May 11, 2017
Nanango has a new creative hub thanks to the Nanango Arts Network Alliance (NANA), which has stepped in to fill the void left by the closure of the Nanango Arts Society earlier this year.
NANA has taken over the Arts Society’s former Winds Of Change gallery – located inside the old Nanango Co-Op Dairy office in George Street – and inherited the group’s materials and equipment.
The 112-year-old building has been renamed Creative Connections and is now managed by Nazrin Black.
And instead of being an art gallery, Creative Connections aims to make it a place where people can meet, connect and have fun being creative.
On Tuesday, the group held a garden party to celebrate the building’s relaunch.
Unexpected wet and windy weather forced the party indoors, but failed to dampen the spirits of Creative Connections volunteers who had cooked up a smorgasboard of treats for the event.
Cr Roz Frohloff and NaTDA president Gloria Kirkness were invited along for the occasion, as well as local media.
NANA chairperson Sandy Towell said two key aims of the project were to help reduce social isolation, and to provide a happy place that would help spark creativity.
It is the latest project taken up by Boots ‘n’ Bulldust, a social welfare network Sandy started in Nanango several years ago.
At present, Creative Connections runs an assortment of arts and crafts courses every Monday to Friday, ranging from sewing and beading to mosaics and papercraft.
During school holidays, it also runs holiday activities for young children designed to spark their creativity, too.
And it raises funds by charging a small fee for courses or school holiday activities, and hiring the venue out to artists so they can run courses of their own.
This year the group will also be reviving Nanango’s Medieval Fayre, a quirky but very popular event that draws participants from all over south-east Queensland; the rip-roaring Medieval Banquet that accompanies it; and medieval craft making, so participants can create their own costumes and accessories.
NANA have now been in the building for six weeks, and Sandy said the venture is already covering its rent and overheads, so she is confident the project will have a long and happy life ahead of it.
“Our sewing group is a good example of how this all works,” Sandy said.
“The Arts Society was bequeathed a very large quantity of beautiful fabric that we inherited, so we started our Stitches Of Hope sewing group, which meets every Tuesday.
“People just come along – they bring their sewing machine if they’ve got one – and make bags. They also chat, swap stories and share ideas, and it’s become so popular we often have to extend it into the afternoon.”
All the bags produced by the group incorporate a small Stitches Of Hope logo, and Creative Connections plans to open a pop up shop every three to four months to sell them as a fundraiser.
Creative Connections currently offer the following courses:
- Mosaics – Mondays, 9:30am-Noon
- Beading – Mondays, 12:30pm-2:30pm
- Social Sewing – Tuesdays, from 9:00am
- Papercraft – Wednesdays, 9:30am-Noon
- Pottery – Thursdays, 9:30am-Noon
- Art with Lyn – Fridays, 10:00am-1:00pm
Bookings are required for all courses, and further information can be obtained by phoning Nazrin Black on 0415-392-466.
Nazrin can also supply information about hiring parts of the building to run courses or workshops, and is happy to discuss possible new classes or activities the building could run.
Anyone who’d like to donate material that can be used by the sewing group to make bags is also very welcome to bring it along.
“We promise we’ll put it to good use,” Nazrin said.
