Growing Together
Gubiyiyanya Djanjum
Gubiyiyanya - Quandamooka word for 'Growing'
Djanjum - Jinibara word for 'Close Together'
This translation of the mural title was provided by First Nations artist, Jenny Kent, from Manamana Dreaming.
Background
At the start of 2022, School Captains, Armaan, Aretha, Covey and Jordan, decided to focus on the concept of 'connection' as their theme for the school. As part of this theme, they aspired to place a specific emphasis on the connection to country and culture shared by the First Nations people of our local community and school, and so the idea for this mural emerged as an expression of this.
The mural represents our ongoing responsibility to acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land and our commitment to reconciliation. Through the use of native flora and fauna, the mural embodies the values of Craigslea SHS, which are learning, respect and community.
In collaboration with our talented First Nations artist, Jenny Kent, from ManaMana Dreaming, our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students were able to design this mural and the way in which it tells the story of Craigslea SHS.
Our School Captains said it was extremely important to them that the artwork be led by the First Nations students at Craigslea SHS.
"It has been incredibly rewarding to watch this process and the enthusiasm of our First Nations students in working alongside Ms Kent."
"We are extremely grateful to our P&C who were our first supporters of this project when we approached them early this year and to Principal, Mr Farwell, Marketing Officer, Ms Baker, and teachers, Mrs Honetana and Ms Florence, who helped us to guide this project."
"We would also like to acknowledge Ms Kent who is clearly not only an incredible artist, but who has included our students at every step of this process to ensure that they felt just as much a part of this initiative as the four of us have."
"Knowing that for many years to come, the students at Craigslea SHS will be able to understand and learn more about the proud First Nations culture we have is incredibly rewarding. We are so grateful to have been able to see our hopes for our school community come into fruition through this project." - School Captains 2022
Community Day
The community day was a special part of the mural process with First Nations artist, Jenny Kent, inviting the entire school community to contribute their thumb prints. The thumb prints were designed to be a symbolic way to represent the impact we all make on our local community and the importance of maintain culture. As Jenny said, “there is strength when we all come together and do our part to make the world a better place."
P&C Support and Community Efforts
Our Craigslea SHS P&C Association were a driving force behind this mural and we thank them for their significant contribution to the mural and ongoing support of our school community.
During the 2022 September holidays, the P&C ran a raffle to raise the remaining funds needed to complete the project. The P&C called upon the community to support the School Captains' efforts and received an overwhelming response with fundraising efforts exceeding everyone's expectations. We are very thankful to the Honourable Anika Wells MP, Bart Mellish MP, Jimmy Sullivan MP, Councillor Fiona Hammond, and community members, Janet Atkins and Ian Kulpa from Studio George, for their donations to the raffle.
School Captains, Armaan, Aretha, Covey and Jordan, were instrumental in raising funds to see the mural come to fruition. This was evident through a number of fundraising events including, Floral Friday (NAIDOC Week), Book Week Dress Up Day (proudly supported by Teacher Librarian, Mrs Elissa Kendall, and Library Teacher Aide, Ms Renee Wright) and the Teacher vs Student Basketball Match. Other members of our school community also took the initiative to help raise funds for the project, including staff from the Creative and Performing Arts Department, who donated all proceeds raised at the Years 11 and 12 Drama Performance 'Hamlet Transformed'.
