art is food for the soul

There’s a little guerrilla art front sweeping through Orange at the moment, timed perfectly around the fringes of the Orange FOOD Week festival in April.

Starting with the first PopArt Collective pop-up launch and gallery events last week, local exhibiting artists Eva Frengstad, Matilda Julian, Larissa Blake, Robyn Youll, Scott Gillbank, Kate Maurice and Amy Hick are now on the search for the next secret shed or vibrant venue where they can storm in and transform the joint. Their launch was party of the year in my books, so can’t wait for the next one.

This week a little standalone PopUp Art Show appeared in a former cornerstore on the corner of Autumn and Summer Streets in East Orange (is that the most poetic address for an art gallery or what?). Open each Friday, Saturday and Sunday during this year’s Orange FOOD Week, 4-13 April, this sweet little art space is showcasing works from young local emerging artists Madeline Young, Curtis Peasley, Ellie Hannon, Maggie Warrell and Amelia Herbertson. What’s even better, Bill’s Beans East Orange is up on the next corner – hooray.

One of the most established art collectives in Orange, the Colour City Creatives are also in on the act, holding open day art workshops and events at their studios in The Barracks (a disused railway building). Local renowned artist Joy Engelman has been leading the charge to support the inaugural Cancer Council Charity Art Auction at The Agrestic Grocer on Wednesday 9 April. This will feature works from the Colour City Creative collective, as well as local sculptor Senden Blackwood.

And then there’s the wonderful online gallery space Art of Orange, another organic collective of local artists selling reproduction prints of their most popular works. I’m personally a big fan of Marianne Courtenay’s impressions of Mount Canobolas, you can see the originals hanging at the Printhie Wines cellar door. I’ve also previously written about Jayes Gallery in Molong, a wonderful space and always hosting new exhibitions from local artists.

So many artists, so much time – this region is really glorious for art. Of course, this has been a bit of a tradition since the 1960s and it looks like everyone else is just starting to catch up. Me, I’m beside myself. Had been wondering how I’d deal with the wrench from the United Arab Emirates and leaving behind Abu Dhabi Art, Saadiyat Island Cultural District and the imminent opening of the spectacular Louvre Abu Dhabi.

Watching all of this Australian grassroots arts flourish in the vineyards and rolling hills of the Orange region has given me some of my mojo back, and I’ve signed up for the Orange Regional Arts Foundation and ArtsOutWest so I don’t miss a thing. Next step is an adventure out to Hill End Press to see what they’re up to with their vintage foot treadle press.

ArtsHub recently had a fantastic article on the great divide between city and regional artists, and the misperception that nothing happens of any interest in regional areas:

1 in 3 people live in regional Australia, yet most government support for the arts seemed magnetically bound to Melbourne and Sydney. No major art institutions did programs in Sandie’s town. Many of the metropolitan-focused arts organisations and artists that visited had a strange messiah complex, thinking they were bringing arts to a cultural wasteland. They were frequently disgruntled to find successful artists already resident there.

The truth is: the space, diversity, complexity, relationships to place and change all bring marvellous hues to cutting edge contemporary art in regional areas. This is most definitely the place to be to watch this all flourish.

Kelly

revving up for a regional PopArt renaissance

There’s nothing like relocating to the countryside and having art happenings find you. The warehouse launch of Orange’s new PopArt Collective blew our minds, and simultaneously reassured us our migration from Abu Dhabi to the vineyards was one of the smartest moves we’ve made.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a building facade uplighted in Orange before, so even before we stepped into the warehouse we were amazed. And let’s backtrack here – warehouse party in Orange? hell yeah! Stepping into Sam’s Automotive (an old flour mill repurposed as a pop-up art gallery/ wine bar/ live performance space for the weekend) was like stepping straight into any of the art events I’ve been to in Surry Hills, Dublin or Abu Dhabi – but with local artists, local art, local wine (this is a huge bonus, believe me), local food and zero pretension. The crowd was awesome.

Milling around at the entrance, enveloped by the DJ soundscape and the warehouse vibe feast for the senses, we were given a card to hang on a wishing tree for the opportunity to win a piece of fresh PopArt at the end of the evening. Oh the joy: I’m quite partial to the wishing tree concept after spending a few days wandering around Kyoto temples once upon a time.

Then it was straight to the bar. Run by the superb crew of the Union Bank Wine Bar, this was an event bar like no other – serving up some of the best the region has to offer with Printhie wines & sparkling (I’m already a fan) and handcrafted pale ale from Badlands Brewery.

Invigorating art from the ten current artists of the PopArt Collective lit up the warehouse walls and caverns, our favourite part of all this was how workbenches and tools had just been pushed against walls and absorbed into the installation. I kind of lingered at the corner where Amy Hick’s exquisite Porcelain wall pieces were on display, if I described them as amazingly delicate white porcelain doilies formed as eccentric coral I’d have to admit I have no idea what I’m talking about. On the night, I drank a glass of Printhie Swift Cuvée while looking at them and then went and bought one.

The pure highlight of the evening was a live performance by a cellist and violinist from The Noise. Could I describe it as classical slash reverb jazz spontaneous improvisation? Really not quite sure what it was, apart from totally heavenly. I was on my third glass of sparkling by this stage, so once the performance finished I went and bought the CD. You should too.

This party ended like all good warehouse parties should, with everyone smoking and drinking on the footpath outside. I was with new-to-town artist Curtis Peasley who waxed lyrical for several minutes about the local renaissance (thank you Badlands, I think), and we both agreed it was kind of fortunate to have returned to the region in time to catch the first wave.

The PopArt Collective is aiming to hold local pop-up gallery regional events at least twice a year, they’ll surprise us with the art and the venues each time. Where to next we wonder? Sky’s the limit. Keep a track of them on their Facebook page or follow them on twitter.

Kelly

 

PopArt Collective wishing tree

The Noise perform live

Amy Hick – porcelain

I think this is a Matthew Swiatkiwsky piece

Robyn Youll – felted Merino wool

Kate Maurice

discover: Jayes Gallery, Molong

One of my favourite local destinations, and a gorgeous country drive, Jayes Art Gallery and Cafe in Molong is a real treat. Local artisan jewellery and pottery and boutique items are available in the gift store as you enter, and the art gallery at the back of the store is always featuring exhibitions from local and Australian artists. The real secret to this place is the outdoor sculpture garden and the cafe next door.

This month’s exhibition, opening Friday 31 January, is focused on quintessential Australian artist Norman Lindsay (1879-1969). The exhibition features originals and etchings by Norman Lindsay, in conjunction with Canberra’s Aarwan Gallery  – with all of the works available for sale (that’s just a little bit wow).

The Norman Lindsay exhibition is running from 31 January to 2 March. Take the drive out to Molong to see it, have a coffee while you’re there, and then drop into The Agrestic Grocer on your way back into Orange. That’s pretty much what I do.

Kelly

Local artists represented by Jayes Gallery include the award-winning Joy Engelman, Michael Carroll, Aida Pottinger, Tim Winters, Eris Fleming, Julie Williams, Jaq Davies, Catherine Hale and Josephine Jagger-Manners.

You can also find out more about Molong here, personally I am waiting with anticipation for Belgravia Wines to open their new cellar door at the old Molong railway station – hurry up guys :0) Follow them on Facebook for updates.

so, what was Abu Dhabi like? said no-one ever

It’s an interesting experience returning to the home country after seven years in the desert. Despite being away for so long, the most surprising thing to deal with on the return is the almost complete lack of interest from friends and colleagues in what you’ve been doing and where you’ve been doing it. I generally put it down to cognitive dissonance, the Middle East is too far beyond comprehension to get your head around if you’ve never been there.

So I’m going to go for it here.

What’s Abu Dhabi like? Charming, eclectic, inspirational – it’s my soul country.

It’s an entire emirate, and a capital city

What exactly is Abu Dhabi? It’s an entire emirate, and it’s also the name of the capital city of the United Arab Emirates (made up of seven principalities that decided to band together and form a country in 1971 – Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras Al-Khaimah, Sharjah & Umm Al-Quwain). Abu Dhabi is the largest of the seven emirates, and it comprises three distinct regions: Al Gharbia (the western region), Al Ain (the eastern region), and Abu Dhabi city.

It’s where the desert meets the sea (Western Region)

Most people would be able to imagine its glorious desert dunes, but few would realise that this emirate actually has hundreds of kilometres of coastline and archipelago islands. The spectacular Al Gharbia western region boasts not only the world’s largest uninterrupted desert, the Rub Al Khali (Empty Quarter) but also the incredible Desert Islands, a wildlife reserve and resort on Sir Bani Yas Island, and the stunning five-star resort Qasr al Sarab (Palace in the Desert) nestled within the dunes of the Liwa Desert on the edge of the Empty Quarter.

It’s ancient heritage and culture (Eastern Region)

The eastern region of Al Ain is no less enthralling, it’s full of ancient heritage and culture and is the traditional home of the Abu Dhabi ruling family, the Al Nahyan tribe. Al Ain city itself is one of my favourite places on earth, for its roundabouts, flowers and rustic charm. It has a working oasis full of date farms right in the heart of town, and the only surviving camel market on the outskirts.

It’s one of the 21st century’s emerging capital cities

And Abu Dhabi city itself….well, this place has morphed into a destination of distinction in its own right over the last seven years. It has the warmth of a big country town with incredible skyscraping architecture and a five-star lifestyle. It’s full of flowers and trees and fountains and parks and beaches. It has its own F1 track and hosts the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix each year. It has islands – the entertainment destination of Yas and the glorious glorious emerging cultural destination of Saadiyat (Island of Happiness).

It’s the crossroads where the minds and culture of the East meet the West 

Saadiyat Island deserves its own paragraph, as this is where the Louvre Abu Dhabi museum is currently emerging from the sand and expected for completion and opening to the public in December 2015. Following hot on its heels will be the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, a maritime museum dedicated to the traditional wayfaring and pearl-diving heritage of Abu Dhabi, as well as the Zayed National Museum recording the history and development of this incredible place.

Why on earth did I leave?

At about this point, you’ll probably get that I worked for the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority. All this runs through my veins. Think I’ll have to write a Part II to share stuff about the charm of Emirati culture and its people.

Why did we leave? That’s another story too. We kind of really liked our lifestyle of living here and here, and spending weekends on Saadiyat Island here and going out to the archipelago on this. The UAE is a place of shifting sands and you have to go with the flow of it. I’ve been back three times and each time had a completely different adventure. This time round Paolo’s contract with his company completed and we had two weeks to come up with an alternative plan for us to make a life together before he got shipped back to Italy.

So we picked Australia.

desert landscape of Abu Dhabi emirate

sailing in the Abu Dhabi city archipelago

traditional camel camp in the sand dunes