June 9, 2014
Students from St Joseph’s Catholic School in Murgon had the Wondai Regional Art Gallery’s opening night audience in stitches when they read out their poetry on Friday night.
The students are taking part in a unique exhibition in conjunction with students from Aramac State School in far western Queensland as part of this month’s “Regionals Meet The Bush” exhibition.
The St Joseph’s students have posted their photos and brief descriptions of their lives in the South Burnett in the Gallery’s “Kidz Korner”, alongside similar exhibits prepared by Aramac State School students.
The purpose of the exhibition is to compare and contrast what life is like growing up in the South Burnett compared with growing up in the Longreach area.
To mark the occasion, half a dozen St Joseph’s students read out short poems they had composed which provoked delighted roars of laughter and applause from the assembled guests.
Apart from Kidz Korner, the June exhibition features metalwork and cloth exhibits from Gympie artists Christopher Hardwick (from Imbil) and Kathleen Hunt (from Cooran) in the Main Gallery.
These are complemented by photo-on-canvas artworks from Jenny Bucknell in the Front Gallery which depict the lives of women living on outback stations in the Mitchell area; and the “Voices From Yaraka” multimedia exhibition, co-ordinated by Kristy McGregor, in the Third Gallery. This features photo and video from the tiny town of Yaraka where residents talk frankly about their lives, their hopes and the frustrations of living in the far west of the state.
Both the “Women Of The Outback” and “Voices From Yaraka” exhibitions were brought to the Wondai Gallery through a collaboration with the Vast Art network in Longreach.
Gympie Regional Art Gallery curator Joolie Gibbs – a long-time friend of Wondai Regional Art Gallery curator Elaine Madill – performed the official opening.
Queensland Rural, Regional and Remote Women’s Network (QRRWN) president Georgie Somerset, whose group had been the first to show “Voices From Yaraka” at its annual State Conference in Blackall last September, also attended to support the exhibition’s first showing in the South Burnett.
The opening night also marks the start of a month of arts-related activities at the Gallery.
On Friday night, June 20, the gallery will be hosting the region’s inaugural Arts Degustation Dinner at the nearby Wondai Hotel and Cellar.
The dinner will offer five courses matched to hand-selected aged wines, along with live entertainment by Tom McCahon, a talk by artist Christopher Hardwick, an art auction and a raffle.
Tickets are $40 (or $70 if guests want wines matched to each course) and can be obtained from the Gallery or the Wondai Hotel if booked by Monday, June 16.
Christopher Hardwick will also be demonstrating silversmithing and metalwork at the Gallery in the week leading up to the dinner, then running a silversmithing workshop at the Gallery’s Studio on Saturday, June 21.
Bookings for the workshop can be made at the Art Gallery or by phoning them on (07) 4168-5926.
- “The Regionals Meet The Bush” will remain on display at the Wondai Regional Art Gallery from 10:00am to 4:00pm daily until the end of June. Admission to view the exhibition is free.
- Related article: Bush Comes To Wondai Gallery
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