The artistic talents of Kerang’s residents are on show this month at the Sir John Gorton Library.
The Charcoal & Watercolour – A Community Art Exhibition is on display for the month of August.
Council chief executive officer, Geoff Rollinson said that thanks to funding from the State Government’s Community Support and Social Isolation Package, participants at workshops held at Dingwall, Kerang, Murrabit and Quambatook were able to experiment with expressive watercolour and charcoal techniques to produce native wildlife portraits.
“These workshops were part of Council’s Re-Connect with your Gannawarra program, which aimed to support mental health and wellbeing and re-establish social connections during the Gannawarra’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mr Rollinson said.
“The Charcoal & Watercolour – A Community Art Exhibition is the culmination of this successful program, which celebrates the talents of residents who participated in these workshops.”
One of the featured artists Sandra Fletcher, from Dingwell, said that she didn’t believe she had an artistic flair.
“It’s just something that comes together, our tutor did a good job and helped us all get there in the end,” Ms Fletcher said.
“I loved it, it was good connection and everyone had a good laugh.”
Mayor of Gunnawarra Shire, Charlie Gillingham, said that the artwork looks fantastic and encouraged members of the Kerang community to come down and have a look.
“This is a great project for the small rural communities where they can get together, meet and catch up,” Cr Gillingham said.
“Although COVID has impacted many differently, we are very resilient out here in the country and as we have seen with the floods recently we certainly get back on our feet again.”
Charcoal & Watercolour – A Community Art Exhibition is open between 10am-5pm weekdays and 10am-12 noon Saturdays during the month of August. Admission is free.
The exhibition follows on from Gannawarra Shire Council working with renowned local artist, Paul Oswin to host Watercolour and Charcoal Nature Portrait sessions throughout the Gannawarra during November 2021.
