The recent Year 12 leavers’ artworks were chosen to be displayed as part of ARTEXPRESS.

Fresham School students Willa Robinson, Anna Horton, Lucy Barrett and Matilda Macqueen are featured in the exhibitions, along with Bowral High School students Marieon Cunningham and Gemimah Williams.

The students’ disciplines include painting, ceramics, photomedia and etchings.

Matilda, who chose the medium of macrophotography for her major work, said she did not think she would be nominated for the showcase, let alone accepted.

“The quality of work this year around the state, let alone within my school year, was just incredible,” she said.

“Everyone should be so proud of what they have achieved, and I feel very honoured to have been selected into such a prestigious art selection program.

“I am very thankful for this opportunity and feel very privileged to be a part of it. I cannot thank everyone that helped me along the way enough.”

Frensham School’s head of art and design Phil Alldis said being chosen for ARTEXPRESS was always special for students.

“It definitely feels like a feather in the cap for students, and to get a nomination it means your works have been recognised as being of outstanding quality,” he said.

Bowral High School’s head art teacher Tim O’Regan said about 9,000 students sat the art HSC exam in 2016 and, of those students, 512 were pre-selected for ARTEXPRESS.

From there, 228 were accepted into the exhibitions.

“Our students work very hard at what they do, they come in after school, on weekends and in the holidays to bring everything together,” he said.

“As for those who did not make it in, this doesn’t mean theirs were bad or they didn’t work as hard – the galleries just did not have enough room.”

The ARTEXPRESS exhibition artworks are scattered across Australia, which will open throughout 2017.

Check the exhibition guides at http://artexpress.artsunit.nsw.edu.au to see when and where each student’s works will be exhibited.