Arts OutWest will exhibit some of the region’s most exciting visual artists, host a forum with artists and musicians and provide an opportunity to meet their staff when they open the While the World Waits exhibition at Mudgee Arts Precinct across the first weekend in July.
Arts OutWest is the regional arts development organisation (RADO) for the NSW Central West, one of 14 networked RADOs across NSW. Mid-Western Regional Council joined the Arts OutWest program in the second half of 2021. These events in Mudgee are an opportunity for the community to learn about the work and services of the organisation plus enjoy new contemporary art and music.
The fourth leg of a 12-month regional tour for the While the World Waits Exhibition will open on Friday 1 July at 6pm upstairs at Mudgee Arts Precinct in the Community Gallery Space, 90 Market Street, Mudgee. This coincides with the opening in the main gallery downstairs of the MAP exhibition by Anna-Wili Highfield.
“Last year Arts OutWest commissioned 15 Central West songwriters to each write a track reflecting their experiences of 2020. We created a compilation album of original music titled While the World Waits,” Arts OutWest’s Steven Cavanagh explains. “Then we opened the conversation up to visual artists to see what they were feeling, responding to the music and their own experiences with new work.”
The exhibition features work by 20 artists from across the NSW Central West including Christine McMillan from Kandos and Gus Armstrong from Rylstone. Work is across the mediums of painting, sculpture, drawing, ceramics, moving image, animation, photography, glass and textiles.
The exhibition launch includes a half hour session of original music by Smith & Jones from Bathurst whose song Help this little heart of mine features on the While the World Waits album.
The public is also invited to a panel discussion on Saturday 2 July, 2pm, also at Mudgee Arts Precinct. Arts OutWest’s executive director Kylie Shead will introduce Arts OutWest, their services and program. A panel including artist Christine McMillan, musicians Smith & Jones, Arts OutWest music industry officer Patrick Coomey and artist and curator Steven Cavanagh will discuss the exhibition and the music that inspired the show. This will be followed by an informal meet-and-greet with some of the Arts OutWest staff.
OutWest’s executive director Kylie Shead will also be available for one-on-one meetings in Mudgee on Friday 1 July.
The While the World Waits exhibition is open daily at Mudgee Arts Precinct to 31 July.