September 26, 2016
A South Burnett art exhibition which will soon begin an extensive tour around Queensland art galleries had its official opening at the Nanango Cultural Centre recently.
“Brushes & Flashes Of The South Burnett” displays paintings and sculptures created by eleven South Burnett artists.
Each artist will have four works in the exhibition, and the materials they’ve used range from oils to acrylics, pastels to charcoals, paper tole to pyrography, and mosaics to powertex.
The project is the brainchild of Nanango artist Karren Bolton, who is completing a degree in Fine Arts and came up with the idea of the touring exhibition for her final year project, and is being run by the Nanango Arts Network Alliance (NANA).
Apart from helping local artists find a wider market for their work, NANA hopes to use the exhibition to promote the South Burnett as a place to visit, as well as raise awareness about the high quality and diversity of locally produced arts and crafts.
The project has received support from the Nanango Tourism and Development Association and the South Burnett Regional Council via South Burnett Directions.
It has a budget of $36,000 and NANA have been raising funds for it through cent auctions, raffles and a pop-up shop (The Art Scene).
Artists taking part in the project include Lyn Felsman, Megan Cridland, Rosemarie Matthews-Frederick, Thelma Archibald, Anthony Donas, Summer Brook-Jones, Garry Eyre, Paul Craddock, Ina Patterson and Karren Bolton.
The exhibition was officially opened by Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington, who praised the concept and the quality of the artworks on show, and admitted she was a fan of local artists herself.
Compere Sandy Towell from the Nanango Arts Network Alliance told the audience the exhibition had taken 18 months to organise and would be taking 2000 “sample bags” full of tourism literature to distribute to potential visitors as it moved from gallery to gallery around the state.
It will also taking South Burnett produce along to opening nights and running a video featuring highlights of the region, courtesy of South Burnett Directions.
Cr Roz Frohloff also praised the artists for their beautiful artworks, and both NANA and Karren for their hard work converting the idea into reality.
Cr Frohloff said the travelling South Burnett art exhibition was a first for the region as far as she knew, and wished it every success.
The exhibition will open at Dalby’s art gallery in November this year.
It will then travel to Ipswich, Warwick, Rockhampton, Wondai, Charters Towers and Biloela before finishing in Emerald.
The Wondai exhibition – in July 2017 – will allow locals to have a second chance to view it.
