UTOPIA TRANQUILITY
Art and Peace - Creative workshops in schools + exhibition of new worksImage credit: Audience members viewing the Utopia Tranquility exhibition, 2025. Photographer: Samantha Barahona.
Participant reflections:
“It was a very calming, fun, and new experience. It's always so nice to participate in some programs like this since it helps us connect with ourselves, connect with our interests, connect with our ideas. It lets us think outside the box.”
“I was drawn to how I could express myself freely in my paintings and that there was no judgment or criticism in this program…some students might not be able to do this at home or at their school. So I think this program is very important because it can provide them with many opportunities and give them the confidence in their work.”
“It was a very calming, fun, and new experience. It's always so nice to participate in some programs like this since it helps us connect with ourselves, connect with our interests, connect with our ideas. It lets us think outside the box.”
“I was drawn to how I could express myself freely in my paintings and that there was no judgment or criticism in this program…some students might not be able to do this at home or at their school. So I think this program is very important because it can provide them with many opportunities and give them the confidence in their work.”
Utopia Tranquility was a series of art-making workshops aimed at exploring ideas of peace and wellbeing in our society through the eyes of young people.
In 2025, students from Liverpool Boys and Liverpool Girls High Schools were supported to create their own artwork on peace and wellbeing in a series of co-designed workshops led by Emmanuel Asante. As a young Australian Ghanaian artist, Emmanuel wants to challenge the emergence of a divisive political and social rhetoric that pervades much of our lives through social media. Instead, he wants to inspire future leaders to reimagine a more peaceful future through the medium of art making. During these workshops, young people were guided in conversations around creative practice, how art influences our cultural well-being, and how all of these relate to issues of global wellbeing.
Their works were celebrated at a launch event at Powerhouse Youth Theatre (PYT) Fairfield on May 21 2025, and exhibited at the space from May 22 to May 24 2025.
CREDITS
Lead Artist: Emmanuel Asante
WSU Program Partner: Dr Karin Louise
CuriousWorks Creative Producer: Samantha Barahona, assisted by Andrea Nealy & Kirsten Maglalang
This project was led by artist Emmanuel Asante who worked with students from Liverpool Boys and Liverpool Girls High Schools. It was funded by Western Sydney University and produced by CuriousWorks. The Utopia exhibition was held at Powerhouse Youth Theatre (PYT) Fairfield.