IN a fitting Remembrance Day tribute, the Golden Rivers Artists group is presenting an exhibition of military-related art at Sir John Gorton Library at Kerang.
It is also significant that the month-long exhibition will be displayed in the library as Sir John Gorton was, in addition to being an Australian Prime Minister, a World War II fighter pilot.
The exhibition was officially opened on Saturday by former Kerang resident, artist and military veteran Cory Rinaldi.
While training as an artist, Rinaldi always aspired to become a soldier and serve his country.
“I promised my mother I would go to university and study art to become an artist before I joined the military,” he said.
“Once I finished my degree I joined the military and became a soldier and served nearly 20 years.
“During this time I was deployed to East Timor twice, Malaysia and Iraq in 2006.
“I served in the 1st and 3rd Battalions Royal Australian Regiment.”
After he was medically discharged in 2015, he was offered the opportunity to become the first artist-in-residence at the Anzac memorial in Sydney in 2018.
Two works from the exhibition are by Rinaldi and, like all the displayed works, have been offered for sale.
Golden Rivers Artists secretary Sandra Neivandt said the group wanted to pay homage to all those who had served.
“This exhibition has been a labour of love over 12 months for many of the group’s members,” Neivandt said.
“Each participating artist is presenting their artwork in honour of family members who served.”
President Pam Moore said there were six participating local artists with works inspired by family experiences.
“It was so interesting and we all had a wonderful time and enjoyed every minute of it,” she said.
