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Went to the Taralga art show (Focus on Taralga 4) the other night. Politicians don't usually bother with art - don't like it or understand its importance some of them. But I went along, and so did Katrina Hodgkinson, and we both enjoyed it. Terrific. There was art produced by local schoolchildren, art from many local people, art loaned by the Goulburn Regional Art Gallery, and some wonderful works loaned from a private collection. Some very creative work from local people.
The Kathy Workman memorial art prize for the night went to some superb woodwork from local man Gez Norman, and the look on his face when the winner was announced was worth the price of admission. Watercolour artist Val Devereaux was highly commended - she had produced some beautiful flower paintings.
The huge crowd there was confirmation of how important art is to rural communities in all sorts of ways. It was an event that people could come to and socialise in the marvellous hall. I had conversations with farmers about lamb prices and the drought, and with other people about art and politics. People were catching up with friends. Old friends. The art is also a creative outlet for the people of the region, where you have to develop your own outlets.
But there is an even deeper meaning to the art at such an event. One lady from Sydney expressed some surprise that so much art in the bush is landscape and farm scenes. I said that it was a way that people were expressing their close links to the land, their love of the landscape. Whether it was a favourite tree, or a bend in the river, or rocks, or your beloved stock, or a house your grandparents had lived in, this was an exhibition about Taralga people, their country, and their history. The ones who could express that love of country through creating art were lucky, but the others who came along to see it were part of that same community spirit.
I reckon politicians in the bush can do a lot worse than help encourage events like this, support regional art galleries, encourage government to put money into schemes to support rural artists, support TAFE colleges to run art and pottery and photography and woodwork courses to help both young and old develop new skills and creative outlets. Art for the bush is a great investment in people, especially in hard times.
And an important role of politicians is to encourage investment in people. What do you think?
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