Excellence and awards
Top Acts 2023
More than 20 talented young VCE performers and creators of
Top Acts, the performing arts showcase rounding out the 2023 VCE Season of Excellence, wowed the audience at Melbourne Recital Centre on Tuesday 30 May. This year’s concert was another exciting, dynamic, and inspiring display of exceptional dance, drama, theatre studies, music and media works created by 24 VCE and VCE VET students from the class of 2022.
The evening opened with a moving Welcome to Country by Wurundjeri man Daniel Ross. VCAA Board Member Aayushi Khillan followed with introductory remarks on behalf of the VCAA, acknowledging the dedication and passion of involved students, their performing arts teachers, mentors and assessors.
Aayushi spoke on how the arts “inspire us to express ourselves more openly and with greater empathy” and were “an intrinsic part of the Victorian education system”.
Alice Darling, Artistic Director of Top Acts 2023, said each performer “spoke boldly and clearly through their art form”, and that the concert represented “a wholehearted celebration of the dynamism and potential of the next generation of Victorian artists”.
The celebration of young creative talent wrapped up this year’s VCE Season of Excellence. The VCAA congratulates the artists and sends its thanks to their supporters.
VCE Leadership Awards 2023: Nominations open
Nominations are now open for the 2023
VCE Leadership Awards, which recognise the efforts of VCE and VCE Vocational Major students in promoting leadership and participation in their school and local community.
VCE Leadership students demonstrate initiative, inspire others, work well in a team, and are committed to making a difference. Past VCE Leaders have taken part in activities associated with the arts, sport, debating and public speaking. They have campaigned for social justice, environmental protection and/or fundraising.
Schools are encouraged to nominate candidates for the 2023 Awards by close of applications Monday 24 July 2023. Students undertaking the VCE or the VCE Vocational Major are eligible to be nominated.
For more information, including how to apply and profiles on past winners, visit the
VCE Leadership Awards webpage or email the VCAA Festival and Events team
vcaa.events@education.vic.gov.au
From left: Chris Wardlaw, VCAA Chair, Aayushi Khillan, VCAA Board Member, Leena Mazin, VCE Leader of the Year 2022, Amelia Bailey, VCE Leader of the Year 2021, and VCAA CEO Stephen Gniel, pictured at the VCE Leadership Awards 2022 ceremony.
Leena Mazin, the VCE Leader of the Year 2022, was school captain at Sirius College and a Sergeant in the school’s Army Cadet Unit. Leena was recognised at the Awards for her significant fundraising efforts, raising nearly $15,000 to support the construction of an eye clinic in Mali. Leena also volunteered as the Chair of the Student Advisory Committee at Happy Brain Education, an organisation that provides tutoring, mentoring and leadership services to the community.
Top Designs 2023 audio guide
Installation view of Top Designs 2023 at Melbourne Museum. Photo by Nicole Cleary.
This year, as part of a broader commitment to accessibility, diversity and inclusion, the Top Designs curatorial team have worked with Arts Access Victoria and Melbourne Museum to trial an audio guide for people who are blind or have low vision to use when visiting the Top Designs 2023 exhibition.
Top Designs 2023, now on at Melbourne Museum until 9 July, celebrates the innovation of Victoria’s emerging designers. It features a selection of exceptional VCE and VCE VET design students from 2022 as part of the VCE Season of Excellence.
The audio guide is available via the Museum’s
Top Designs website. Tactile QR codes linking the resource are also placed at the entrance to the exhibition. The guide includes 21 audio tracks that are playable in the way that the exhibition is typically navigated. The tracks include an introduction to each study area, followed by a visual description of 1 to 2 works. Audio from a selection of student interviews, films, music productions and an audio drama are also included.
The Museum’s
Top Designs website also features wheelchair access information, captions and transcripts, a social story, large print exhibition labels and a sensory map. Top Designs invites feedback on the accessibility of the exhibition from all visitors via our
online feedback form.
Book your visit now through
Melbourne Museum.
Notices to schools