Operation Art

OPERATION ART is the premier state wide visual arts exhibition for students from Kindergarten to Year 10. It is a unique, contemporary children’s exhibition that attracts public support from the government, health and education sectors and the wider community. It has gained widespread recognition for its standards of excellence and the development of such rich diversity unparalleled in children’s art.

OPERATION ART – a unique approach

Operation Art started 14 years ago under the auspices of Dr John Yu, then CEO of The Children’s Hospital at Westmead who wanted to create a positive environment to aid the recovery process of young patients. He suggested that school students become a part of the special work at the hospital and create artworks for children in hospital. It was to enable all children to become pro active in the lives of other children through their artmaking. Operation Artworks are now hung as part of the permanent collection in the hospital alongside those of artists of renown and these works have quickly become some of the most popular with visitors.

  

Children, of all ages, enjoy opportunities to give to others. Sometimes it’s creating artworks while other times it is singing. These young artists, in recognition of their creativity, had their artworks selected for the annual tour to regional galleries. A tour which showcases the standards of excellence of visual arts education within our schools before these same artworks return to become part of the permanent collection at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead.

Unique Leadership

True satisfaction comes from seeing your artwork hanging on the walls in the hospital where it helps to make the lives of young patients, their families and staff a little brighter. If you were once a patient then your satisfaction may be greater still!

Regional hospitals and other children’s support agencies soon recognised the value of this unique visual arts experience and were soon queuing to obtain these outstanding artworks.

The Art Gallery of NSW also acknowledged the uniqueness of this children’s visual arts exhibition and exhibited their first Operation Art in 1994. It is now exhibited in one of their most prominent public spaces.

Operation Artworks have also travelled internationally with several of the artworks being chosen annually to become part of a sister city art exchange with Nagoya alongside works from Los Angeles, Mexico City and Nanjing. Operation Artworks have also been exhibited in Ankara, Turkey.

The Official Opening held at the Penrith Regional Gallery on 5th July 2008 had over 3200 guests to view the 671 artworks in the exhibition. 1800 students and teachers attended specialist visual arts workshops throughout the 6 week exhibition with more than 7000 visitors.