The Hallowian 2022 Vol1 - Flipbook - Page 19
SISTER STORIES
Emily
goes to
Parliament
Emily Scriven, Class of 2020, reports: ‘In 2021
I was lucky enough to be chosen to represent
the Nudgee electorate at Queensland Youth
Parliament where we debated bills, discussed
world issues and advocated for our electorates.
It was an honour to be a part of the Program and
I am so grateful for the opportunities that were
presented to me.’
Tahli’s Olympic first
Marchesi makes an artistic statement
Karla Marchesi (Class of 2001) is a talented visual artist living and working in Berlin, Germany.
During her undergraduate studies at the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, Karla received the
Philip Bacon Galleries Prize for Excellence in Drawing in 2003 which enabled her to study for a semester at the
prestigious Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in the United States. Karla graduated in 2004 with a Bachelor
of Fine Art and was awarded the University Medal for Academic Excellence. In 2007 Karla received First Class
Honours in Fine Art (Art Theory) and was awarded the Honours Thesis Prize.
After being awarded First Place in the 2010 Redland Art Awards, Karla received the inaugural Wilson Visual
Arts Award in 2012. In the same year, Karla undertook a studio residency at Atelierhaus Mengerzeile, Berlin
before making her solo debut with her exhibition entitled, ‘Every moment lives together’ (2013) in Berlin.
Karla subsequently received an Australia Council for the Arts New Work Grant - Early Career.
Through her latest solo exhibition at the Jan Manton Gallery in Brisbane (June 2022), Karla explains that the
isolation and alienation of the pandemic coupled with the outpouring of emotion and fury expressed through
the #MeToo movement, saw a ‘quiet rage’ gestating in her work. Her exhibition entitled ‘Desire Path’ reflects
upon ‘…dissonances between hedonic desire and modalities of pleasure in contemporary life, tragicomically
exploring the pitfalls of modern dating and relationships, and finding agency in female pleasure…’ (Karla
Marchesi Exhibition Essay).
Karla’s work features in numerous public collections including The Museum of Brisbane, QUT Art Museum
Collection, The University of Queensland Art Museum, Griffith University Art Collection, Australian Catholic
University Art Collection, Queensland Children’s Hospital, and several regional galleries.
Our AHSister Tahli Gill, Class of 2016, made Australian Olympic history
when she became the first ever female (along with her doubles partner
Dean Hewitt) to represent our nation in the event of curling.
Although Australia has competed in the Winter Olympics since 1936,
perhaps not surprisingly we have never competed in curling as there
is currently no dedicated curling facility in Australia and we have never
been considered a ‘typical’ curling nation. First played in Scotland in the
16th century, today curling takes place indoors on artificial ice rinks and
the sport is dominated by cool-climate nations such as Canada, Sweden,
Switzerland, Norway and Great Britain.
For Gill and Hewitt to qualify for the Beijing Olympics was amazing in
itself. For them to finish in the top 10 despite the disadvantages of their
preparations and a COVID scare which almost derailed their capacity to
finish the competition, is nothing short of extraordinary.
Tahli visited All Hallows’ School on two occasions after her Beijing experience which proved challenging in more
ways than one, with COVID interrupting both preparations and the event itself. Tahli, who is studying to be a
primary school teacher, first spoke to the Year 5 and 6 girls, who had so many questions for her she could not
answer them all and many of whom professed determination to now try the sport they had never heard of
before. At the Whole School Assembly, Tahli’s message of resilience, adaptability, determination, the positives of
‘failing’ and how to be your own cheerleader resonated so perfectly with the staff, students and teachers in the
audience that she received a very deserved standing ovation.
To find out more about Tahli’s other claim to fame - having a strawberry named after her, click here.
16
The Hallowian | 2022
2022 | The Hallowian
17