Local Artists Give Artistic Locals a Head Start

BY Danaella Wivell

Art is being made more accessible to local citizens, with Townsville Gallery Services working to provide more artists to teach in the community.

The Perc Tucker Regional Gallery

Placing artists in schools is helping to integrate art and youth in order to increase art appreciation and help expand Townsville’s reputation as a culturally rich region.  

Michael Pope, Education & Programs Co-ordinator at Perc Tucker Gallery, says that the staff at Gallery Services completely understand the need for more artists to be present in local schools.

“We pay artists to spend 10 hours at a high school, working with students to create artworks which are publicly exhibited at Perc Tucker.” Through exhibiting the artworks, Pope explains, local youth become more engaged in the artistic process. 

Bonney Bombach, a prolific Queensland artist, recently gave a public lecture and workshop as her exhibition The Personal and the Political (Selected works 1990- 2012) travelled through Townsville.

On the matter of working with the artists in schools programs, Ms Bombach said, “I’ve always enjoyed working in schools with teachers who are passionate about having a real, living artist coming in to work with the kids and stimulate them artistically.”

As an artist, Ms Bombach can also see the need for art to be made more accessible to regional youth. 

“Most of these children have never stepped foot into this [Perc Tucker] gallery, or even in Pinnacles, so to me that says that schools are struggling to fund arts programs. Children are always very excited to work with artists, and that’s what you really want to see.”

This economic disadvantage leaves Gallery Services working harder to provide artistic education to children in Townsville. “We try to get artists who travel with every major show that comes through [Townsville] to do talks or workshops,” explains Pope.

“We also try to support local artists with our five spaces - The Gallery, YourSpace, Showcase, the Niche, and Access Space - which are available free to local artists to exhibit their art.”

Gallery Services also provide support for upcoming artists by designing, printing and mailing invitations to local shows, as well as providing web content for the artists for free.

The Strand Ephemera is just one exhibition that is co-ordinated by Gallery Services. The bi-annual exhibition this year boasted 31 artworks, created by 38 regional artists.

Artists who participated in the ephemera held master classes in order to give Townsville residents the opportunity to create their own art.

As someone who resides in a regional area, Ms Bombach says that infrastructure is needed to help artists succeed in outlying areas.

Townsville currently has Perc Tucker Gallery and Pinnacles Gallery as their two permanent council-funded exhibition spaces.

Pinnacles supports young artists through the ArtNow annual exhibition, which showcases art from senior high school students, and recognises their contribution to local art.

The gallery also holds The Creative Generation Excellence Award in Visual Art, which helps young artists make their way to the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane.