30 Apr 2021
Recalling his time at Smith’s Hill High School, Austin Kennedy-Bates says that, “[It} provided me with an environment where learning, academic achievement and creativity were allowed to flourish. Smith’s Hill gave us the freedom to be who and what we wanted to be. I’ve never heard of another place like it, and am still grateful for my time there.”
Austin, now Melbourne based, is presently working as a freelance artist and designer and helping to build a new online platform and community for artists and art sales.
“I always loved History, Drama and Visual Arts electives in Junior School and did Modern History, Extension History, 3 Unit English, Society & Culture, Visual Arts and Studies of Religion in my HSC. I enjoyed them all, and they all empowered me with critical and analytical thinking that has served me well in life.”
Austin agrees that electing Visual Arts in high school helped create his career path: “I wouldn’t be an artist/designer otherwise! I think the critical, analytical skills I learned in HSC Visual Arts were especially helpful – similarly the textual analysis skills learned (and taught so well) in English have empowered me with a critical lens to see and understand the world and meaning around me.”
“I did a Cert II in Drawing at TAFE while I was still at school.” Since high school Austin has done lots of study (History and Sociology as well as Fine Arts) with “plenty of bumming around in between; I’ve been in no rush.”
He has completed a double degree in Fine Arts/Arts at the UNSW and is currently doing a Diploma of Graphic Design/Associates Degree at RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology).
