Time to gather
Grampians residents and visitors can enjoy a ‘sensory treat’ at Great Western on Saturday as the popular wine village hosts the first of four ‘Gatherings’ events.
Gatherings 2022 is a community project involving free artistic events at Great Western, Stawell, Halls Gap and St Arnaud.
Project co-ordinator Tracey Skinner said each location would showcase a range of art and cultural offerings, ‘but via a new perspective’.
“Projections, light, audio, augmented reality and animated imagery will gather the community together and invite visitors to experience a sensory treat,” she said.
Northern Grampians Shire Council and Wimmera-based arts organisation ACT Natimuk will present the ‘festival-style’ events throughout May and June.
Saturday’s event at Great Western will feature a ‘fresh, outdoor, big-screen event’.
New Vintage, produced by Verity Higgins, will include photographs showcasing characters in the region’s wine industry.
A screening of newly released, award-winning film Blind Ambition will follow.
Stawell’s Out of the Box event on May 27, produced by Jacinda O’sullivan, promises a streetscape of live action, performance, music, art, installations and sound.
“Physical theatre artists 5 Angry Men will present their jaw-dropping performance work The Bells in the evening after earlier street roving,” Ms Skinner said.
She said Gatherings 2022 participants would have a two-week break to ‘catch their breath’ before producer Jillian Pearce ‘surprises and amazes in Halls Gap with The Moth Trail’.
Artists and the Halls Gap community helped develop the outdoor light and projection trail.
“Whisperings have been heard of the appearance of an opera singer gracing rooftops as she projects her vocal finesse across the township,” Ms Skinner said.
St Arnaud rounds up the festival with Lights On, produced by Mary French, in mid June.
Lights On, on Friday, June 17, will provide people with an opportunity to ‘check out the evocative, interactive augmented reality that celebrates some of St Arnaud’s iconic murals during the day’.
The event will continue after dark the following night, in the town hall precinct, where participants ‘can discover images, animation, colours and sounds breathing life into unexpected places through projections’.
Ms Skinner encouraged Wimmera-southern Mallee people to attend the festival-style events.
“The team producers are excited to bring the communities together to experience the visual treat they are planning,” she said.
“It’s an opportunity to show the art and culture each town already has but with a new perspective.”
People can visit website grampiansgatherings. com to learn more about Gatherings 2022 and register for updates.