William Wilkins Art Gallery
The William Wilkins Art Gallery on Level 7, 35 Bridge Street has been a venue for exhibitions of works in Painting, Drawing, Printmaking, Photo media and Sculpture.
William Wilkins was the person who implemented the government plans for a Public School system in New South Wales and in fact, because New South Wales was the first state in Australia to adopt a public school system, the other states originally copied his model. That is why the gallery on level 7 is named The William Wilkins Gallery and there is a portrait of him. The government of the day brought Wilkins out from England specifically to assist with the development of the public school system as he was really well known in England for his expertise and innovation in the education of young people. A few years ago, DET in collaboration with the family of William Wilkins, arranged for a headstone to be made by Miller TAFE College who provides the only stonemasonry course to students which was placed on the grave of Mr Wilkins in Rookwood Necropolis and Mr Justice Kirby of the High Court of Australia and a former student of Fort Street High School, gave the celebratory speech for the ceremony at the Wilkins gravesite during the sesquicenterary year of Public Education in New South Wales.
Read more about this topic: Department Of Education Building
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—Mary E. Wilkins Freeman (1852–1930)
“Einstein is not ... merely an artist in his moments of leisure and play, as a great statesman may play golf or a great soldier grow orchids. He retains the same attitude in the whole of his work. He traces science to its roots in emotion, which is exactly where art is also rooted.”
—Havelock Ellis (1859–1939)
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