Sixteen-year-old Dubbo student Kate Campbell was one of twelve New South Wales adolescents selected to participate in 'Bella', the Smith Family's three-day art program at Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art this month.
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The Smith Family is a national independent children's charity, helping disadvantaged Australian children to get the most out of their education so that they can create better futures for themselves.
The workshop, 'Bella', is designed for groups between 15-18 years-old who are disadvantaged due to financial, social and geographic factors.
It runs twice a year, and is designed to provide students in Years 9 to 11, who are interested in creative arts with links to art organisations and relevant career information, and aims to raise student's educational aspirations and career knowledge of creative arts through interconnected creative programs.
I really love art and would love to move into the world of art when I leave school. Bella was really special because it helps you to meet people who do art for a living and you can chat to them about how to do it too....
- Kate Campbell
"I really love art and would love to move into the world of art when I leave school," Kate said.
"Bella was really special because it helps you to meet people who do art for a living and you can chat with them about how to do it yourself too."
According to the Smith Family, one in six Australian children are born into poverty, and most children who are living in poverty are often educationally disadvantaged from the start.
The Smith Family said research shows disadvantaged students are, on average, two to three years behind in reading and maths by the time they are 15-years-old.
According to the Smith Family website, that is because children and young people living in disadvantaged circumstances have access to fewer books and learning materials in their home environments.
When families are experiencing financial disadvantage, children can fall behind with their learning, and in turn that leaves them more vulnerable to experiencing hardship themselves later in life.
