Tag Archives: readings

Winter Solstice exhibition – that’s a wrap

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We enjoyed a bumper crowd for the launch of the Winter Solstice exhibition at Ballarat North Bowling Club on Friday 19 June.

The exhibition ran over the weekend of 20-21 June, and received a steady stream of visitors who made the most of the opportunity to sample the creations of the SHAC artists at their pop-up shop as well as the published works of 10 of the contributing writers. There was a healthy number of red dots in the exhibition itself, many going up during the launch.

Adding to the atmosphere were readings of their works by Kylie Supski, Laura Goodin, Frances Thompson, and Kirstyn McDermott.

It was also a joy to overhear the poets at Melissa Watts’ workshop on the Sunday exploring the works and bringing yet another view to them.

Feedback has been extremely positive, with writers and artists enjoying the challenge and exploration of the ekphrastic process, and visitors commenting on the blend of visual art and written responses. The turn-out at the launch was beyond expectation – thanks to everyone who came, either on the night to create such a fabulous vibe, or during the exhibition weekend.

A big thanks to SHAC, the Ballarat North Bowling Club (who ran out of wine glasses at the launch!), the City of Ballarat’s Creative Ballarat team for supporting this endeavour with a Creative Inspiration grant, Ballarat Arts Alive for auspicing the grant, and the writers who contributed work and assisted with promotion and staffing of the event.

The works have been captured in a catalogue, available through SHAC (https://www.shacballarat.org.au/). Keep an eye out during any of their future events.

Launch night drew one of SHAC’s largest audiences. Picture: SHAC
Part of the selection of books by contributing writers on sale during the exhibition. Pic: WOL
Part of the SHAC artists’ offerings in addition to the exhibition artworks. Pic: WOL

Words Out Loud Book Drive

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If you’re going to say ‘never say die’, what better place than a cemetery? Our plan to join the Great Book Swap in support of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation was stymied last year, but the easing of restrictions means we are able to offer a new event in a COVIDSafe fashion.

Thanks to the generous support of The Gatehouse Ballarat, we will be offering books new and secondhand on a ‘pay what you want’ basis, with all money raised going to the ILF. Unfortunately, to comply with COVIDSafe restrictions, people will not be able to bring books to swap on the day.

The book drive will coincide with an open-air open mic series of WOL spoken word. This will be an unthemed event, but please be mindful of the likely audience on a Sunday afternoon in terms of material.

Please note: The Gatehouse will be open for drinks and scrumptious food, as well as offering an array of tasty merchandise.

Details:

When and where: Sunday 28 February, at The Gatehouse Ballarat, Ballarat New Cemetery, 1201 Lydiard St.

Book drive: 10am-2pm

WOL Gatehouse Pop-up event: 1-3pm

Register on the day for one of several sessions. Depending on the weather and any further COVID protocols, we may be using a marquee, or may be inside.

COVIDSafe guidelines: Guests will need to sign in either on paper or by QR code for contact-tracing purposes. Hand sanitiser will be available at entry. BYO bags for books. Please bring a face mask to ensure social distancing protocols (1.5m) are maintained. Numbers at the tables will be monitored for this purpose and to ensure a comfortable browsing experience.

People should not attend if unwell, exhibiting symptoms or have been instructed to self-isolate or quarantine.

Note: this event has been registered with the Victorian Government and a COVIDSafe plan lodged.