Kerang based Golden Rivers Artists is set for another big year in 2024 as the new committee gets to work continuing its 35 year legacy.
The newly appointed 2024 committee consists of president Pam Moore, secretary Sandra Neivandt, and treasurer Lesa McKenzie with committee members Heather Stanmore, Jill Swifte, Teresa Parkinson and Lorraine McConnell.
When the group was first formed it was known as the Koondrook-Barham Art Group, covering both the Murray River Council and Gannawarra Shire Council areas.
Now with more than 20 members, they meet twice a month for very social, non-competitive art sessions where members can enjoy the company of like-minded people.
This year there is a lot planned that includes two separate two day art workshops with funding supplied from a Gannawarra Shire Flood Recovery Grant.
The two guest tutors will be Craig Penny and Ev Hales, both award winning artists that travel Australia hosting workshops as well as overseas painting tours. Both have held many successful exhibitions.
Mr Penny will also take on the judging of the 2024 Kerang Rotary Art Show in March.
Group secretary Ms Neivandt said that it was a bit of a coup to get tutors of that calibre to come to Kerang.
“In November GRA will hold its annual art exhibition, titled A Sunburnt Country,” Ms Neivandt said.
“We wanted to do something that would be meaningful to people and as we were discussing the theme it turned out that everyone was mirroring aspects of the Dorothea Mackellar poem of the same title.
“It is not just Kerang, it’s broader than that, so I am expecting we will receive a lot of landscapes and rural type scenes.”
This will be following on the back of the very successful and much acclaimed Remembrance exhibition that the group displayed last November at the Sir John Gorton library.
That exhibition has now made its way to the Bendigo RSL Military Museum where it will be on display through to early March.
New members are always welcome and anyone interested in joining the group should contact the secretary on 0400 106 242 or email goldenriversartists@gmail.com
