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Kulin Arts Council continues to keep art and culture alive in the southern Wheatbelt town

Isabel VieiraNarrogin Observer
Artists Deborah Old, Louise Cameron, Lynne Dorset and Susan Ettridge from the Narrogin Arts Group with Val Whiting from Kulin Arts.
Camera IconArtists Deborah Old, Louise Cameron, Lynne Dorset and Susan Ettridge from the Narrogin Arts Group with Val Whiting from Kulin Arts. Credit: Kulin Arts

The Kulin Art Council has played an important role in keeping the arts and culture community alive in the Wheatbelt town for more than 50 years.

The local art group has maintained the same goal through the decades, which is to connect the broader community with art and support local artists.

Last year, the group went from strength to strength, hosting two exhibitions in the Kulin Arts Centre for the first time since buying the building in 2018.

Following the success of those exhibitions, the KAC is already planning its next “spring themed” exhibit in July.

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President Erin Bailey said the group ran art workshops on Fridays for members and visitors to drop in and create some art.

“You can choose to be a member of the group or you can just drop in, have a cuppa and a chat and a bit of art might happen as well,” she said.

“You could walk in and someone could be crocheting, the next person might be drawing and someone might be painting so you do get a whole range of things going on.

“We only have a small membership, we are trying to encourage people, even if they are driving through town we are more than happy for people to drop in and join.”

In previous years, the arts council ran exhibitions during the Kulin Bush Races weekend which brought crowds of people into the town for the annual horse racing event.

Over the years, the group’s membership numbers started to dwindle, as did the frequency of its exhibitions.

But last year the arts group got back on its feet and hosted two exhibitions, one with the theme “Time” and the more recent showcase around the theme “Black and White.”

“We had our first exhibition in July last year, it’s theme was Time and it was basically whatever people wanted to create, we weren’t specific about the art form,” Ms Bailey said.

“We ended up with a large range of work from 43 entries, which for us was huge

“That was quite awesome and it went on very well.”

The Black and White exhibition featured a range of art forms such as graphite sketches, mosaics, kiln fired glass, paintings and sculptures.

“With our Black and White exhibition, which was in December, we had 84 pieces which was almost twice the size,” Ms Bailey said.

“It was stunning, the black and white artwork looked great.

“Now I’m hoping we will be able to encourage more people to come in and visit.”

Ms Bailey, who is also a teacher, said students from Kulin District High School paid a visit to the exhibition

“I encouraged a few of the teachers to bring their classes down and at one stage we had about 50 kids in the centre,” she said.

“It was great watching them look at the art because the bulk of them would have never been in an art gallery before.

“I was even thinking for the Spring exhibition that we could encourage the kids to enter some artwork, perhaps a couple of best pieces from each class.”

Alongside the Friday meetings, the group also run specialised art classes and they plan to start running after school workshops for children.

Ms Bailey said she felt it was important to offer the arts as an alternative social avenue in sports-dominated towns.

“We have such a high focus on sport that it’s nice to be able to introduce people to something different,” she said.

“Being so far away from Perth, if you want to go and see a show or an art gallery you have to travel and spend money.

“I think it’s also important for mental well-being, it’s been proven that arts can have that positive effect on people.”

The Kulin Art Council will host its Spring exhibition in July and another art showcase in October alongside the Kulin Bush Races.

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