Arts

Ali Bohn. “I wanted to make the bathrooms a nice, bright space to go when you’re feeling flat and I thought a nice mural of flowers would look really good": Barham Public School Captain, Shaylah Carter.

A small school has changed its name to KeithUrbenville to honour the songs they love to sing by rockstar Keith Urban. On Monday, December 14, Urbenville Public School students sat in the classroom to have what they thought was a zoom session with Kate Moore, the director of education leadership. Instead, they were shocked and surprised when Keith Urban appeared on the screen and chatted to them for six minutes.

Bonalbo Artists Alliance exhibition coordinator Vilya de Tozser said 105 portraits featured in the exhibition at Bonalbo Memorial Hall on Saturday, December 11.

The Museum of the Riverina is showcasing the link between artists and regenerative farmers in a new exhibition at the Museum’s Historic Council Chambers site. Earth Canvas touring exhibition explores the creative experiences of both regenerative farmers and artists, their respective engagement with the land, and their vision for a healthier world.

Founded and forged in the Victorian Goldfields, the Maldon Town Lamp has been perfectly recreated from the Victorian Gold Rush era, a time where most small towns made their own lamps locally and did so with limited resources.

A towering moving sculpture, light shows and late night trading in the heart of Castlemaine, lead Mount Alexander Shire Council’s invitation to residents to step out and celebrate the year’s end ... From Wednesday 8 December until Tuesday 4 January Taradale artist, Alex Sanson’s towering kinetic sculpture Spherophyte, will fold and unfold in hypnotic motion in Victory Park, Castlemaine.

When Lily misses out on a well-deserved promotion the day her boyfriend is offered a job overseas, she faces a choice: should she embrace an expat life, or follow her childhood dream and become a florist? Deciding to follow her heart, she moves to Clearwater, a fictional town on the NSW south coast, and decides to start again. But fitting into the tight-knit community proves harder than she expected ... It's been seven years from inspiration to publication, and author Lisa Darcy, from Gerroa on the NSW coast, is thrilled readers are loving Lily as much as she does.

A brand-new book is currently in the pipeline, featuring 16 amazing rural, regional and remote women in business. ‘Rural Business Women – Inspiration and advice to grow your business from regional Australia’, aims to inspire and offer advice to other rural women who are thinking of, or have already started, a business from a rural, regional or remote area of Australia.

After a year of lockdowns the Moooving Art herd have broken loose to explore the region and the Greater Shepparton Visitor Centre needs your help rounding them up! Wandering away from their usual sites, the cheeky cattle have left behind a list of clues to solve before they return home. The treasure hunt consists of several cow locations around the region including Shepparton, Mooroopna, Merrigum, Murchison, Tatura and Dookie.

A stunning snapshot of apiculture has taken out first place in the 2021 National #AgDayAU Photo Competition. This year, the competition received a record number of awe-inspiring entries, all capturing the many diverse agricultural careers right across the country.

The bottom of your kitchen draw isn’t where you would expect to find award winning art, but Darren O’Brien did. The Glenwood resident took out top spot in the open category at the 2021 Waste to Art Competition with Bitza, the junk yard dog who represented the problem of rubbish in our oceans ... Darren described Bitza as a “big pile of crap” and that creating the work had been a labour of love.

The Regional Venue Collective is a co-operative approach to venue management between three venues, the Byron Theatre, The Regent in Murwillumbah and Star Court Theatre in Lismore in the adjoining LGAs of Lismore Shire, Tweed Shire and Byron Shire. The venues have come together to host nominated shows and tours and to incubate the creation of original works to tour the region and further afield.

The inaugural Regional Venue Collective tour  features Wild Thyme, the love-child of three of Australia’s most talented and captivating female artists, Arlene Fletcher on double bass and vocals, Katie Crane on guitar and vocals, and Laura Targett on fiddle and vocals.  

Sheryl Lowe. Father Woods Park statues will be the focus of discussions between Wattle Range Council and the Penola Catholic Community in coming weeks ... Cr Price successfully moved for Council to approach the Catholic Church leaders at Penola to see if they would support the relocation of the statues to Penola due to the safety concerns at the current site.

This book introduces the main characters in the Carter De Freitas series by Steve Rogers. The story is set in WA's far north, features road-train driver Carter De Freitas and his cattle dog Carpenter who are inadvertently caught up in a drug smuggling operation. De Freitas, an ageing character, picks up a young Swedish back packer, Elise Alquist, who is stranded after her vehicle breaks down on the way to a job as a cook/deckhand on a charter boat out of Broome ... Key to the story are the characters and scenery of the Pilbara and Kimberley region ... meet Carter in the extract here.

A stunning new rural romance from the bestselling author of The McCalister Legacy and Lawson's Bend. 'Heart-warming, captivating and absolutely perfect.' - Blue Wolf Reviews on The McCalister Legacy.

From the best-selling Karly Lane comes a pitch-perfect story of rural tragedy, old flames reawakened and the meaning of home. A tribute to the Rural Fire Service and the work they selflessly do.

Australia's master storyteller Graham Seal brings to life the enigmas and puzzles behind famous unsolved crimes, long-held secrets, buried loot and strange phenomena from the bush and the city. Australia has always been a land of mysteries. Some are ancient, some are historical, and many continue to perplex us today - and will probably continue to do so tomorrow.

On Saturday night over 500 guests celebrated the launch of the Geraldton Regional Art Gallery’s signature exhibition the Mid West Art Prize to applaud the artists who secured this year’s awards.

Commended in the Local History Small Publication Award, 2019 Victorian Community History Award. This award recognises the best small publications or or e-books which feature Victorian local, cultural or social history. The fascinating story of the establishment and development of the Art Gallery of Ballarat has been told in a book by noted Ballarat historian Dr Anne Beggs-Sunter.

Block your diaries, book your trip and get your tickets to the hottest festival in Australia, the Boab Metals Ord Valley Muster held 13 to 22 May 2022 in Kununurra in Western Australia’s East Kimberley. A highlight of the ten-day festival is the Aviair HeliSpirit Kimberley Moon Experience headlined by Australian rock legend Ian Moss along with Sheppard, Baker Boy and King Stingray held on Saturday 14 May at the Muster Hub, on the banks of Lake Kununurra and walking distance to town.

Last Sunday Maldon Preschool unveiled their beautiful decorative mosaic. Located at the front of the preschool the mosaic pays tribute to the local area and Mt Tarrengower.   The two metre long project is the culmination of art sessions at the preschool with the children, as well as community outreach activities and incorporates links to families of the region and the local environment.