Simpson Myers says that reconnecting with the community has been an enjoyable part of organising an arts festival in Wyndham.
Myers is the grants and funding officer of RedWest, a cooperative for creatives and artists in the west.
RedWest is hosting WHERE IN WYNDHAM: A Slow Festival of the Arts, which will run until March 31.
The festival has been supported with a grant from Wyndham council.
Myers, who lives in the Hobsons Bay municipality, is also a painter, illustrator and hand-embroiderer.
She said the idea for the slow festival came about because of the uncertainty around COVID-19.
Myers said the festival aimed to be “COVID resilient” and give the public plenty of time to see artworks across different locations, both indoors and outdoors.
In addition to festival events and exhibitions, the WHERE IN WYNDHAM website also lists permanent artworks across the municipality.
Myers described organising the festival as “a really wonderful process” that has allowed RedWest to re-connect with many community members following the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020 and 2021.
“It has been a whole new project for us to approach as a committee and it’s on a bigger scale than we have done before,” she said.
Myers said the festival was open to all artists in the west, but was focused on celebrating places within Wyndham.
As part of the festival, several artworks are being exhibited at venues such as cafes and pubs – Hopheads in Point Cook has three artworks in its window.
“We are more looking for venues in particular, there is still a lot of artist’s work we would love to display for the rest of the festival across February and March,” Myers said.
She said RedWest has installation artists, who do lighting and sculpture, who were keen to install works in outdoor spaces.
In addition, Myers said RedWest wanted to encourage people to support the local businesses displaying artworks.
As well, Wyndham council’s Saltwater Art Studio in Point Cook is hosting 12 workshops during the festival, with bookings required online via eventbrite.com.
“The workshops include a range of different artists, so there is something for everyone,” Myers said.
Details: whereinwyndham.com.au
By Alesha Capone
