Council
26 January, 2024
Hidden artists to be ‘exposed’
FEBRUARY’S Courthouse Camperdown art exhibition will take a different approach, including with a community opening night.
The exhibition Corangamite Arts Exposed, will hold a premire opening on February 1 at 6pm.
This exhibition will feature a variety of 2D art forms as well as pottery and ceramics and was designed by organiser Isha Paasse to include everyone from beginners to advanced.
Ms Paasse reached out to various artists in the region, creating an art group for those who wished to share their work without leaving home.
She said she many artists tended to hide away, preferring to be private or lacking confidence to share their work.
“A lot of people don’t have confidence, or don’t have enough art to put their art up,” Ms Paasse said.
“I thought I’d let them know that I was going to run his exhibition, and that if they put in two works each, and asked who was interested.
“There was 11 that put their hand up. Everything’s been done; I’ve yet to meet quite a few of them.
“We’re all coming together as Corangamite artists, not necessarily knowing one another.”
Ms Paasse said the response to the callout was overwhelming, with known locations including Lismore and Camperdown.
“I don’t know where the rest are from, but they’re from Corangamite,” she said.
“I’ve organised it online, and I’ve got Jan (Barnes) in it and she’s going to curate it with me.
“I’ve decided that it would be really good to have an opening evening.
“It’s really lovely that we’re going to meet up because of our art bringing us together.”
Corangamite Arts Exposed will be entirely charge-free, including complimentary champagne and nibbles for attendees.
Ms Paasse said the exhibition aims to raise awareness of how many artists are “out in the hills” of Corangamite Shire.
“I did a survey about a year ago online, and I think I got about 200 artists that put their hand up to say ‘yes, I am a visual artist in Corangamite’,” she said.
“You’d be very surprised as to how many people are in those hills that don’t come out, don’t necessarily exhibit their work, or maybe don’t think they’re good enough, or just wish to remain private.
“It just goes to show that there’s a whole lot of cultural creativity in our region.
“It’s just exposure and promoting what we have and the people in our shire.”
Ms Paasse said she hopes the exhibition will help artists to gain confidence and exposure in the art world.
“Whether they sell or not is a different story, but exposure is always the first start for an artist,” she said.
“It takes a lot of courage to put your art out there and have people look at it and criticise it or love it.”