Kiama Art Workshops presented their first group exhibition at the Kiama Fire Station over the past week with a collaboration of work from class, workshop participants and facilitators.

The group exhibition showed work by artists who had never shown their work before, and some who are new to painting or their exhibited style.

Olivia Deans, owner of Kiama Art Workshops, said these exhibitions provide valuable experience for artists in understanding what it takes to hold a show.

“It’s been a great learning experience. Some of the artists have learned how to manage and run an exhibition, interact with the community, and connect through art,” Deans said. 

“It’s about building confidence, learning to answer questions about their work, and getting comfortable displaying and selling their art publicly.”

One of the featured artists, Faith Cunningham, sold four pieces of her work in a single day at the exhibition.

“I did a workshop with Sharon Blair, who’s also part of Kiama Art Workshops. My four main pieces are already sold - a guy took them, so how good is that?” she said.

“I really enjoy doing it with other artists. It’s a lot of work to set up an exhibition, and it can take hours to hang everything. But when you’re in a group, the load is shared, and it’s much more manageable.”

To learn more about Kiama Art Workshops, visit their website.

Sandra Kay infront of ‘African Princess’. Source Olivia Deans.