Home: Aboriginal art from NSW – Michael Riley

Create artworks inspired by the art practice of Wiradjuri/Kamilaroi artist Michael Riley

Student visual arts resource developed by The Arts Unit in collaboration with the Art Gallery of New South Wales

Years 5 and 6 visual arts

Teachers are advised to consider that this unit of work may contain images of, and written reference to, people who have passed away and who may be connected with students in your classrooms.

Your students will:

• explore the richness and diversity of Aboriginal art from New South Wales

• reflect on personal experiences to create meaning in artworks

• create two photographic series exploring symbolism and portraiture.

Creative Arts K-6 Syllabus

• VAS3.1: Investigates subject matter in an attempt to represent likenesses of things in the world.

• VAS3.2: Makes artworks for different audiences assembling materials in a variety of ways.

• VAS3.3: Acknowledges that audiences respond in different ways to artworks and that there are different opinions about the value of artworks.

• VAS3.4: Communicates about the ways in which subject matter is represented in artworks.

History K-10 Syllabus

• HT3-2: Describes and explains different experiences of people living in Australia over time.

• HT3-3: Identifies change and continuity and describes the causes and effects of change on Australian society

• HT3-4: Describes and explains the struggles for rights and freedoms in Australia, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

For further syllabus connections in this Creative Class, please refer to Mapping Aboriginal Perspectives and Cross-Curriculum Content K-10 (PDF 300KB). 

Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) refers to the rights that Indigenous people have, and want to have, to protect their traditional arts and culture. Sometimes the words 'cultural heritage' are used to mean the same thing. 

The following 2 links provide information to support teachers in the delivery of Aboriginal content:

• NESA - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander principles and protocols

• Arts Law Centre of Australia - Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property factsheet

Collection of student work 

• Google Form: create a Google Form with activities and/or questions, as well as, the ability for your students to upload of any files they create. Email this form to your students with the link to the Creative Class and all your student responses will be collated in a google sheet.

• Google Classroom Assignment: create an assignment or a quiz in your classes Google Classroom with activities and/or questions, as well as, the ability for your students to upload any files they create.  

• MS Teams: create a quiz or an assignment in your class team drive where students can submit responses and upload any files they create. 

• Email: instruct your students to email you any responses and files they create.

• Flipgrid: a website that allows teachers to create "grids" to facilitate video discussions. Each grid is like a message board where teachers can pose questions, called "topics," and their students can post video responses that appear in a tiled grid display. 

• Jamboard: an interactive whiteboard which can be used as a feedback board for you and your students to use.

For further support on how to create these resources

• Get started with Google Forms

• Create a Google Classroom Assignment

• Assign quizzes to students  through Microsoft Teams 

• Create an assignment in Microsoft Teams

• Educators – getting started with Flipgrid

• Get started with Jamboard