December 15th, 2023Bendigo’s living arts space hosts PICNIC

Summer gatherings in the great outdoors are celebrated in PICNIC, a new exhibition at Bendigo’s Living Arts Space.

Launched last month, PICNIC is at the Living Arts Space located in the Bendigo Visitor Centre and runs through to Sunday February 4, 2024. 

The Living Arts Space is in the Bendigo Visitor Centre, 51-67 Pall Mall, Bendigo and is open daily (except Christmas Day).

Visitor Services Manager Felicity Martin says the exhibition captures picnic themes with contributions from a ceramist, a jeweller, a textile designer and two painters. 

“PICNIC is a free exhibition that invites you to soak up the colour, warmth, and mirth of the summer season and celebrate gatherings in the great outdoors,” Ms Martin said.

“Such diverse practices from five local creatives make for a visually inspiring installation with predictable and unpredictable interpretations of the theme, just like a real-life picnic with family and friends.”

Lisa Kearns is a jeweller and object maker who repurposes anodised aluminium objects into exciting new jewellery and sculpture. 

Libby Noblet is a textile screen printer who works with pigments and layering of colour to create bright captivating patterns. Katie Jacobs is a ceramist who created functional objects that often contain humorous social commentary. 

Karen Holland works with oil paint to capture light and objects descriptive of place and Selby Ginn is a multimedia artist, thematically exploring through colour and texture. 

The community is invited to attend the official opening on Friday November 24 from 5pm to 7pm at the Living Arts Space. No booking is required. 

During the January school holidays, the Living Arts Space will be running summer and picnic-themed workshops for children. 

These workshops will be facilitated by some of the artists from the PICNIC exhibition and other local Bendigo creatives. 

To celebrate the new exhibition, Bendigo Visitor Centre has created a range of Uniquely Bendigo picnic hampers with delicious local foods made by artisans and producers from the gastronomy region. 

The picnic hampers and the Uniquely Bendigo range provide Christmas gift ideas that support local businesses.