Year 12 art and design take centre stage

The opening of the 2026 Year 12 Regional Art and Design Exhibition will be held tomorrow (Saturday) at Lambert Estate, Angaston, showcasing a selection of works from students from six schools across the district.

Faith Lutheran College, Nuriootpa High School, Eudunda Area School, Riverton and District High School, Trinity College Gawler, and Gawler & District College B-12 are participating this year, with at least 40 students exhibiting 50 pieces.

Vanessa Di Baise, visual arts teacher at Faith Lutheran College said staff had been busy preparing the exhibition space in order to present the students' artworks in the best possible way.

"It's quite a task, particularly because this beautiful ballroom space is on a second level, so we're bringing in all these screens and plinths and everything by hand, so it's quite a workout!" she told The Leader today.

"But I think the opening is a lovely way just to celebrate the diversity and the range of the student work in the region."

Sam Cowley, teacher at Gawler & District College B-12, which is participating in the exhibition for the first time this year, said he thought it was an incredible opportunity for his students, some of whom have never had exposure to anything like it.

"It was such a new idea for some of them that the idea is almost alien... It helps them see that pathway forward for art, that there is art after school," he said.

"...It's really exciting to see that, because on the grand scheme of things it seems like little victories, but for a lot of these kids they're really big at the same time.

These little moments, you don't know how they're going to echo forward for them and kind of create new opportunities."

Vanessa said an award supported by the Barossa Arts Council will be presented at tomorrow's official opening, going to an art and design piece of particular strength.

Voting for a People's Choice Award will also be open throughout the exhibition, which will run until November 8.

Vanessa said she looked forward to the exhibition, now in its third year, continuing to grow from "strength to strength".

"It's just a way to showcase young creatives in the region and it enables some schools that don't have exhibition spaces to have something that simulates a gallery-style experience," she said.

"It also enables collaboration between teachers from the region so they can see what other schools are doing with their students, and be inspired for the following year."