|
|||||||
 |
|||||||
 | |||||||
| © | |||||||
| Waringarri Aboriginal Arts Celebrates Art Centre Refurbishment Re-opening | |||||||
| On 8th September 2011 the artists and staff of Waringarri Aboriginal Arts joined with the community in celebrating the opening of their new Art Centre Complex.The celebrations were attended by more than 250 people. Miriwoong artists and their families, local community members and invited guests shared an evening in celebration of the great achievements, memories and creative efforts of the Waringarri artists group. As Chris Griffiths explained during his opening speech, “The new complex is an important school for the community, educating the Miriwoong, and non-Indigenous people alike. The new space will also make a significant contribution to the social economic well-being of our community.” Special Minister of State Gary Gray AO MP officially opened the new Waringarri Arts Upgrade which was funded with the valued contribution of the East Kimberley Development Package. Upgrades involved renovations and extensions to existing buildings first built on the site at Speargrass Road (opposite Kelly’s Knob turnoff) in the mid 1980’s. A major development is the “Warringari Dawang Gallery”. The new gallery is a place to connect with art and culture for both local Miriwoong people and for visitors. This gallery honours the memories of the past, celebrates living culture of the present and looks forward to a future that will engage young people in both traditional and multi-media artforms. The Dawang Gallery was opened with a smoking ceremony - a moving experience for artists and their families as important past artists were honoured as visionary leaders. The art centre upgrade completed by Top End Building includes visitor gallery extensions of a new office area, a print gallery and a salon gallery to hold works of emerging and young artists. The salon gallery is soon to include a webcam installation providing a portal for a “virtual’ online gallery via the Waringarri Arts website. Visitors to the online gallery will be able to navigate around the “virtual” room zooming in on artworks of interest. A refurbished artist kitchen, new ablutions, artist studios and workshop have also had extensive improvements as part of the upgrade. Renovations also included lush green turf and gardens to make the space inviting to local families and tourists alike. | |||||||
