Coinciding with Tastes of Rutherglen, the Rutherglen Tastes of Art Prize is sure to draw a crowd with over 460 pieces on exhibit supporting local artists, sculptors and photographers who were severely impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chief administrator Irena Webster said after two years of Covid-19 diminishing events, it was wonderful to see Rutherglen opening up again.
“It’s going to be a massive weekend with the food and wine festival and the Midnight Oil concert running in conjunction with our Art Prize,” Ms Webster told the Free Press.
“We are gradually seeing an increase of tourists to the town and the art prize will once again bring lots of art lovers to the region.”
Ms Webster said entries had come from Melbourne, Sydney, Wagga, regional Victoria and even one entry from as far as New Zealand.
“We are pretty amazed with the number entries, especially after the scourge of Covid,” Ms Webster said.
“Painting and works on paper are the most popular categories with over 250 entries submitted.
“We’ve also received some beautiful photography pieces for our Landscape and Open category. One area we are quite proud of is our youth entries from the high school. We want to to promote art to young people in our town because it’s so important. Indigo Shire Council has been very supportive in providing the award for the youth section.”
Ms Webster said the art prize and exhibition would be enjoyed by all ages and demographics.
“Visitors are always totally amazed with the quality of the works. The standard just keeps on improving each year,” she said.
“Visitors are also always impressed by the Memorial Hall which is a 1945 building and shows off the art beautifully.”
The Prize categories for the show include.
• Painting / Mixed Media – two prizes of $2,000
• Photography Landscape – one prize of $1,000
• Photography Open – one prize of $1,000
• Work on Paper – one prize of $2,000
• 3D Small Art Works – one prize of $2,000
Other Awards
• Youth Award – three prizes of $250
• People’s Choice – $500
• Highly Commended – five prizes of $200
The Rutherglen Tastes of Art Prize will kick off this Friday with the Opening Night Gala. Tickets to the gala can be purchased from trybooking.com/BVBVN. The event will run 10am to 4pm at Rutherglen Memorial Hall from Saturday March 12 until Sunday, March 20. Entry is $5 per person.
Annie Falcke of Murray Art Museum Albury will be the guest judge of the event.
“A special thank you to our sponsors and in particular our Gold Sponsors Destination Rutherglen, Campbells Wines and Arts Rutherglen Life Member Leonie Featonby. We’ve had our best sponsorship this year. We also thank everyone involved including Indigo Shire Council for their support and the Rutherglen Football Netball Club who will assist with the set up,” Ms Webster said.
“We look forward to welcoming everyone and showcasing beautiful art.”
34°C