All artists welcome to join in new group

Aboriginal Art Directory | 24.04.10

In her new role as the Outback Arts Regional Indigenous Cultural Development Officer (RICDO) for the Lightning Ridge district, Karin Thurston has established a group for artists.
The group meets at the CDEP rooms on Shincracker Street every Friday from 9am to 2pm.

Ms Thurston said although the group was primarily aimed at Indigenous artists, it was open to all interested parties as Lightning Ridge was a multicultural community and she wished to encourage all artists.

Ms Thurston asked that a responsible adult accompany children who wished to attend.

Although the group’s meetings are not structured as formally as a workshop or art class, Ms Thurston says there will be opportunities for artists to learn new skills and techniques.

“Learning is about having new experiences in art. I will assist by helping artists successfully participate in these new experiences,” Ms Thurston said.

“In Aboriginal art each picture tells a story. This is the fundamental difference between Aboriginal art and Western art.

“Western art creates an image, but rarely tells a story. We need to explore who we are.

“We need to know the stories of our history, our flora, our animals and our creation,” Ms Thurston said when asked about the sort of experiences the group would focus on having.

“We can look at real life drawing and painting, what colour does - perception and deception, landscapes and colour effects, still life, and sand paintings,” Ms Thurston continued.

However, Ms Thurston did acknowledge that the group only had a limited amount of materials. She suggested that anyone who wished to paint a major canvas brought his or her own.

Ms Thurston said members of the group would also get to think about art as a business opportunity.

“We will look at what group members want to do with their artworks, as well as marketing, photographing and recording their paintings.”

The other aims of the group are to participate in a community mural, to have at least one major field study trip and one exhibition per year.

Ms Thurston said the group would be working on having an Indigenous art exhibition during NAIDOC Week from July 4 to 11 this year.

Tea and coffee is provided, but group members are asked to bring their own lunch.

URL: http://www.theridgenews.com.au/news/local/news/general/all-artists-welcome-to-join-in-new-group/1810200.aspx

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