Etching the Past into the Future
As we celebrate the opening of the Santa Maria College Cultural Centre this week, one of its most significant features is the Knowledge Walk, a permanent artwork woven into the very fabric of the building. Created by Santa Maria past student Ellen Norrish (Class of 2010), the Knowledge Walk honours the people, stories and creative spirit that have shaped our College across generations.
Originally published in the 2025 Catherine magazine while the Cultural Centre was under construction, this feature offers an insight into Ellen’s creative journey, the inspiration behind the Knowledge Walk and her vision for preserving Santa Maria’s rich history through art. Now that the Cultural Centre has opened its doors, we are delighted to share this story once again and celebrate Ellen’s remarkable contribution to a space that will inspire our community for generations to come.
Etching the Past into the Future
Ellen Norrish is an established studio artist known for paintings that explore personal imagery and memory. Her work often features a mass of letters, photographs, artworks and other collections. Each series is an unconventional, multifaceted portrait portrayed through accumulations of objects. Ellen was employed to create a large-scale integrated artwork spanning the floor of Santa Maria College’s new Cultural Centre, entitled the Knowledge Walk.
What is the Knowledge Walk?
The Knowledge Walk is a new public artwork etched onto the ceramic floor tiles of the new Cultural Centre. The etchings comprise of 87 pencil drawings of historical objects relating to Santa Maria that I’ve created to commemorate the school’s long history. The artwork is intended to be a museum of sorts, featuring songbooks, scripts, stories, photographs, poems and sketches once belonging to, or created by, founders, staff and students of the College. My intention is for the artwork to reawaken the curiosities conserved and protected by the SMC Collection, transforming them into a permanent display across the Cultural Centre floor to educate, inspire and delight students and visitors for years to come.
It was certainly the largest scale of work I’ve ever produced. It has been a collaborative effort, with College staff, students and Noongar Elder Geri Hayden coming together to help me research and decide on each object to draw. The process has also been guided by the Cultural Centre’s architects, Architectus, and public art consultant Element.
What is a public artist? And how did you get into this industry?
Public artists are challenged with reflecting local identity, placemaking and inspiring civic pride – this could be in any medium. Traditionally, you might associate public art with sculpture. But it’s everything from murals and installations to projections and 2D artworks integrated into the building design. Like what we’re working on with the Knowledge Walk, for example. It’s not as niche as you would think. It’s one of many career paths resulting from a Fine Arts degree.
In response to your question on how I personally got here, after Santa Maria, I embarked on a year-long student exchange in Germany and then enrolled in a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Curtin University. Curtin’s studio-based course helps you explore and develop a range of technical skills across all the major disciplines: painting, sculpture, printmaking and new media. But, at its core, you learn to develop a concept and communicate a narrative through whichever visual media you choose.
Since leaving art school, I’ve continued my painting practice, with consistent commissions and exhibitions. My last solo exhibition was titled Memory Card at Stala Contemporary in West Perth. This show featured an intriguing series of oil paintings of disparate subjects, referencing my own digital hoard of ~11,400 photos taken in my late teens and early 20s – bringing to light the contemporary pleasure and problem of producing excessive images. I’ve balanced this studio work alongside a career in arts management, working across a number of museums, galleries and collections. I’m currently working in local government, connecting communities to their artists and cultural venues. It’s a really rewarding place to be and incredibly flexible. I’m still able to spend time in the studio as well as lecture in painting at Curtin.
How did your time at Santa Maria influence your interest in the creative industries?
Santa Maria was foundational to my interest in the arts and ultimately my career as a professional artist. The Art Department nurtured my early passion for oil painting and drawing, and I spent a lot of lunches in the art room. The 2009 Visual Art tour to New York was a pivotal experience that completely expanded my perspective. Two weeks exploring this global cultural mecca before I had even turned 16 was such a privilege.
After I graduated in 2010, the school purchased my first paintings, encouraged me to apply to a range of art schools and supported my application for an international student exchange in Germany. These were such formative opportunities that I’m only now fully appreciating. I’m so grateful to the school and my parents for these experiences.
Are you excited to see this building come to life?
Absolutely. And not just to see my drawings. In my career, I see firsthand the powerful social impact of the arts and work daily to deliver projects that improve community access to creative opportunities. I’m really proud of the College’s commitment to building new cultural infrastructure. It’s a lasting investment in fostering creativity, innovation and access to the arts for future generations of students.
You can find out more about the Knowledge Walk and stories behind each tile here.
Bio: Ellen Norrish is a representational painter based in Boorloo / Perth, Western Australia. Working in thick oil paint, her practice explores the reproduction of everyday objects, letters, photographs, and amateur collections to form multifaceted portraits of contemporary life. Norrish graduated with Fine Art Honours from Curtin University in 2016, receiving the NAVA Ignition Award and the Free Range Gallery Graduate Award. She was also awarded highly commended at the Hatched National Graduate Show at PICA in 2017. Her work has been exhibited widely across the state, including travelling survey The Alternative Archive from 2021-2024. She has been represented by STALA Contemporary since 2018.
- college history and heritage, creative arts education, Cultural Centre artwork, Ellen Norrish artist, Featured, public art in Perth, Santa Maria College alumni, Santa Maria College Cultural Centre, Santa Maria College Knowledge Walk, Women in the Arts
Author: Santa Maria College
Santa Maria College is a vibrant girls school with a growing local presence and reputation. Our Mission is to educate young Mercy women who act with courage and compassion to enrich our world. Santa Maria College is located in Attadale in Western Australia, 16 km from the Perth CBD. We offer a Catholic education for girls in Years 5 – 12 and have 1300 students, including 152 boarders.
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