Six new art events in six months is the aim of a small group of local art enthusiasts that recently came together under the name Mudgee Underground.
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Mudgee Underground consists of photographer and graphic designer Amber Hooper, actor and local tourism CEO Holly Manning, singer and Roth’s Wine Bar licensee Kyle Manning, and painter and journalist Sam Paine.
Between them, the quartet will coordinate a different event each month, ranging from a photographic scavenger hunt to an art battle.
“We want to add an underground, youthful, fun element to encourage people who don’t necessarily think of themselves as artists and to show the diversity of art,” Ms Manning said.
The focus of the project is on art that is approachable, lively and interactive - including a chalk art festival planned for the courtyard of Mudgee Library and a Pictionary-style drawing guessing game at Fairview ArtSpace.
“We’d been talking about things that we wanted to see in town, like theatre games and collaborative art exhibitions, and we realised that between us we had the skills to make these things happen,” Mr Paine said.
“It didn’t take us long to plan six months’ worth of projects, with several more waiting as possibilities for the next six months.”
Theatre games first on the agenda for Mudgee Underground
Mudgee Underground will begin its program in August, with a theatre games workshop and performance called the Bogan Comedy Games Extravaganza on Saturday, August 10 at Roth’s Wine Bar.
The events will continue in September with a photographic scavenger hunt, sending teams or individuals around town for a day to capture particular images which will be printed and collected in an exhibition in the evening.
In October, Mudgee Underground will work with Fairview ArtSpace to present an art battle, with two artists competing to create the best work of art in just 90 minutes, as well as a drawing guessing game for non-professionals who want to be part of the fun.
In November, the group will present a collaborative exhibition titled ‘Between the Lines’ that will challenge local artists to create a collection of work connected by a single line running through every piece.
In December, a chalk art festival in the Mudgee Library courtyard will encourage the whole community to help add some colour to Market Street.
In January 2014, Mudgee Underground will host a life drawing class as the last instalment in its initial program.
With plans already afoot for an exciting range of monthly offerings to continue into the new year, there should be a lot going on underground.