Entries Are Now Open for the 2024 Art Trails Tasmania Art Exhibition
It is with a lot of joy that I can announce that the 5th Annual Art Trails Tasmania Art Exhibition will be in venues from the mountains to the sea in five locations and is now open for entries!
This year our exhibition becomes a trail with five new exhibition venues joining us:
Jane Seychell Gallery, St Helens
Makers @ the Courthouse, Lilydale
The Kitchen Collective, Westbury
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.
Key Dates for the Art Trails Tasmania Art Exhibition
For our 5th Annual Art Trails Tasmania Art Exhibition the key dates are:
- Early bird entry cut off is 30th June 2024
- Entries close 6th October 2024
- Works delivered by 21st October 2024
With five exhibition venues we have a series of Official Opening dates:
- Jane Seychell Gallery, Studio, Artspace, St Helens, 10am, Friday 25th October 2024
- Sheffield Art Gallery, 11am, Friday 25th October 2024
- The Kitchen Collective, Westbury, 4pm Friday 25th October 2024
- The Makers @ the Courthouse, Lilydale, 11am, Saturday 26th October 2024
- Poatina Tree Art Gallery, 2pm, Sunday 27th October 2024
The Art Trails Tasmania Art Exhibition runs from Friday 24th October to Sunday 25th November 2024.
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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.
About the Venues
So here’s an introduction to each of the venues.
Poatina Tree Art Gallery
Poatina Arts is a vibrant arts collective located in the picturesque village of Poatina, Tasmania, on the edge of the Great Western Tiers world conservation area. Our vision is to be a thriving hive of inspired creativity, where people come alive.
The Poatina Arts collective incorporates the recently completed Alethea Mountain Retreat Arts Centre and Poatina Glass Studio, an integral part of the inspiring framework which is home for a small colony of resident and visiting artists, studios, workshops, and other events that attract 100’s of artists and visitors from around the globe each year.
Follow Poatina Arts on Facebook and explore the Poatina Arts website to be amazed by this dynamic creative community.
Open 7 Days for the Art Trails Tasmania Art Exhibition
For the time of the exhibition, the gallery will be open 7 days, 10am to 4pm, from Friday 25th October to Sunday 24th November.
The Opening will be on Sunday 27th October 2024, arrive 1.30pm for a 2pm start.
Works can be dropped off in person to the Poatina General Store, 14 Gordon Street, Poatina.
Works can be posted to Poatina Tree Art Gallery, C/- Poatina Post Office, 16 Gordon St, Poatina 7302.
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.
Sheffield Art Gallery
Due to an identified need in the community, artists have collaborated to create a space where they could work together and display their work.
The success of the venture has led to our new art gallery in the centre of Sheffield.
The Gallery showcases local artists’ work. The group provides weekly workshops and encourages artistic expression in the community.
Members have the opportunity for individual exhibitions, and a group exhibition is held annually.
Follow the Sheffield Art Gallery on Facebook and Instagram, and explore the Sheffield Art Gallery website to be inspired.
For the Exhibition
The gallery is open 7 days, 10am to 3pm, with the exhibition running from Friday 25th October to Sunday 24th November.
The Opening will be on Friday 25th October 2024, arrive 10.30am for a 11.00am start.
Works can be posted to or dropped off in person to the Sheffield Art Gallery, 6 Pioneer Crescent, Sheffield 7306.
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.
Makers @ the Courthouse, Lilydale
The Makers @ the Courthouse are a vibrant and thriving art group who are delighted to welcome visitors to their unique main street location in the old courthouse.
This heritage building is home to their charming shop, filled with arts and crafts made by talented members, as well as their new exhibition and workshop spaces.
Be sure to follow this dynamic group on Facebook for all of their latest news!
For the Exhibition
The gallery is open Friday to Tuesday, 10am to 4pm, with the exhibition running from Friday 25th October to Sunday 24th November.
The Opening will be on Saturday 26th October 2024, arrive 10.30am for a 11.00am start.
Works can be posted to or dropped off in person to the Makers @ the Courthouse, 1951 Main Road, Lilydale 7268.
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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.
Celebrating Our Artists
I see a core responsibilitiy of being a curator of this exhibition is to strongly promote the artists getting involved.
Just as has happened in previous years, I will be working up promotional graphics featuring the works being entered based on the photos of entries sent to me.
So do please send me good images of your work, because then they will look great in the tiles I make up for you.
Plus, these images will be used in the exhibition catalogue, alongside your artist statement.
I will be making up these images as entries come in and working up the catalogue as early as possible as I’m expecting it to get particularly busy with five venues!
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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