Scott Turnbull with the clay impression made by Lope Bosaing in The Philippines of his wood carving.
Young people in the Parkes Shire have less than a month left to enter ‘The Art of Resilience’ competition using music, poetry, photography and art to express their emotions.
The competition is open for students aged 6 to 18 to create works using the theme resilience in the face of drought, and also the bushfires and COVID-19.
Ub Ubbo Exchange is one of the three organising partners of the competition together with Parkes Shire Council and Neighbourhood Central. Parkes artist Scott Turnbull is a founding member of Ub Ubbo Exchange and is very excited about this opportunity for all young artists to show their skills and talent. “They will not only be supported by experienced artists, but it will give them great exposure.”
Fellow founding member and competition organiser, Sean James Cassidy said the competition tied in beautifully with the Ub Ubbo Exchange philosophy of coming together and sharing, and passing it on to the next generation.
“We are delighted that we were approached by Parkes Shire Drought Officer Roger Kitson. This competition will be sowing the seeds of creativity, growing the next crop of artistic talent and harvesting the works of a youthful endeavour.”
Ub Ubbo Exchange was founded in 2007 as a cultural exchange program between Australia and The Philippines to help artists travel between the two countries to share stories and art.
As inspiration for the young artists in the Parkes Shire, Sean wanted to highlight a re- cent collaboration between Scott and Lope Bosaing from The Philippines on a work called Growing with the Grain. Scott made wood carvings of Wiradjuri iconography and sent it to Lope who pressed the carvings into clay he had prepared from his farm.
While Ub Ubbo Exchange aims to draw on the immediate and natural environment in the production of art, Sean said the Shire’s young artists could use any inspiration to create works for the competition.
The competition categories include photography, song writing, poetry, drawing and painting. Entry forms can be found on the Art of Resilience Facebook group or downloaded from Council’s website at www.parkes.nsw.gov.au.
Submissions close Friday, 31st July, and the winners will be announced on Friday, 14th August. Winners will be selected from Parkes, Peak Hill, Trundle and Tullamore, and will be showcased as part of The Art of Resilience exhibition to take place on Friday, 16th October (subject to the latest COVID-19 restrictions and advice).
Winners of the song writing and poetry categories will have their work professionally produced into a collaborative CD, while winners of the painting/drawing and photography categories will have their work professionally published in a digital style format.
By Maggi Barnard