Vivid Ideas
In 2017, Bradfield staged an event on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 May with over 600 attendees over the two days.
Students applied for roles on project teams and worked to stage the event which included masterclasses with industry experts and exhibits of artwork.
In 2016 Bradfield began incorporating a major real-world project into the teaching and learning program through the Destination NSW Vivid Ideas festival. In June 2016, year 11 students staged and participated in the Creative Careers event.
In 2015, Bradfield partnered with HARC (Health and Arts Research Centre) at the Royal North Shore Hospital to provide the first real world project. Project groups were given access to the heritage museum and developed projects in response.
Real world projects - Vivid Ideas 2016 Creative Careers Day Saturday 4 June 2016
In 2016, Bradfield embarked on a collaboration with Vivid Ideas (part of the Vivid Festival), a NSW Government initiative which is the most significant festival in the world for the creative industries attracting some 1.7 million people. We responded to an expression of interest to stage an event revolving around creativity and education. Bradfield was successful and on Saturday 4 June 2016 the students staged the Creative Careers Day.
The aim of this participation was two-fold:
- To provide students with access to creative industry and business professionals and insight into career pathways and industry needs.
- To provide Bradfield with a platform for a more innovative approach to teaching and learning in senior secondary schooling to develop enterprise skills. This was a real life project which could better provide relevance and practical experiences for our students.
Vivid Sydney has a very strong brand presence and so students wanted to participate because this was no longer an internal, artificial school project. The professional standards which Vivid demanded meant that students had to perform at a high level. This created a heightened level of professionalism and dedication in both teachers and students. By collaborating with Vivid Ideas, students would also feel more connected to the community. With a large number of Bradfield students experiencing some form of mental health or social disadvantage, the Vivid project was a vehicle to strengthen those community connections.
The impact of the Vivid Ideas project on some of our marginalised students was significant. Enterprise and creativity were now deeply embedded in the school culture with students gaining an understanding of how their skills could translate directly into jobs and self-made businesses.
- 30 students created merchandise for the Bradfield Co-op market stall.
- 20 student stalls as part of the Bradfield Co-op. An Entrepreneurs Club had students assisting the artist’s cooperative with business plans.
