Students’ work on display last month at the Cowra Regional Art Gallery as part of the upstART exhibition.
Canowindra High School student Belle Wallace was awarded winner in the Year 12 category for her sculptural work “Induced Wrongs” in the annual youth art exhibition upstART at the Cowra Regional Art Gallery last month.
The exhibition was open to high school students studying art in stages five and six. For the first time in the history of the program, the opening of the 2020 upstART exhibition and awards ceremony were live-streamed on Facebook due to COVID restrictions.
Cowra Shire Council Mayor Bill West opened the exhibition acknowledging the talent of the young artists in the exhibition. “This exhibition truly is reflective of that exceptional talent, of which I congratulate you all,” Bill said. “It’s really wonderful and rewarding to see so many young artists and their families involved in this program.”
This was echoed by upstART 2020 judge Dr Rowen Matthews, artist, lecturer and former art teacher. Rowen commented that he was astounded by the quality of the work particularly in photography and sculpture.
The exhibition was supported by nine high schools and the Gallery received over 90 artworks including paintings, sculptures, drawings, ceramics, mixed media works and photographic works. Participating schools were Boorowa Central School, Canowindra High School, Cowra High School, Dubbo School of Distance Education, The Henry Lawson High School, Molong Central School, St Raphael’s Catholic School and Young High School.
The award section of upstART 2020 received financial support from several local businesses: Webster Optometrists, The Vineyard Motel and Yellow House Cowra. Eckersley’s Art and Craft provided gift vouchers for six winners. Community donors were the Friends of the Gallery and the Cowra Art Group Inc. as well as a private benefactor.
The exhibition can be viewed via www.cowraartgallery.com.au/exhibitions/program.