By CAITLIN CROWLEY
A CAREFULLY curated collection of artwork from across Australia will be on show at this weekend’s Facets exhibition at Toowoomba’s Fairholme College, including several pieces from Darling Downs artists and local senior students.
Year 12 student Sarah McMaster’s watercolour of Toowoomba’s Japanese Gardens will be among the works for sale and she said she couldn’t be more excited.
“It’s a really good opportunity, everyone can look at each other’s artworks and it’s very exciting for everyone really,” Sarah said.
The boutique exhibition of around two hundred pieces is now in its fifth year and provides an avenue for established and emerging artists to share their work with the wider community.
“Toowoomba and the Downs is a rich centre for the arts so to have their support and engagement in a process like this is really rather wonderful,” said Fairholme head of arts Karen Haywood.
She said it was also an important learning opportunity for aspiring artists, not just from Fairholme, to come and see the innovative ideas and materials being used.
“For them to see artists who are making a career out of art is a pathway to the future for them,” Ms Haywood said.
Facets has also added a live portrait competition this year, recruiting Toowoomba Mayor Paul Antonio to pose in full mayoral robes for six artists on the Saturday morning.
“I’ll also have my chains on and that tells the story and has the name of every mayor of the Toowoomba region and when they served,” Mayor Antonio said.
“I’m a little nervous about it, I’ve never done this sort of thing before.”
He admitted he was a little daunted by the prospect of sitting still for two hours, but was looking forward to seeing the finished products.
“Given I’m sort of entering the latter stages of my political career, I think it’s probably something that I would like to have and would like to hang on the wall at home,” he said.
Facets: An Art Exhibition At Fairholme opens this Friday May 20th with a ticketed event, and is open to the public all weekend.