Top Arts and Top Designs 2026
It's been a standout year for Wesley College's young artists, with 16 graduates earning a place in renowned youth art exhibitions. Three graduates were selected for the prestigious public VCE Season of Excellence exhibitions: Clover Marnika and Milla Menegazzo (OW2025) for the NGV’s ‘Top Arts’, and Felix Cherrey (OW2025) for ‘Top Design’ at Melbourne Museum. Meanwhile, 13 students were selected for the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program's Victorian and Tasmanian Art Exhibition, presented in February.
The outstanding visual arts programs at Wesley provide opportunities for students to develop crucial skills in creativity and problem-solving and to extend themselves by meeting real-world design challenges. Selection for these exhibitions is an incredible achievement and places their work among the best in the state.
Milla’s oil painting ‘Through Cerulean Screens’ challenges media stereotyping and hyper-polished visions of women, so disconnected from the strong, expressive and complex female role models she has met in her life.
Clover’s graphite and charcoal drawing is over 1m tall – the largest scale she has ever worked on – and is a portrait of her mum. ‘It was a unique experience to have to really study a face that is so familiar to you, but one that you take for granted a lot of the time,’ she says.
Felix’s design for bicycle handlebars uses haptic navigation - a tactile, vibration-based system that is less distracting in traffic and is particularly helpful for those with vision impairment.
‘Design was, without a doubt, my favourite subject at school. I really appreciated how my Design teachers encouraged me to pursue my complex ideas, rather than suggesting something simpler. They were very generous with their time and support,’ Felix says.
Felix’s design went through many iterations, using the school’s 3D printers to test and integrate new adaptions before he was finally ready to produce using carbon fibre. The final result is a sleek, finished product that surpassed nearly 1,000 other entries to be selected for ‘Top Designs’. Felix is already going down the path of entrepreneurship, scaling two businesses and planning to spend a year overseas working with other founders.
IB DP Victorian and Tasmanian Art Exhibition
13 students exhibited work at the IB DP Victorian and Tasmanian Art Exhibition across painting, sculpture, textiles and photography. Their works explored a wide range of themes, from personal and cultural identity to social issues including environmental concerns, inequality and war. This insightful exhibition showcased the creativity and innovation our IB DP Visual Arts students developed during this unique two-year program.
- Mariam Azam
- Jessica Billimoria
- Jonathan Campbell
- Eddie Evans
- Rohan Ilsley
- Millie Jones
- Shoshana Kinal
- Jemimah Murray
- Nathan Richards
- Lara Rees
- Dimitri Nicolettou
- Alice Walker
- Sunny Wang
Premier's VCE Awards
Two students were also recognised for their exceptional 2025 VCE studies with Premier's VCE Awards – one of the highest honours a VCE student can receive.
- Ivy Robertson was recognised for her work in Media and now studies a double degree - Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws at Monash University.
- Hamish Burnett was recognised for his talent in Music Contemporary Performance and now studies a Bachelor of Music, Jazz and Improvisation at the University of Melbourne’s Victorian College of the Arts.
The Class of 2025 have gone on to commence study in the arts, business and commerce and sciences and to travel the world. 61% of students received offers from Melbourne’s top universities, including the University of Melbourne and Monash University, reflecting the high academic standards of teaching and learning at the College.
Learn more about our students’ tertiary destinations and fields of study.
