Manea Senior College gives Containers for Change facility a new splash of paint with fresh artwork

A set of paintings by Manea Senior College’s Year 12 art class has given Bunbury’s Containers for Change depot a new splash of colour. The artwork, comprising 21 panels depicting the connection between sustainable practices and nature, have been put up on the walls to improve the look of the depot. The project was a collaboration between Milligan Community Centre, Manea Senior College and Containers for Change. The painting took a semester of work from the class and involved students designing an idea for the art work, pitching it and then painting each panel. The art centres around the message of the importance of recycling and features six distinct sections of colour, representing the six Noongar seasons. “The students wanted to convey the idea that we protect the Earth and that by recycling and dropping in your containers and having an awareness and respect for the planet, we’ve moved from a dark foreboding past into a really bright regenerative future,” she said. Milligan people and place lead Crystal Mather, who helped run the project and pick the winning design, said the class went above and beyond with the project. “They were amazing,” she said. “We went to listen to the students pitch their ideas and were absolutely blown away by their ideas. “It was a really hard task to pick just one.” Manea Senior College innovation and community links coordinator Michelle Watson said the project would help students with teamwork and build a sense of community. “The whole idea of that was that there were real skills that we were looking at,” she said. “That is working and listening to what a community organisation wants, understanding the brief, going away and designing, getting feedback. “Critical feedback is really super important and then learning to collaborate not only with the industry but also together about an idea. “That collaboration, and that compromise, is such a life skill that students need to have. “The whole idea is to make sure that they feel that they’re part of their community, they have a voice in their community.”