By Callum Ludwig
There will be a slightly different creative offering at the Warburton Waterwheel in February, with artists and exhibitors throughout the Upper Yarra encouraged to give their feedback.
‘Funtastic February’ will aim to use the gallery differently, offering individual places throughout the space to fill the room with works from many artists.
Coordinator at the Warburton Waterwheel Michele Osterhoudt said not every artist has a large enough body of work to fill the entire gallery space, so she had been wanting to try out selling individual walls.
“It is similar to a group exhibition, except there is no particular theme and each artist gets to choose what they wish to exhibit. I have even made it possible to rent just a wire – essentially a 1-metre wide space – for those who have smaller works or only one piece they want to showcase,” she said.
“I have been longing to host other activities in our gallery space, it’s a pretty large space with great acoustics and light, so why not hold workshops and other activities here.”
Throughout February, eight different artists will be hanging work, with textile artists also set to exhibit on the floor. There are currently no workshops booked in yet, but anyone can call 03 5966 9600 to express their interest.
Ms Osterhoudt said this new way of exhibiting is giving more artists access to a beautiful exhibition space that otherwise they might not be able to afford.
“I am hopeful that our creative community will start to look at the Waterwheel Gallery a bit differently and see new ways they could use the space,” she said.
“There are so many possibilities, and I know the Upper Yarra Valley has plenty of creatives who could benefit from what the Waterwheel Gallery space has to offer,”
“If nothing else, this unusual set-up in February is giving us a chance to try some new ideas and see how they work, both from the perspective of our coordination and from the artist’s perspective.”
One offering in February that will certainly be new to the gallery space is the return of the Last Hoorah Bazaar. Relocating from the Koha Community Space, the second-hand market will be on from 10am to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday 3,4,10 and 11 February.
Ms Osterhoudt said when they expanded the Gallery space at the beginning of 2022, they hoped it would offer new opportunities for larger exhibitions and larger pieces of art.
“We are seeing the need to find new formulas so that we don’t lose those artists with smaller works and numbers of works,” she said.
“We have received a great deal of positive feedback about the look and feel of the Gallery as it is today and we are always looking for new ways to ensure it is a great space that meets the needs of our local creatives and offers a beautiful space for visitors to come visit and experience that creativity.”
“While February is the month we are currently focused on, that’s not the end of the story. The Gallery is currently booked for April through May, but after that, I am quite open to more opportunities such as this, but I need to hear from the creative community that they are interested in us pursuing this model.”
All wall and art space is booked out for the month of February, but exhibitors are welcome to reach out to organise workshops or events. These events can be during or outside of the gallery’s 10am to 4pm open hours.
