Platform for The Projects

Kiera Brew Kurec with some artworks at The Projects in Belgrave. 99799 Picture: DONNA OATES

By JESSE GRAHAM

INTERACTIVE and contemporary art is the focus of Belgrave’s newest space, which combines local artistic talent with inner city style art to form a unique, temporary gallery.
The Projects in Belgrave Arcade is the brainchild of Kiera Brew Kurec and Nicole Breedon, two 26-year-olds with a passion for art and the Dandenong Ranges.
Changing to display a new artist’s work every two weeks, The Projects is meant to be a temporary art-space to accommodate contemporary artists who have lived around the hills.
Ms Brew Kurec said the idea for The Projects came to her while she was living in New York.
“It was kind of an idea of allowing the community to have access to contemporary art as well as bringing people from the city into the hills,” she said.
“It’s a crossover between both bringing artists back to this space and giving the community something – connecting the artist back to their town, along with giving the town to see something they wouldn’t normally engage with.”
She said the aim of The Projects was to give a platform to artists who have alternative pieces that aren’t usually accommodated in traditional galleries.
“The work is more interactive than people would be used to – it’s a little more challenging,” she said.
“It might seem foreign to those used to traditional space and practices.”
Art shown at The Projects includes video pieces, installations, sculptures and even performance pieces.
The art-space will be closing in Belgrave in September with a group exhibition, featuring every artist that exhibited over the course of its life.
For more information on The Projects in Belgrave, visit www.theprojectsbelgrave.com or visit the art space in Belgrave Arcade between noon-5pm from Thursday to Sunday.