Spiral Gallery Bega unveils a new exhibition Always Was Always Will Be for NAIDOC Week 2020
Allison Walker Wallaga Lake, Gulaga Spiritual Dreaming, Acrylic on Canvas. Supplied by Spiral Gallery.
The Always Was Always Will Be exhibition on display at Spiral Gallery in Bega celebrates local Aboriginal arts and culture. This year for NAIDOC Week, the gallery is celebrating local Aboriginal arts and culture by offering opportunities for both established and emerging artists to exhibit and sell their work through the exhibition. Long-term Spiral Gallery member and exhibition curator Gabrielle Powell shares how the exhibition came together and what visitors can expect.
Your NAIDOC 2020 Exhibition at Spiral Gallery (Bega) will showcase local Aboriginal arts and culture featuring local professional Aboriginal artists responding to the NAIDOC 2020 theme of Always Was, Always Will Be. Tell us about the exhibition.
The exhibition features work by five artists from Eden to Dalmeny on the South Coast of NSW. Ty Cruse and Joseph Stewart from Eden, Alison Simpson from Merimbula, Allison Walker from Wallaga Lake, and Natalie Bateman from Dalmeny. Works by local young emerging artists will also be part of the exhibition.
Tell us how the gallery works with local artists and the broader community.
Spiral Gallery plays a major role in the community by promoting and supporting arts practice in the Bega Valley region; offering opportunities for both established and emerging artists to exhibit and sell their work.
Spiral Gallery has a long history of working with Aboriginal artists. Over the years, have you seen any changes to the artists and community? If so, can you tell us about them?
Over the years some of the Aboriginal artists have increased their profile and started their own businesses.
There is a growing enthusiasm for Aboriginal art and culture in our area, which is a testament to the quality and diversity of the art being produced in the Bega Valley.
What are you hoping visitors, both local and travellers, will gain from visiting your exhibition?
The exhibition is a chance for the whole community to see the amazing wealth of Aboriginal art and culture we have in the Bega Valley. It is a chance to celebrate together and to show support to the First Nations people. As a community we walk with them towards reconciliation and acknowledgment that the First Nations people have cared for this continent for over 65,000 years and are spiritually and culturally connected to this country.
Find out more about Spiral Gallery Bega
Read more about the Always Was, Always Will Be exhibition
Image: Allison Walker Wallaga Lake, Gulaga Spiritual Dreaming, Acrylic on Canvas. Supplied by Spiral Gallery.
Published: 11 November 2020