Art Trails Tasmania Art Exhibition Grows into Trail

I have a confession to make, I’ve always hoped for this to happen, for the Art Trails Tasmania Art Exhibition to grow into a trail of venues across the state. I didn’t know how this would come about and I was thrilled when in the very first year I had so much support from three Deloraine venues to have the first exhibition in 2020. Yes, during Covid, when we didn’t know whether or not we’d even be allowed to open the doors. But we could and we did, becoming one of the first exhibitions to open.

The wonderful folk at Art as Mania allowed us to make them our home for four years. And in 2023 we launched the website with the online entry process and had the most artists, 45+, with over 110 works enter! And we got a tad too big for the space. Art as Mania is generously a returning sponsor this year, as too is The Empire Hotel at Deloraine.

Our Members Made Connections

I had initially hoped for three venues for this year’s exhibition and wasn’t entirely sure how that would all come about.

So I decided to trust the Universe and start talking with folk about what they thought, who they could suggest and put a call out in the newsletters.

Big Thanks to Christie Lange

Christie Lange suggested Russell McKane and Poatina Arts and Jane Seychell in St Helens.

Poatina Arts is an established group with a vibrant, supportive creative community. And it seemed like it took only the blink of an eye for them to welcome Art Trails Tasmania into the fold.

Jane has taken the wonderfully brave step and just opened her gallery space, testing out her own creative space concepts and needed to make sure that the timing and location was right for her. I was thrilled when she said yes.

Big Thanks to Cindy Thompson

Next on board was the inspiring Sheffield Art Gallery with Cindy Thompson contacting me, asking if they could be part of it all.

Throught my Deloraine connections I was introduced to Selena who is bringing back to life delicious dining at the Fitzpatrick Inn at Westbury and wants it to be a creative space that gives artists exhibition opportunities with The Kitchen Collective.

Big Thanks To Pinky Sims

And finally, one of last year’s exhibition artist’s Pinky, called me to ask if their art group Makers @ the Courthouse in Lilydale could join us and it all looked like it was meant to be, five venues for our fifth annual art exhibition!

Warm Hearted Thanks to Tanya Scharaschkin and Mel Hills

And I need to say thank you in particular to members Tanya Scharaschkin and Mel Hills for their support and encouragement.

When I started this members based project I’d hoped to grow it into a very supportive and enabling community, and I have to confess, I find it deeply touching being on the receiving end of this support.

Jane Seychell Gallery, St Helens

Jane Seychell Art Gallery is a vibrant space that not only showcases the award-winning artwork of Jane Seychell herself but also serves as an Artspace for the creation and display of works in progress.  

The gallery is not limited to Jane’s creations; it is also dedicated to promoting local artisans.  

With a diverse range of offerings , providing not only a space to appreciate and purchase art but also a platform for collaboration and creativity. 

Be sure to explore Jane’s gallery space in St Helens and her  Artist website, details about her Commissions work with pet portraiture and to follow on Instagram and Facebook.

For the Art Trails Tasmania Art Exhibition

The gallery is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 10am to 4pm, Saturday 8.30am to 2pm (closed Sunday, Monday and Thursday),  with the exhibition running from Friday 25th October to Sunday 3rd November.

The Opening will be on Friday 25th October 2024, arrive 9.30am for a 10.00am start.

Works can be dropped off in person to the Jane Seychell Gallery during open hours, 41 Cecillia Street, St Helens 7216.

Works can be posted to Jane Seyschell Gallery, C/- St Helens Post Office, 46 Cecillia St, St Helens 7216.

The Kitchen Collective, Westbury

Selena Lowe (The Kitchen Collective by 1Food) is a self taught local, growing up on a farm on the outskirts of Deloraine instilled with the ethos early on that home grown, small batch and home made, is best.

With a corporate background but a love for creative cooking and all things Tasmanian produce, Selena launched 1food as a recipe website in 2015 and has since moved into grazing, private catering and small pop up restaurants that now come together as a brick and mortar restaurant showcasing Tasmanian produce and suppliers, “Co” at the historic Fitzpatricks Inn at Westbury.

“Co is an extension of everything I love, bringing people together, I want everyone that comes in to feel as though they’ve come into my home for dinner as friends”.

For the Art Trails Tasmania Art Exhibition

This venue is open for the exhibition Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 7pm, with the exhibition running from Friday 25th October to Sunday 24th November.

The Opening will be on Friday 25th October 2024, arrive 3.30pm for a 4.00pm start.

Works can be dropped off in person to the Kitchen Collective, Fitzpatrick’s Inn, 56 Meander Vallery Road, Westbury.

Works can be posted to The Kitchen Collection, C/- Westbury Post Office, 40 William St, Westbury 7303.

Nominating Your Preferred Exhibition Venue

The Entry Form allows you to nominate three preferred galleries that you would like your work to be shown in.

We will do our best to have your work in either your first or second preference but can not guarantee which location it will end up being.

All of your entries will be in the one location, so if you enter three peices, they will be in the same gallery to make drop off easy for you.

A lot of care and thought will go into allocating which works to which galleries, keenly taking into account the preferences of our artists, the size of the gallery space and the desired mix of works for each space.

We want to have an interesting mixture of works at each location, creating a fascinating experience for visitors, connecting with potential buyers and visitors from across the state and the mainland (our international friends are always welcome too!).

We do understand that as much as we will authentically try to make everyone happy with the exhibition venue that their work will be shown in, that given the odds, someone may be disappointed, but please rest assured, all decisions are being made in good faith for you.

Entry Sizes for the Art Trails Tasmania Art Exhibition

This year we are going with a new maximum framed size of 45cm x 45cm.

All of our charming venues have space considerations so we are adapting and trusting that you’ll be happy to explore these new sizes with us.

This new size makes frame A3 formats an ideal size.

But I also want to put the challenge out to you to explore creating miniature sized art treasures.

We’ve had miniature format paintings in the exhibition in previous years and these little gems are extra special.

Plus, on a practical level, they are exceptionally easy for artists to post off to exhibitions across the country, got you thinking now?

Mediums and Themes for the Art Trails Tasmania Art Exhibition

Many art exhibitions are focused on one type of medium, whether that be painting, sculpture, textiles, and have categories based on that particular medium.

The Art Trails Tasmania exhibition reflects the diversity of artist in residency programs and welcomes entries across a diverse range of mediums. So our exhibition themes need to embrace this diversity. Instead of having categories such as watercolour landscape or portraits, our themes are designed to be open to your interpretation and include:

Vibrant Communities – ideal for representing the people, communities, farms, business, shacks and villages, towns and cities of Tasmania.

Waters of Life – taking inspiration from the beautiful Tasmanian waterways and coastlines, flora and fauna, activities such as fishing and paddling.

Wildlife Wonders – celebrating the diverse and captivating wildlife, the flora and fauna, of Tasmania.

Mountain Inspirations – showcasing the magnificence of the ever present Tasmanian mountains and highlands, this can also include the flora and fauna.

Works can be representative to abstract to graphical and anything in between.  We do welcome Artist Statements and information about works as well. Sending in these details is preferred.

We do use the image emailed through with the entry form as the basis of social media post images that are shared during the exhibition on our Facebook and Instagram pages. So you can be tagged, do please include your own social media profile link. For example, our Facebook link is www.facebook.com/arttrailstasmania

Mediums accepted include textiles (weaving, felting, embroidery etc), painting (watercolour, oil, acrylic etc), prints (woodcut, lino etc), photography, woodwork, sculpture (metal, wood, fibre etc),  glass (blown, mosaic etc), ceramics and more.

Call Out for Exhibition Sponsors

I would love to offer more prizes for the exhibition and be able to promote the exhibition with a budget that is more than a shoestring.

And for this, I need more sponsors. Can you help? With introductions, suggestions, connections? Any help is most appreciated. 

Sponsorship packages start at just $200. And I love to celebrate and thank publicly our backers for this grass roots artist led project.

Thank you xo.

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