Year 12 Visual Arts Students Explore Picasso at M+ Museum

Our Year 12 HSC Visual Arts students recently had the enriching opportunity to visit the M+ Museum to experience the acclaimed exhibition Picasso for Asia: A Conversation. This extraordinary showcase traced the full arc of Pablo Picasso’s artistic journey—from his early childhood sketches to the powerful works he created in his late 80s. What made the exhibition particularly unique was its inclusion of works by Hong Kong, Chinese, and Japanese artists who were influenced by Picasso, offering a rich cross-cultural dialogue that deepened students’ appreciation of global artistic exchange.

The visit provided an ideal platform for students to apply their classroom learning in a real-world context. They engaged critically with the artworks using the four frames—structural, subjective, cultural, and postmodern—as well as the conceptual framework that underpins the NSW HSC Visual Arts syllabus. A highlight of the excursion was their in-depth analysis of Picasso’s 1951 painting Massacre in Korea, the centrepiece of the exhibition. Students spent considerable time unpacking its historical context, symbolism, and emotional impact, demonstrating the analytical skills they’ve honed throughout the year.

All students found the exhibition to be incredibly valuable, with many expressing that they plan to reference specific works in their upcoming HSC exams. The experience not only broadened their understanding of artistic practice but also inspired deeper reflection on how art can respond to and shape cultural narratives. We are proud of how thoughtfully our students engaged with the exhibition and look forward to seeing how this experience informs their final year of study.

Report by Emily Wilke, Secondary Teacher, Head of Year 10