Year 9 Visual Arts Snack-and-Snap Banquet

Year 9 visual arts of Ms Pass & Ms Schmaltz enjoy a snack-and-selfie banquet

A feast for the eyes - Year 9 students blend food, friendship, and creativity.

On Friday 17th October, Visual Arts students and teachers from classes 9.1 and 9.2 gathered in the CS103 art room for a “snack-and-selfie banquet” — an engaging and creative activity designed to inspire their upcoming painting project.

The lunch event introduced students to the concept of flat lay composition, a style of photography where objects are arranged on a flat surface and photographed from a bird’s-eye view using the art phones and cameras. Each participant contributed to a vibrant display of seafood, homemade treats, cakes, fresh fruits, vegetables, and table settings, all thoughtfully composed to form festive still-life arrangements.

This term’s project draws inspiration from Australian contemporary artist Whitney Spicer, whose work explores the beauty of food and table scenes through expressive colour palettes and composition. During the lunch session, students and teachers photographed the displays from above, capturing reference images to later translate into their own painted interpretations.

Photo of the banquet

After photographing the banquet, it was only natural that everyone enjoyed sampling the spread. The shared meal created a lively atmosphere filled with conversation, creativity, collaboration and hospitality.

The afternoon concluded with a group photo and plenty of smiles. Although the classroom was a little messier by the end, the session was a memorable and inspiring experience, blending art-making, community spirit, and a shared appreciation of creativity — and good food.

We look forward to exhibiting our finished festive paintings, amongst all the performing and creative student talent at the CAPA Showcase on Wednesday 26th November.