Aboriginal artists in Forbes participated in screen printing workshops teaching the skills to put their designs onto textiles.
Aboriginal artists in Forbes participated in screen printing workshops this week. The workshops were about giving people skills to put their designs onto textiles that might be then sold at the Forbes Wiradjuri Dreaming Centre and in Arts OutWest’s Kew-Y-Ahn Aboriginal Gallery.
Arts OutWest’s Aboriginal Arts Development Officer Aleshia Lonsdale developed the workshops in collaboration with the Wiradjuri Dreaming Centre and the Wiradjuri Cultural and Environment Rangers (WCER).
Artist Fiona McDonald taught introductory screen printing skills focusing on design, equipment and techniques with 20 participants over the two days. The hope is that there will be a range of hand printed textiles and other art works available to purchase at the Forbes Wiradjuri Dreaming Centre in the near future.
The workshops were funded through the Australian Government’s Relief and Recovery Fund of Indigenous Visual Arts Industry Support (IVAIS). IVAIS is a fund of the Office for the Arts in the federal Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications.
The Covid recovery focused fund aim to support the operations of Indigenous visual art centres, hubs, marketing events and service organisations that provide professional support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists in the production, promotion and marketing of their art as well as provide employment and economic opportunities in the visual arts industry for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The Kew-Y-Ahn Aboriginal Gallery is at Hartley Historic Site near Lithgow and sells and shows work by Aboriginal artists from across Central West NSW. It’s a partnership between Arts OutWest and National Parks and Wildlife Services. Profits from sales go back to the artists.
The gallery sells paintings, prints, photography, jewellery, toys, woodwork, cards and gifts as well as textiles. Items like hand printed linen bags, tea towels, cards, prints or other gifts would be popular additions to the gallery and it’s hoped that new products can come out of the Forbes workshops, giving the opportunity for more Aboriginal artists to show and sell their work.
PHOTOS: Aleshia Lonsdale.