A changed land

Last week our two yr 5 classes went in an art and history excursion to the Art Gallery of Western Australia. We saw an exhibition called 'Unknown' Land. It had drawings and paintings of Perth, Fremantle and other parts of WA from the time of early settlement. 

We were able to see how places had changed over time. We also spent some time drawing the urban environment around the gallery in the cultural centre. We also thought about the title of the exhibition and discussed the fact that it was unknown to the colonists but it was in fact very well known to the aboriginal people who already lived here.

This week in the art room we have drawn and painted landscape pictures of some of our favourite landmarks locally or somewhere in WA. We used the iPads to research photos of our favourite places and sketched ideas in our visual diaries before making our drawings.

Next we will be thinking about how things have changed over the last 200 years and use our history knowledge to predict how this landmark might change over the next 200 years. We have talked about areas being built up as populations grow but also how people are interested in conserving the environment and sustainability. So will their houses and buildings have solar panels or rooftop gardens in the future? 

We will use these ideas to create another landscape painting showing the same spot as we imagine it will be in the future.