17 Nov 2023
Murrumbidgee Regional High School was lucky enough to have renowned street artist MAN.De come to the school to paint a mural and run spray painting workshops with students.
Mandy Schöne-Salter, who works under the pseudonym MAN.De, was brought to the school under the Arts Unit’s Mural in a Day program. The program sees a local street artist come to the school to work through current syllabus outcomes and, as the name suggests, paint a mural in a day.
Year 9 Ceramics and Year 10 Visual Arts designed and cut out stencils which they then used to decorate their linen totes. They also helped block the background paints on the mural before MAN.De worked her magic.
MAN.De’s mission statement is to reconnect people with the natural world through art. Her works often feature native flora and fauna and this case was no exception, with the artist selecting a wren native to the Riverina for the subject of her mural.
"Today we are more disconnected to our natural world than ever before,” explains MAN.De, “Through my artworks, I want to highlight the important relationship between nature and humans by painting local flora and fauna in an urban environment. We need to be reminded of our role as custodians and protect what is left for future generations to come."
“We got good feedback from the kids and we’re thrilled with the results,” adds art teacher Doerinda Gardener, “The kids are very protective of the finished piece. We’ve had a lot of compliments.”
