On the Local Arts Trail in November
— with Alison Desmond —
Moorabool has a super strong arts community, and it’s well represented at some fine new exhibitions at local galleries this month, with some great opportunities across the region coming courtesy of the Hide + Seek Festival.
Gordon Bar Room Gallery
• Lung Chun Fish Platter, Chris Creaney 2002
Beautiful soup by chef Sal, served in an original ceramic bowl that you get to keep, made by local artists Mike Bradley or Chris Creaney - don’t you just love this idea?
The Soup and Bowl Lunch is a special event with live music from the Gordon Gypsies, hosted by Gordons at Gordon as part of the Hide + Seek Festival.
Out the back, the Gordon Bar Room Gallery will be open for viewing more ceramic artworks by gallery collective members.
The Soup and Bowl Lunch takes place from 12pm to 3pm, Sunday November 3. For bookings call Gordons at Gordon on 0419 357 778.
Gordon Bar Room Gallery is open 10am to 2pm Saturdays
More about Gordon Bar Room Gallery
Ballan Art Space
I know a secret, shhh! A magical Secret Garden is growing inside Ballan Art Space.
I can tell you that it’ll take the form of an indoor black light installation, but beyond that you’ll be able to check it out for yourself at the Hide + Seek Festival in Ballan on Saturday 2 November.
The Art Space also has a new exhibition on the way, with its current collection, ‘Techno and/or Organic’ finishing up on November 3.
‘Through the Looking Glass’ will be the final exhibition this year for the Ballan and District Artist Collective, and presents a broad selection of interpretations on the theme.
Ballan Art Space is open 10am to 3pm Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
Oak Grove Gallery
• Bostock, Martin Cleal 2024
‘Bostock’ is one of many haunting landscape paintings Martin Cleal has produced from sketches made of his favourite Moorabool views.
The small, complex work features a dead white gum branching radially around the composition adding scale and depth, from the shadowy shrubbery and crystal water in the foreground to the reflective sand and pure blue sky in the background.
Find out the best local views from Marty at Oak Grove Gallery in the restored 1872 Ballan News building.
Oak Grove Gallery is open 11am to 4pm Wednesday to Sunday.
Flack Post & Telegraph Office
A cyanotype workshop, a book signing by Damien Lewis, a large format camera experience and live music by Paul Molloy Acoustics…
All this and more feature as part of Flack PTO’s Hide + Seek Festival program, from 10am to 3pm, Saturday November 2.
Throughout the rest of the month the gallery will present its ever-evolving collection of selected works by local artists
Flack Post & Telegraph Office is open 12pm to 3pm Friday, 10am to 3pm Saturday, Sunday.
St Martin’s Chapel
• Artist: Dusan Devcic
Another exhibition happening this month as part of the Hide and Seek Festival is the Hidden Treasures Exhibition, at Blackwood’s storied St Martin’s Chapel.
The exhibition will include artworks by local artists Philip Batty, Dusan Devcic, Kathy Holowko, Garry Amy, Jinny Coyle, Brendan Hehir and Stephanie Kondos.
Things will kick off officially with an Opening and Meet the Artists between 2pm-3pm on Saturday 9 November.
The Hidden Treasures Exhibition is open 1-5pm Saturday 9 November and 10am-3pm Sunday 10 November.
• Pieces from B-MAC Gallery’s Altered or Made Books exhibition
B-MAC Gallery
B-MAC Gallery is a Bacchus Marsh-based artists’ collective, who - despite the name - don’t have a permanent gallery but exhibit regularly in Bacchus Marsh’s Lerderderg Library and other local spaces.
‘Altered or Made Books’ is the current exhibition by B-MAC, celebrating the book in all its wonderful forms, and is showing at the library through to the end of November.
It features books as sculptural objects with pages cut, folded and coloured, illustration, poetry, fonts and bindings, and is available for viewing during library hours.
The group also has an exhibition called ‘Hidden Creations’ at Bacchus Marsh Public Hall Tea Rooms this month, as part of the Hide +Seek Festival.
Aiming to reveal the work of the region’s hidden creatives, Hidden Creations opens with a gala event at 6pm on Wednesday November 6, and is then open 10am - 5pm daily through to Sunday 10th.
About On the Local Arts Trail
Our next On the Local Arts Trail column will be released through our monthly eNewsletter and on this website at the start of December.
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