where their journey has taken them since VCE.
*ASH KEATING*
*Top Arts 1998, The National Gallery of Victoria*
*Image credit: Sean Fennessy
<https://www.vision6.com.au/ch/18689/2dbprjt/2589552/c709213xwz.html> for
The Design Files.*

*Ash Keating had his VCE art work exhibited in Top Arts at the National
Gallery of Victoria in 1998. *Now in 2017, Ash is looking back at nearly 20
years of making art works and art projects. 'I knew I had found something I
understood, was passionate about, and most importantly made me feel content
and happy in life,' he reflects.

Ash has become known for his large scale experimental public art projects,
and returned to the NGV for Melbourne Now in 2013. For this city wide
contemporary arts event, Ash was commissioned by the NGV to paint a
large-scale mural on the side of the NGV International building. His work
has also been shown at the Monash University Museum of Art, the National
Gallery of Australia and the Museum of Contemporary Art's C3West.

Since 2014, Ash has changed course slightly and begun developing a studio
painting practice which he had previously put on hold to concentrate on
larger public art projects. 'I think it is very important for artists
starting out to constantly change mediums and ways of making works and
projects.' In this way, Ash doesn't feel he has a single particular drive
or artistic philosophy, but values the experimentation and learning that
has led him to where he is today. 'I certainly didn't envisage being the
type of artist that I am now, in terms of the content I have produced over
the last 10 to 15 years. That came from learning about aspects of the 'art
world' and not being afraid to produce intensely and often.'

Ash can remember the early influence of his teachers at school, who 20
years ago said that they saw something in him and his painting, leading him
to tap into a passion that ultimately led him to becoming a professional
artist. Audiences in Melbourne, across Australia and internationally are
all the richer for it.

*GEMMA FIELD *
*Top Designs 2003, Melbourne Museum*
[image: Image]
*Gemma Field had her VCE Visual Communication Design work featured in
Top Designs 2003.* After Top Designs, Gemma went on to study Communication
Design at RMIT University, completing an exchange semester at the
Edinburgh College of Art, eventually graduating with First Class Honours.
'From there I jumped into the world of design, and have spent 10 years in
the industry exploring, creating and honing my design skills,' she says.

At the heart of Gemma's design philosophy is its cyclical relationship with
people. 'While it [design] is primarily informed by human behavior and the
user experience, it also has the power to change and transform people,
their habits and their experiences.'

Gemma currently works at Nuttshell Graphics, which has a vast array
of clients with diverse needs, from graphics for a new tigers precinct at
Taronga Zoo to the brand identity and season material for the Melbourne
Chamber Orchestra. And this year, we at the Season were lucky enough to
have Gemma and Nuttshell on board to produce all the amazing graphic
material for the VCE Season of Excellence 2017!

Gemma has learnt that the process of design itself should always begin with
a  foundation of research. 'Asking 'why' not only gives a great
understanding of the project, but can also unearth different problems than
those in your brief, leading to a very different solution.'

*ELLENOR AGYROPOLOUS Top Screen 2007, Australian Centre for the Moving
Image*
*Ellenor Agyropolous' film Broken Whispers **was featured in Top Screen
2009.* After Top Screen, Ellenor went on to complete a Bachelor of Film and
Television at the Victorian College of the Arts where her graduating film *Life
Through A Lens *went on to screen at several international film festivals.
'That film for me was what got my foot in the door', she says. 'Shooting
35mm, 'film people' took me seriously... and I probably learnt more
directing that production than I did in class.'

After university, Ellenor hit the ground running. 'I tried to adopt a
'never say no' attitude and do things most people wouldn’t expect me to do
to.' This included shooting and directing a documentary film following
four cyclists on an adventure from London to Melbourne. 'I joined them on
their last leg for three months, cycling from Darwin all the way down the
east coast. We camped at truck stops every night and all I had was my 5D.'
After that experience, Ellenor applied for one of Tourism Australia’s ‘Best
Jobs In the World’ and was appointed Content Producer, which saw her
travelling around Australia for a year, making documentaries and working in
social media.

After her Tourism Australia adventure, Ellenor returned to narrative film
and was accepted into a filmmakers network at the Cannes Film Festival
where she met her current producer and collaborator Arielle Thomas and
writer Jake Lownsbury. Together they made *Meat and Potatoes, *an
apocalyptic short film about a vegan couple who have run out of food. The
film has been hugely successful and was accepted into Tropfest25 (by a
panel which included George Miller, Sam Neill and Rose Byrne) where it won
awards for Best Actress and Best Production Design. The film was also
invited to screen at Cannes Film Festival in the Short Film Corner earlier
this year!

Ellenor has learnt a lot since her early filmmaking days. 'I didn’t realise
it at the time but everything I’ve worked on so far, including Tourism
Australia, those all helped build a foundation for what I’m doing today.
[I] never thought I’d enter Tropfest, but with the right script and the
right collaborators, you just never know, so just keep an open mind about
everything.'

*AMELIA EVANS*
*Top Class Music 2016, Melbourne Recital Centre*
[image: Image]
*Amelia Evans performed in Top Class Music in 2016. *After Top Class,
Amelia pursued various paths and opportunities on her musical journey. She
began studying a Bachelor of Music at the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music
at Monash University in early 2016, and is currently in her second year of
a Jazz Voice major. We were lucky enough to have Amelia back in 2017,
performing as an accompanist for Lucinda Floyd in Top Class Music and Top
Acts at the Melbourne Recital Centre.

Shortly after beginning her university studies, Amelia was awarded the
Monash-Pratt Musician Performance Jazz Scholarship for high achievement in
both her academic performance and her previous musical accomplishments.
Amelia describes receiving the scholarship as 'fostering the development of
my career as a musician and student'. This exciting scholarship has given
Amelia the opportunity to participate in the Keep an Eye Summer Jazz
Workshop at The Conservatorium van Amsterdam, Netherlands in June 2017.
This advanced program, co-hosted by the Manhattan School of Music, opens
its doors to professional and emerging Jazz musicians from around the
world, giving participants an opportunity to hone their craft in a
week-long intensive in Europe's largest Jazz department.

Amelia's vocal talents have also been on show locally. In May 2016 and
2017, Amelia was one of six finalists in the James Morrison *Generations in
Jazz *(GIJ) Vocal Scholarship held at the South Australian GIJ festival.
This annual scholarship brings emerging jazz musicians together to perform,
develop their craft, and contend for various awards and scholarships.
Amelia's participation in GIJ saw her sing for the likes of James Morrison,
Wycliffe Gordon, Jazzmeia Horn and Gordon Goodwin, in a performance that
won her the GIJ Vocal Scholarship. As part of this coveted scholarship,
Amelia will record a set at ABC Studios for broadcast on ABC Jazz.

For a young musician who has achieved so much, Amelia maintains a humble
perspective. 'Music is a small drop in the ocean of life. A world-wide
language of love, forgiveness, passion, unity and peace. As the
music-makers, it is us who must speak to heal those in need.'

Coming up in the Season
*Sunday 16 July 2017 *–* Top Designs* exhibition closes at Melbourne Museum
*Sunday 16 July 2017* – *Top Arts* exhibition closes at The Ian Potter
Centre: NGV Australia

In the next Season Update

*Focus on... *Top Screen People's Choice Awards sponsored by Madman
Entertainment, and we reveal the 2017 recipients of the VCAA Board Awards


*Authorised and published by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment
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Assessment Authority, Level 7, 2 Lonsdale St, Melbourne, Australia 3000 to
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