29 September 2022

Two students from Catholic schools have taken out the top two spots in the Top Arts 2022 Deakin University People’s Choice Awards.

At a presentation event this morning at The Ian Potter Centre (National Gallery of Victoria), Lucy Franich from Star of the Sea College, Brighton, was presented with the first place People’s Choice Award, and Amy Pham from Sacred Heart Girls’ College, Hughesdale, was presented with the second place People’s Choice Award.

‘When I was in primary school, I used to come here and look at the art and think that I would do that one day, and then I did it and it feels great’, said Lucy. ‘I received some lovely messages and got an idea of how people were viewing the works, but the scale of this award is huge.’

Unusually, both Lucy and Amy each had two pieces selected for Top Arts 2022. ‘When I was at school, my teachers told me how difficult it was to make it into Top Arts, so to get two pieces into the exhibition was a great life achievement’, said Amy. ‘I really loved everyone’s works and it’s an honour to be part of the exhibition, let alone win second prize in the People’s Choice Awards.’

Since completing VCE in 2021, both students have continued their creative pursuits, with Amy undertaking a double degree in design and business at Monash University, and Lucy studying advertising at RMIT. ‘It’s a bit different to what I thought I would be doing’, said Lucy, ‘but it’s very broad and includes a lot of art and a lot of writing, so it’s a good jumping-off point to figure out where I’m going’.