Works On Paper celebrates visual art created by local artists with different intellectual and physical abilities; thanks to the socially inclusive ArtRageUs program. So how does a blank canvas transform into a featured art work? Jessica Gittel Cornish spends the afternoon at the studio to find out, chatting with participants and art teacher, Mel Castleman.
Pictures: Louise Barker
‘I’m so proud of myself’ Luke Hudson, 27 proudly proclaims, as he reflects on his contribution to the Works on Paper exhibition, currently showing at the Mildura Arts Centre.
It’s not every day that members in the community are given a platform such as the Mildura Arts Centre to share their creations.
However, thanks to ArtRageUs, a service run by the Christie Centre, adults with intellectual and physical disabilities are currently displaying their art as part of the current exhibit, Works on Paper.
Since its opening in February, more than 1000 people from Mildura and interstate have visited the exhibition and three illustrations have been purchased.
Luke Hudson, is one of the 23 local ArtRageUs participants currently being showcased.
His turquoise themed watercolour drawing was inspired by an online photograph. The illustration features a cowboy wearing a white peak hat and a yellow lasso dangling by his side whilst riding a horse with blue hooves; and a concerned old looking dog in the foreground.
With a cheeky smile Luke explains that “if you like my picture you can buy it,” he continues to say that if his artwork is sold he “would use that money towards purchasing a unit to live independently”. Luke grinned saying his Mum also thinks it is a great idea.
Works On Paper would not have been possible with out the dedication and guidance of art teacher, Mel Castleman.Mel initially volunteered with ArtRageUs in 2007 after reading about the program in the local paper. She now teaches two days a week and enjoys “finding what mediums work for different people”.
“Some people don’t have those fine motor skills that you might need to use for certain mediums, so we do a bit of experimenting,” she says.
Mel explains that the exhibitions don’t usually have a theme.
“People just do what they want. Sometimes it’s just abstract, other times like Luke’s it’s pretty articulate,” she says.
The pieces currently displayed in Works on Paper, typically took one month to create.
“However, there is often a tendency for newcomers to do something quite quick and say finished. So we do a lot of encouraging of people to continue building a bit more depth in to their work and adding layers,” Mel says.
ArtRageUs welcomes newcomers and all people with an interest in the arts, says founder Mark Pettet. Mark was inspired to start the program after attending a major disability arts festival, Awakenings Festival of Horsham many years ago. Mark explained that when an old warehouse became available in Mildura he was successful in getting a small grant,and with that, had the capacity and potential to develop the old warehouse into a performance and visual art studio.
With his background in graphics and passion for the arts, the program has continuously grown.
“Over time we’ve done a range of things such as Insecticide, which is a black light theatre production using UV lighting and we’ve even done puppets which we take for Mardi Gras,” he says.
Mark says that ArtRageUs aspires to be as inclusive as possible which is reflected in all aspects of their work.
“We recently had a production of Scrooge, one of our young fellas Rhyan Nicholson, is in a motorised wheelchair, he was our ghost of Christmas Present,” Mark says.
“He decided to do a Santa in a wheelchair, so that was his character because he was Santa in a wheelchair.”
Not only does the program’s artwork cross over into the performance space, the studio is frequently visited by guest artists. Participant Rebecca Gale, 25 who has been attending ArtRageUs for four years, spoke fondly of a recent visit from Paul Osbourne, whom visited the art studio and facilitated a watercolour workshop focusing on cockatoos.
Similarly, Mel added that “last year we had another artist come and do a workshop using yupo. It’s a kind of plastic that acts like paper,” she says.
“The guys were able to manipulate ink on it, and it stays wet for quite a long time.
“We also had another now Sydney based artist, Sandy Blim, who did a sculptural workshop, where people were using plaster and sand to cast their hands and then we painted them.”
From sculpture to yupo paper the eclectic program aims to enrich the lives of people in the community and publicly celebrating their achievements through exhibits at venues such as the Mildura Arts Centre.
“Seeing my painting has made me really happy and excited,” Luke says.
The Works on Paper exhibition is currently on display until March 31. Mildura Arts Centre is open daily from 10am to 5pm.
With his background in graphics and passion for the arts, the program has continuously grown.
“Over time we’ve done a range of things such as Insecticide, which is a black light theatre production using UV lighting and we’ve even done puppets which we take for Mardi Gras,” he says.
Mark says that ArtRageUs aspires to be as inclusive as possible which is reflected in all aspects of their work.
“We recently had a production of Scrooge, one of our young fellas Rhyan Nicholson, is in a motorised wheelchair, he was our ghost of Christmas Present,” Mark says.
“He decided to do a Santa in a wheelchair, so that was his character because he was Santa in a wheelchair.”
Not only does the program’s artwork cross over into the performance space, the studio is frequently visited by guest artists. Participant Rebecca Gale, 25 who has been attending ArtRageUs for four years, spoke fondly of a recent visit from Paul Osbourne, whom visited the art studio and facilitated a watercolour workshop focusing on cockatoos.
Similarly, Mel added that “last year we had another artist come and do a workshop using yupo. It’s a kind of plastic that acts like paper,” she says.
“The guys were able to manipulate ink on it, and it stays wet for quite a long time.
“We also had another now Sydney based artist, Sandy Blim, who did a sculptural workshop, where people were using plaster and sand to cast their hands and then we painted them.”
From sculpture to yupo paper the eclectic program aims to enrich the lives of people in the community and publicly celebrating their achievements through exhibits at venues such as the Mildura Arts Centre.
“Seeing my painting has made me really happy and excited,” Luke says.
The Works on Paper exhibition is currently on display until March 31. Mildura Arts Centre is open daily from 10am to 5pm.
