Art in the Street now at WGAC
Artworks created in the inaugural “Art in the Street” event last December are now on display at the West Gippsland Arts Centre.
The variety of pieces created by local artists involved in the event can be seen across the arts centre community gallery until Friday May 3.
Reflecting on last year's event, organisers Bronwyn Pearson and Janet Wyllie said the day was a huge success. “We've heard nothing but good things,” Janet said.
“The fact that we got 29 artists who put their hands up to do something really gutsy, to bear their soul and their creativity in the scrutiny of the public eye was phenomenal,” Bronwyn said.
A key focus of “Art in the Street” was raising the profiles of local creatives within the community. Bronwyn said the event achieved this aim, getting a great response from members of the public who saw the artists at work.
“I think the fact that it was not in someone's studio or in a gallery, it was right there in the public area meant that the public couldn't avoid seeing or interacting with the artists,” she said. Based off the great feedback from the first event, Janet said there had been talks about running a second event later this year.
“We've talked about doing it again, all the artists are very keen on doing it again,” Janet said.
Bronwyn said the exhibition at the arts centre was a great opportunity for artists to self-promote and for the public to recognise their contributions to the community.
“I think (the exhibition) is a really good opportunity for them to self-promote, raise their profile and connect with each other,” Bronwyn said.
“I think sometimes artists can be undervalued in the community,” Bronwyn said. “So I think to give them a chance to be acknowledged for what they contribute, their creativity, joy and beauty, to have them in the street and be appreciated was a really good thing.”
“Artists are essentially solo creatures working in studios on their own and they love things like this where they can get to talk to each other, look at each other's work and give feedback,” Janet said.