Visual Arts

Visual Arts at Northmead CAPA High School invites students to explore their creativity and develop their artistic voice through diverse media such as drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, and digital art. The program emphasises both practical skills and conceptual understanding, encouraging students to experiment and take creative risks. Students will study art history and contemporary art practices to inform their work and deepen their critical thinking skills, as well as, the creation of original artworks, developing visual literacy and personal insight. The program fosters technical proficiency alongside innovation, preparing students for further study or careers in the creative industries. Exhibitions and community projects provide opportunities to showcase their achievements and engage with broader audiences.

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Visual Arts Auditions

Visual Arts CAPA Audition Criteria And Requirements

During the LIVE GROUP audition, students can expect to:

Participate in a small drawing workshop that will be run as a class with all applicants together.

Students will then wait in a designated area until they are called for a one-on-one interview. It is recommended that students bring a drawing book and pencil/s or something quiet to work on while they wait.

During the LIVE INDIVIDUAL audition, students can expect to answer the following interview questions:

Introduce yourself.
Tell us about your prior experiences as a Visual Arts student.
What are your particular skills and interests in the Visual Arts?
What do you want to learn more about?
What would you consider to be the most challenging aspect of artmaking?
What are you most looking forward to as a student of Northmead CAPA High School?

Advice for portfolio submissions:

Prepare a portfolio with at least 10 examples of original artworks. They should have been created within the last 2 years.

Your portfolio should show a range of different artworks. These could be in the form of drawings, paintings, prints, graphics, and sculpture. Your portfolio should display your interest and passion for the Visual Arts, as well as your level of current expertise.
In regard to themes, we recommend that you focus on the main genres of Visual Art. These include portraiture, the figure, landscape, still life, and abstraction.
Please avoid submitting artworks based on ‘Anime’ and 'cartooning'. Whilst we appreciate many young students are drawn towards this particular style, it is NOT a feature of the Visual Arts Syllabus. Craft works are also to be avoided.
Please be creative in your portfolio and pay attention to detail.
The presentation should be attached to the application submission as a PDF or PPTX file.
Name your file before attaching to your application submission e.g John Smith Visual Arts Audition.

In addition to submitting a PDF/PPTX portfolio online, students will need to bring their original portfolio artworks to their audition.

When do I find out about my child’s audition result?

A response will be provided within a two week time frame (excluding holidays). Please note that no further correspondence will be entered into after this decision. Unsuccessful candidates will be provided with feedback about the strengths and weaknesses of the audition.