September 3, 2019
Kingaroy art group Jumping Ant Arts will be celebrating their 10th birthday on Wednesday (September 4) with an open day at the Kingaroy Regional Art Gallery.
From 10:00am and 2:00pm, guests can browse the group’s 10th anniversary art exhibition and see demonstrations of print making, rug making and floral art.
They can also create their own dyed silk scarf at a $5 workshop to take home with them, or browse works created by Jumping Ant Arts (JAA) members.
The Spring Collection exhibition – which will be on display until the end of the month – features a diverse range of works from 11 artists using media that include printmaking, watercolours, textiles, acrylics, pottery and metalwork.
The open day will also feature a free morning tea and an opportunity to meet with some of the artists and find out more about Jumping Ant Arts.
There will be a lucky door prize (a unique pottery piece) up for grabs, as well.
The exhibition has been co-ordinated by JAA member Melody Cook, who said she would like to encourage the community to come along and help the group celebrate.
Since its foundation in 2009, JAA has embraced members from all arts disciplines and runs many training workshops and programs to raise the standard of arts practice in the South Burnett.
The group, which has almost two dozen members, encourages artists to experiment with new things and develop their skills.
Fran van Vegchel, one of JAA’s founders, said she believed what separated JAA from many other arts groups was that members were all very serious about the arts practice they followed, but were always open to new ideas.
This led to a lot of creative cross-fertilisation, which helped accelerate the growth of individual artists.
“Jumping Ant Arts was originally formed from the Kingaroy Print Group, which was set up to help print makers expand their skills,” Fran said.
“Susan Goddard came up with the idea for Jumping Ant Arts, and our aim was to expand into other arts disciplines and help raise the bar.
“I’d like to think we’ve done that over the past 10 years.
“I also hope we’ve helped raise the quality of artworks we produce in the South Burnett – and the exhibitions we all get to enjoy – in the process.”
- ‘Spring Collection’ will be on display at the Kingaroy Regional Art Gallery in Haly Street, Kingaroy from 10:00am to 4:00pm Mondays to Fridays, and 9:00am to 1:00pm on weekends, until Wednesday, October 9. Admission to view the exhibition is free.
