Students from Catherine McAuley Catholic College had the incredible opportunity to see their artwork take to the field on Sunday, with Newcastle Knights players proudly wearing Indigenous Round football boots designed and painted by the students.
Earlier in the week, the students visited the Knights Centre of Excellence to personally present the finished boots to the players. The special presentation marked the culmination of weeks of creativity, storytelling and careful work, with students finally able to unveil their individual designs to their player.
Each pair of boots featured artwork created specifically for the player who would wear them.
On Sunday, those designs came to life when the Knights took to the field for their NRL Indigenous Round matches, providing a proud moment for the students who had put so much thought and effort into every pair.
The project forms part of Cultural Choice Association’s Boots for Brighter Futures initiative, which connects Indigenous young people with culture and identity through art while using the platform of rugby league to raise awareness and support the prevention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth suicide.
Following Indigenous Round, selected match-worn boots are auctioned through Cultural Choice Association, helping support the organisation’s work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people through education, employment and wellbeing initiatives.
For the Catherine McAuley Catholic College students involved, the experience was about much more than seeing their artwork on the football field. It was an opportunity to celebrate culture, share stories and use their creativity to contribute to an initiative making a meaningful difference in the lives of young people.
