A SCHOOL art project has brightened up Camperdown's Main Street just in time for the school holidays.
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Camperdown College students have been busy creating their best and brightest hand-painted face-masks to shine a positive light on the pandemic.
The creations have been installed in the centre of town.
Art teacher Dayle Smithwick said the project was made possible by a $10,000 grant from Cooper Energy.
"Our school entered an art competition to name the Cooper Energy gas plant, while we weren't successful Cooper loved our art and donated $10,000 for art at our school.
"We've been working with Cooper energy to do some community art projects and this is the first one for the year bringing a bit of hope and fun to the community."
Ms Smithwick said the project helped kids think differently about COVID-19.
Because COVID is the main thing happening in our lives we wanted to turn the negative into a positive by turning it into art.
- Dayle Smithwick, Camperdown College art teacher
"We wanted to do something that would spike people's interests and kids and families," she said.
"Because COVID is the main thing happening in our lives we wanted to turn the negative into a positive by turning it into art.
"We cut out the timber heads and sent them home to kids and their families. While the children were working remotely they and their families designed their own mask, decorated them and returned them back to school.
"We only put them in Camperdown this afternoon and already people are loving it."
The school looks to create an outdoor gallery for the public to enjoy and art sculptures in the school in the future.
"We're at week 10 now I think families and teachers and kids are really wanting the holidays to approach, I think people are tired," Ms Smithwick said.
"This art activity the last week and a half got people's energies up, to get them to the end of the term.
"We will have them on display for two weeks over the school holidays, after which we will display them in front of our arts precinct.
"For our outdoor street art gallery in front of the school we're hoping to have solar lights so everyone can enjoy the art and see it at nighttime."
Under step three of the state government's roadmap to a new 'COVID normal', regional school students will return to onsite learning in Term 4 with safety measures in place.
School holidays in regional Victoria under step three will mean regional families will be able to travel anywhere in the state also under step three rules.
Families will be able to camp and caravan with their nominated household bubble, and some state and national parks will reopen where safe.
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