Country Arts SA recognises that we are living and creating on First Nations Lands and we are committed to working together to honour their living cultures.
Drawing with Benefits in Streaky Bay
Photo credits: Annalise Rees
Drawing workshop playing a pivotal part in empowering the ongoing discussion about visual arts in Streaky Bay.
The Streaky Bay Art Collective recently engaged highly regarded community cultural development artist Annalise Rees to undertake a drawing in still life workshop in Streaky Bay.
Ms Rees was in the region in April undertaking the eagerly anticipated Pop Up EP City: Flash to the Future project. The Art Collective saw this as a perfect opportunity to build on their inaugural year as an arts group when they held two successful workshops in pastels, acrylic painting and mosaics.
In 2013 the aptly named ‘Starting Out’ workshops were keenly attended. This has given the group encouragement to continue offering workshops which aim to offer opportunities in skills development, be inclusive of and draw participation from the wider community.
The group were successful in receiving $743 of Quick Step funding from Country Arts SA to plan and implement the Drawing with Benefits workshop at short notice. Thirteen participants took part and were enthusiastic about the outcomes.
The Drawing with Benefits workshop explored the possibilities of observational drawing, extending traditional two dimensional mark making and experimenting with a variety of materials and media. Using these materials and media participants investigated the use of drawing as a means of expression and communication, focusing on composition, positive and negative space and scale. Participants were encouraged to expand their thinking and approaches as they discovered and tested their own ideas about what drawing is and what it can be.
The workshop took place in the Streaky Bay Supper Room Studio over two evenings on Thursday 10 April and Friday 11 April from 6:30 – 9:30pm.
The Streaky Bay Art Collective are encouraging young mothers, people who are working and people who only think of themselves as part time or hobby artists to come along in a relaxed informal atmosphere and partake in visual arts workshops. They are proactive in developing partnerships in visual arts to grow and develop the visual arts scene in the region.
By bringing everyone together face to face in an informal way at the drawing workshop the Art Collective has now ‘started a conversation’ about future opportunities in visual arts in the region. With the advice and assistance from the Arts and Cultural Development Officer the group has been exploring the type of things that may be discussed at a proposed community forum such as: the current state of the visual arts; what is there to achieve in visual arts i.e. structure of a proposed group (formal, informal), workshops, exhibitions, community art projects etc. and how to go about it?
If you would like to be a part of the conversation about visual arts in Streaky Bay please contact:
- Tiffany Williams
- Responsible Person,
- Streaky Bay Art Collective
- 08 8626 1820
If you have a great idea for an art workshop, activity or project and are looking for support or funding click here