Thursday 24 October 2013

Join the Western Riverina Art Trail


Western Riverina Arts and Griffith Regional Art Gallery want to promote your artwork.

Plans are being finalised to trial touring exhibitions between venues in Leeton and Griffith in 2014.

The aim is to promote artistic talent in the region and share it around. Applications are now invited for displaying works as part of this new initiative.

"The community have a healthy interest in local art and we want to increase the opportunities for local art to be seen," said Derek Motion, Regional Arts Development Officer. "The Exhibition Trail will provide a guided pathway for artists taking tentative steps toward their first exhibitions."

"We've been sharing local artists' productions in our windows and many people stop to look. Some even venture in to ask questions. You can see the effect they have on people."

The artworks will be displayed in both Leeton and Griffith, opening up new audiences for artists throughout the region.

"We hope this initiative will bring out new talent," said Kristy Brown, Griffith Regional Art Gallery. "Artists in surrounding towns can reach new audiences."

"There's talent out there and we'd like to see share their endeavours. It's a great opportunity for an individual or group and we're not limited to hanging pictures, all styles and mediums will be considered."

Now is the time to express an interest in joining the Exhibition Trail. Contact Western Riverina Arts or Griffith Regional Art Gallery for an application or call 6953 5147.

Download an Exhibition Trail application form here

Friday 18 October 2013

McEwan sees red


Birrego-based artist Sarah McEwan features in the Western Riverina Arts office windows this October with an installation of red shoes, text and textiles.

McEwan is a core member of The CAD Factory, which began as an underground warehouse space in Sydney during 2005 and relocated to the remote location of Birrego in August 2010. Since then The CAD Factory have developed a variety of artistic projects in the region.

The window gallery installation explores how gender is perceived and influences perception. The objects of shoes, fabric and thread ground the text on the windows in feminist discourse and create an interplay between how one is seen as opposed to how one feels.

"I was influenced by Julie Briggs' poem about red shoes in the Art Misadventure #3 exhibition at The Roxy Gallery earlier this year," said Sarah McEwan. "She was re-interpreting a Hans Christian Andersen story with the image of a woman who can only walk faster and faster trapped in her shoes.

"The red threads in the work that are dangling down suggests ideas dropping, like thoughts manifesting into reality, and is something I've been developing for a while," continues McEwan. "It emphasises the space in-between."

This thread continues in her work for the Reimagining The Murrumbidgee exhibition that opens at The Roxy in December.

The high heel shoes in Western Riverina Arts’ window gallery were purposefully picked for their symbolism. "It's playing with the idea of gender and the internal frustrations of how one is seen," says McEwan. "What really is your authentic self?"

Stop outside Western Riverina Arts' office this month and see for yourself.

Thursday 17 October 2013

Roxy Gallery opens Leeton arts


The transformation of The Roxy Community Theatre's supper room into a small gallery in 2012 has proven to be a resounding success.

Dozens of artists have made use of the Roxy Gallery and over 1000 people have since come through the space to view a variety of works.

In the past year Western Riverina Arts, in partnership with Leeton Shire Council and the staff of The Roxy Theatre, continued to support local artists in hosting their own exhibitions.

The space is ideal for solo shows and features track lighting.

Solo shows this year included photographic exhibitions exploring Leeton by Jason Richardson and then Emma Beecher, the magical realism of painter Ivanka Jakopec and a retrospective covering close to 40 years of work in many mediums by Lee Blacker-Noble.

Artists from a variety of career points have taken the opportunity to display their work in The Roxy. Most recently the Leeton Art Society have displayed their recent work, including paintings by new members who are exhibiting for the first time. The venue also introduced students from Leeton High School, with year 10’s art showed work alongside projects from the year 11 wood technology class in December 2012.

In October 2012 Ganmain-based artists The Ronalds debuted an interactive exhibition drawing on internet-streaming and a video game based in Leeton's Pine Avenue. The technology in this show surfaced in their contribution to the 2013 Underbelly Arts Festival on Cockatoo Island -- which also featured Western Riverina Arts' former RADO Dr Greg Pritchard.

A group exhibition curated by The CAD Factory was the first time they had deployed one of their 'misadventures' outside of Sydney. Art Misadventure #3 drew together diverse talents and stress-tested them with a short exercise responding to unexpected stimuli. The results revealed the techniques and working methods of nine locals in media including sculpture, collage, photography, video and poetry.

The Roxy Gallery has provided a venue to display artists from Leeton and the surrounding region. Its popularity has shown both the talents within the community as well as the support and interest of a large audience.