As part of Dubbo Regional Council's (DRC's) commitment to providing professional development opportunities for emerging local artists, applications for the Western Plains Cultural Centre's HomeGround program are open from 10 September – 29 October, 2021. In partnership with Orana Arts, and sponsored by Wingewarra Dental, HomeGround is targeted specifically for artists who live in the Central West.
HomeGround has engaged artists from across the state and highlighted the diverse visual art practice in regional NSW. From 2021, HomeGround will be shifting to focus on those artists in the Central West. The region around Dubbo has a remarkable depth of artistic talent and the HomeGround program gives artists the opportunity to work with the curatorial staff of the WPCC over a year to develop a solo exhibition.
"We want to give regional artists the kind of opportunities that are more easily available to artists living in the city or urban areas. Opportunities such as access to exhibition space, professional advice and mentoring," said DRC Curator Officer Mariam Abboud.
"We don't want regional artists to be disadvantaged by their postcode. DRC is committed to delivering a high-quality program for those who are practicing art in the remote, rural and regional areas.
"We want to see our stories on the wall, artwork that has been developed from within regional NSW. The recent success of the inaugural Dubbo Art Fair has shown us how passionate the community is about our local art scene," she said.
The doors are now open for the next round. HomeGround is seeking applications from artists who consider themselves emerging and who live within 200km of Dubbo. Successful applicants are given a minimum of twelve months to develop new work for an exhibition. They work closely with the team of curators at WPCC to realise the exhibition. Once the work is complete, the artists are involved in the installation of the exhibition, giving invaluable experience of showing their work in a public gallery.
We are looking for artists who want to explore an idea or concept through their work, applications that highlight a well thought out and cohesive idea will be prioritised.
