A student from a remote Queensland community walks into a room where her painting is hanging on the wall. Next to it is a work by a professional artist. They’re priced the same. Nobody in the room knows which is which.
That’s the idea behind TGS Under Wraps — a celebration of potential that mirrors Yalari’s own commitment to seeing talent for what it is, not where it comes from.
What Under Wraps is
Every year, Toowoomba Grammar School hosts the Grammar Art Show — one of the school’s most anticipated community events, bringing together emerging local artists and established professionals across a single weekend exhibition.
Tucked within it is something a little different: TGS Under Wraps.
This is a charity art show within the show. Mini artworks — donated by members of the school community alongside emerging and professional artists — are displayed without any attribution. No names. No artist statements. Just the work. Each piece is available for a set price, and the artist’s identity is revealed only after it’s been purchased.
The format was established by TGS parent Dominique Haddin with three purposes in mind: to encourage students to make and enjoy art; to give the wider artist community a way to engage with and inspire those students; and to connect that creative energy to something that extends beyond the school gates. That synergy supports Yalari, with 100% of funds raised from the TGS Under Wraps sale going directly to our scholarship program.
More than just a scholarship
Toowoomba Grammar and Yalari have a long history of walking together. For our students—who travel from regional and remote communities to study at TGS—moments like this are about more than just art. They are about finding their voice and their place in a new community.
When a student’s work hangs in Under Wraps, it’s a small but powerful part of their larger journey.
“These students work hard every day. Watching them spend an afternoon just creating — without any pressure, just making something — was a really lovely thing to see. Seeing their work hang alongside others in a show like Under Wraps, where every piece matters on its own terms, is a moment worth celebrating.”
— Penny, Student Support Officer – Toowoomba
The idea that makes it work
There’s something quietly radical about the Under Wraps format.
A student’s painted board hangs in the same exhibition as works by professional artists — some of whom show pieces in the broader Grammar Art Show valued in the thousands of dollars. Under Wraps removes that context. Every piece is chosen on its own merits. The work is what matters.
That principle — that what you produce matters more than where you come from — sits at the heart of what Yalari does too. Founders Waverley Stanley and Llew Mullins have always described the organisation’s work in terms of access: access to quality education, to networks, and to the kind of opportunity that compounds over time. The scholarship is the starting point, not the finish line.
As Waverley puts it: “If I can do it, you can do it.” It’s a phrase our students carry with them — and one that’s already echoing into the next generation.
The 2026 Exhibition
The TGS Under Wraps exhibition runs across the Grammar Art Show weekend: 27–29 March 2026.
Artworks are $50 each. Every sale goes directly to a Yalari scholarship.
If you’re in Toowoomba that weekend, it’s worth visiting — not just to find something you love on the wall, but to be part of something that matters to students who are already part of this community.
Visit grammarartshow.com for tickets and event information.
