ABOUT ME

My name is Maddison Gallenti-Smith and I am an Art and Design Teacher from Melbourne, Victoria. 

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I studied a Bachelor of Fine Art at RMIT, majoring in Drawing and Art History, and went on to complete a Master of Teaching (Secondary) at The University of Melbourne, with a double Art and Design Major. 

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I am currently teaching Junior Art and Design, and VCE Visual Communication Design (Units 1-4) at an inner-city secondary school, and am currently employed as the Faculty Leader of the Visual Arts team, managing a team of 5 teachers, and leading curriculum development. I have been teaching since 2019 and am deeply passionate about Art and Design Education, and aim to transform this in Australian schools through evidence-based teaching methods, and an ardent enthusiasm for what I teach. 

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Teaching Visual Communication Design has given me a thorough understanding of who I am as a creative person. The word 'Artist' never sat well with my identity, as I never felt that my work was as deeply meaningful as the historic and contemporary pieces I had grown to admire. I love to draw for myself - but my practice wasn't focused on expression, or telling my story - it was about sharing a narrative, but a narrative directed towards a group of people - stakeholders; an audience. Art and Design are deeply intertwined, however, in understanding my identity regarding these two things, I know that my work is meant for contexts that is not a gallery wall. 

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My goal is to share my work with children in the context of books. Books and reading have always meant so much to me and have shaped me into the person that I am. I aim to share my illustrations in an effort to improve literacy for young people - maybe one day see my work in a bookstore.