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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons.

Mythical Portraits with Atong Atem

School Levels 5-8

Friday 18 October 2024
Live online
Atong Atem, photographed in May 2024 by Basetsana Maluleka, Narrm/Melbourne
Atong Atem, photographed in May 2024 by Basetsana Maluleka, Narrm/Melbourne

Join artist Atong Atem online and discover the wonders of myth making and portraiture.

Presented in collaboration with the National Gallery of Victoria, this virtual event will give students an opportunity to reimagine their capacity for personal storytelling through art. Whether a water spirit, a saint, an ancestor or an imagined figure, students will consider their own cultures and beliefs as tools for personal and creative storytelling.

During this program, students will be guided by Atong Atem in a series of warm-up activities and developmental drawing exercises to help them imagine and compose a unique self-portrait depicting or celebrating a mythical figure. This program will also include direction to help students develop their preliminary drawings into a finished work of art beyond the event.

Students will:

  • Engage in the developmental stages of the creative process under the guidance of a practicing artist.
  • Consider the ways mythical creatures or figures can inspire and inform a unique self-portrait.
  • Develop techniques that can be applied to the development of an artwork.

Students participating in this program will need:

  • Paper
  • Graphite and coloured pencils
  • Images of mythical, cultural or imaginary creatures/figures* that they can reference during and after the program (optional).

*Guidelines for helping students select personal and meaningful reference material will be distributed to registered participants closer to the program date.

Zoom webinar: us02web.zoom.us/j/86147634493 Participating via Zoom will allow you to see student responses and questions for Atong via the Webinar Chat and Q&A functions.

YouTube stream: youtube.com/live/SnejiCi4zBo If your students are joining us via the YouTube stream, log into your YouTube account to participate in the chat channel and share your students’ observations and comments.

This program is presented in collaboration with the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.

© National Portrait Gallery 2024
King Edward Terrace, Parkes
Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia

Phone +61 2 6102 7000
ABN: 54 74 277 1196

The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

This website comprises and contains copyrighted materials and works. Copyright in all materials and/or works comprising or contained within this website remains with the National Portrait Gallery and other copyright owners as specified.

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. The use of images of works of art reproduced on this website and all other content may be restricted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Requests for a reproduction of a work of art or other content can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

The National Portrait Gallery is an Australian Government Agency