Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

15 minutes

Tune In: The role of art in the Commonwealth Games

20 minutes

Find Out: Studying the artwork of Chern’ee Sutton

25 minutes

Take Action: Creating designs for the Australian Commonwealth Games Team

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions

Students will:

explore Chern’ee Sutton’s artwork created for Commonwealth Games Australia.

Success criteria

Students can:

identify themes, elements and concepts woven into Chern’ee Sutton’s artwork
discuss the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representation and visibility through artwork
create their own design for the Australian Commonwealth Games Team.

Tune In: The role of art in the Commonwealth Games

Ensuring psychological safety and inclusivity

Before beginning this lesson, it is essential to account for the experiences of any First Nations students in your class. This resource is developed for mainstream classes, but it is important not to isolate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in how the material is taught. Some First Nations students may have important insights or contributions that should be welcomed. However, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students should not be expected to contribute any more than other students.

Step 1

Begin the lesson by asking students to think-pair-share in response to, 'What do you know about the Commonwealth Games?' Encourage students to consider aspects of the Commonwealth Games, such as its purpose, participating countries, the sports involved and the ceremonies performed. Write a list of responses on the whiteboard.

Depending on students’ level of knowledge or gauging from their answers, you may want to show the What are the Commonwealth Games? Visual Explainer.

Step 2

Next, ask students to consider what role they think art plays in the Commonwealth Games. Remind students that ‘art’ doesn’t necessarily mean just visual art. Prompt them to comment on different art forms and where they might feature in the Games. For example, national anthems/theme songs are played, dances are performed at ceremonies and visual artworks are displayed on uniforms and banners.

Step 3

Explain that for today’s lesson, students will focus on an artwork created for Commonwealth Games Australia, painted by an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artist named Chern’ee Sutton. Share the Designing for Champions P resentation. Ask students where they think this artwork could have been featured within the Games. For example, was it turned into a flag? A uniform? A banner? Or something else?

Explain that Chern’ee’s painting was created to represent the Commonwealth Games reconciliation journey and featured on the uniforms of the Australian athletes participating in the Games.

Step 4

Play this video (3:34 minutes) and discuss/clarify the meaning of reconciliation before progressing further.

Chern’ee Sutton’s RAP Artwork Video - (https://vimeo.com/1124986946/f1b538c48b?ts=0&share=copy)

What is reconciliation?

Reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples means acknowledging past wrongs, addressing inequalities and building better relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. It's about respecting Indigenous rights, cultures, knowledges, traditions and contributions, and working towards healing from the impacts of colonisation and discrimination. The goal is to achieve fairness, equality and unity while honouring Indigenous identities and perspectives.

Find Out: Studying the artwork of Chern’ee Sutton

Step 1

Outline that students are now going to explore and learn about the symbology of various elements within Chern’ee’s painting. Provide each student with a copy of the Student Worksheet.

In small groups or as a whole class, explore the interactive presentation. Look for different components on the painting, discuss what you think they might be about, before clicking on them to find out their meaning.

Step 2

Once students have had an opportunity to explore the painting, choose some students to share their favourite components. As you look at each component, ask students to identify the elements used. Remind students that elements of art are stylistic features within an artwork that are used to help the artist communicate. Elements include:

line e.g. thick/thin, straight, curved, diagonal/horizontal/vertical, zigzag
shape e.g. geometric, organic
space e.g. what lies between, around or within an object to create depth and perspective ie overlapping, placement, size, positive/negative
value e.g. how form, tones, light (white) and dark (black) are used to create contrast, brightness, highlights, shadows, edges, mood, etc
colour e.g. colour intensity, shades, etc
form e.g. 3-dimensional objects such as spheres, cubes and cylinders, or often physical types of artworks such as sculpture, canvas, etc
texture e.g. use of pattern, repetition (implied texture), or tangible materials (real)

Extension opportunity: Read through this article (commonwealthgames.com.au/artwork-captures-reconciliation-journey/) for further information about Chern’ee Sutton’s artwork.

Take Action: Creating designs for the Commonwealth Games Australian Team

Step 1

Once students have read and discussed the information in the Designing for Champions Presentation, explain that they’ll now have the opportunity to use their favourite elements to create a design of their own that could be incorporated into the Commonwealth Games alongside Chern’ee’s artwork. You may want to recap the different elements of line, shape, space, value, colour, form and texture used to create artworks, and the symbology Chern’ee has used.

Step 2

Highlight to students that the design they create can be as simple or detailed as they like, using digital tools or materials (depending on your resources, students’ abilities, or your preference). If you are short on time, students could just create a sketch or ideation version of their design at this stage.

We have provided space in the Student Worksheet for students to plan or execute their designs.

Ensure students have a clear idea about where their design would feature. For example, on a flag, a specific sports uniform, a medal, a piece of sporting equipment, or promotional materials like flyers and posters.

Step 3

Before students begin, advise them that they must respect and uphold the meaning behind any representation of components in Chern’ee Sutton’s artwork that they want to use. This means they must maintain the themes, stories and intent attached to the original artwork and appropriately credit her in a short artist statement to be accompanied alongside their artwork.

Reflection

To wrap up the lesson, facilitate a class discussion, inviting students to reflect on what they’ve learned. Use the question below to prompt their thinking: What are the ethical considerations of presenting/using/mimicking Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ artwork?

Designing for Champions

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Summary

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