August 9, 2016
Blackbutt has an exciting future ahead of it, Mayor Keith Campbell told the audience at Butt Art Gallery’s latest wine and cheese social last Thursday night.
Work on fixing the CBD’s long-standing drainage problems was coming close to an end, and plans to secure a supermarket for the town are steadily progressing. So is an upgrade to part of the Blackbutt-Crows Nest Road.
But Timbertowns residents themselves are also involved in many exciting projects, such as erecting a bronze statue for Roy Emerson, developing the Nukku Nook precinct, and organising the upcoming Bloomin’ Beautiful Blackbutt Avocado Festival in September.
The Butt Art Gallery was another ‘grass roots’ project the Timbertowns could be proud of.
It not only provided a retail outlet for artists from all over the region, but had become a major Blackbutt tourist attraction in its own right.
While the Mayor said he regretted Council could not provide a building for the gallery, the group was on the list of community groups the Council supported, and he praised the gallery’s members for the hard work they put into it.
Mayor Campbell had been invited along to the function as a special guest speaker, and was accompanied by his wife Marion.
Butt Art treasurer Val McGrath said the gallery has expanded its range of artists and the services it offers to the town in recent months.
The changes have occurred largely because the gallery became incorporated a little over a year ago.
Butt Art originally started in 2002 as an artists’ collective, and it had remained that way for more than a decade.
But the decision to incorporate as a not-for-profit arts group had opened the door to grants, and also helped introduce a more structured approach to the way the gallery operated.
In hindsight, the change-over had proven to be very beneficial.
In June the gallery had run a Family Fun And Art Weekend at the nearby Blackbutt Memorial Hall to help introduce children to the possibilities of art; and in July it had run a Charcoal Drawing Workshop which had drawn praise from everyone who attended it.
Both projects had been funded by a grant from the South Burnett Regional Council’s Regional Arts Development Fund – something that would have been impossible if the gallery had kept its original structure.
The evening event was held at the Butt Art Gallery in Coulson Street, and it drew a near-capacity crowd.
For a gold coin donation, guests got to enjoy Moffatdale Ridge wines, cheeses, live entertainment from Nitehawk, a ticket in the night’s lucky door prize and socialising with many of the gallery’s artists as they browsed the extensive displays.
Many guests took the opportunity to chat with artists Dot Rowland, Robyn Dower, Lynne Felsman and Cary McAuley, while other browsed the displays of art, pottery and sculpture and caught up with friends.
Some even joined Val McGrath and her husband Noel to help provide the night’s entertainment.
