Community & Business
30 August, 2023
Back Road Artists take centre stage
A collection of artists from Clifton and nearby towns to the north are taking over the Warwick Art Gallery for the next five weeks for their ‘Lost Conversations’ exhibition.
The exhibition opened last Thursday and runs until 7th October.
Since forming a few years ago, the Back Road Artists, with members hailing from Clifton, Nobby, Greenmount and the region to the north towards Toowoomba, have held several exhibitions in the art space at the Clifton Library.
A formal opening, held last Saturday afternoon, saw more than 50 guests attend.
In total, 13 Back Road Artists are exhibiting over 50 artworks.
Two works were already sold on the Saturday.
The artists included Krissy Bange, Rhonda Jenner, Kerry Chant and Merlene Konz from Clifton, Angie Hart from Nobby and Karina Cheetham, Donna Hockey and Cynthia Moffatt from Greenmount.
The ‘Lost Conversations’ theme was inspired by Rhonda Jenner, who growing up with hearing loss, has had to face and overcome “lost conversations” in her life.
Back Road Artists Angela Hart and Kerry Chant said each artist had their own take on how to incorporate this topic into their work, which resulted in a “hugely diverse” range of art.
Building upon hearing loss, other artists represented ‘Lost Conversations’ through the topics of dementia, inter-generational differences between parents and their children, electronic communication breakdown, loss of mail service and communication between humans and animals.
Angie Hart said the Back Road Artists invited Bec Statton from The Toowoomba Gallery to open the exhibition.
“We were pretty stoked we had Bec Statton there,” she said.
“She’s done a lot helping to promote local artists, bringing them to the region.”
In order to host the exhibition at the Warwick Art Gallery, the Back Road Artists submitted their proposal two years ago.
With so many artists looking to showcase their work, it took two years for an opening in the calendar.
The Back Road Artists will be back again in Clifton for Country Week in late October.
Several members have also been accepted into the Downlands show in September and Angie Hart in the Toowoomba Art Show.
After exhibiting at Wendland Fine Foods in Toowoomba last year, the artists have been invited back to exhibit again next year.
Warwick Art Gallery is located at 49 Albion Street, Warwick.
It is open from 10am to 4pm Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 1pm on Saturday and closed on Sunday and Monday. Entry is free.
To see more from the Back Road Artists, visit their website.
