by Gabriella Vukman
For the first time in its 20 year history, the Dandenong Ranges open studios will run for two weekends in a row.
Located within the Yarra Ranges Shire and ranging across 44 studios, studios will be open on April 13 and 14 as well as April 20 and 21.
Marketing Manager for Burrinja Cultural Centre Bluzal Field, said “we’ve got a whole range of really interesting art this year.”
“We have artists and art of all types, from deconstructed old pianos, to classic-style painters.”
“I believe there is a tarot reader at one of our studios as well so it is a pretty amazing, eclectic mix of artists that work across 2D and 3D mediums,” Ms Field said.
The Open Studios are facilitated by the Burrinja Cultural Centre and Yarra Ranges Council and all are welcome with studios opening from 10am to 5pm on each weekend.
Ms Field said, “We hold the Open Studios every year with the support of yarra ranges council and it is a huge part of our program and an integral part of maintaining our connections to community and culture.”
“It is an event that people come to year in and year out and we get over 8000 people come and visit every year so it brings a huge visitation to the region.”
“There are so many layers to the Open Studios that are just great for artists. There’s the networking, exposure to the public, the opportunity to meet other artists and showcase work in a different light and we have had many artists that use our Open Studios event as a springboard to exhibiting in other places,” Ms Field said.
A bus is also available for visitors who do not wish to drive.
Avid art-goers can also visit a ‘Glimpse’, an exhibition of each of the Open Studios artists’ works at the Burrinja Cultural Centre.
Ms Field said, “the idea behind the name ‘glimpse’ is that we are asking artists to have a glimpse into their lives, practice, thought processes and whatever is inspiring them at the moment.”
“Each of the artists that are participating in the Open Studios has created a work specifically for the ‘Glimpse’ exhibition which is on display at Burinja until April 28,” Ms Field said.
The ‘Glimpse’ exhibition is also free entry and open to the public.
Ms Field said the open studios started twenty years ago when “Burinja realised that there were these incredible homes and this whole kind of hidden community that we wanted to allow people to have access to.”
“And it was also a way for artists pre-social media and pre- the internet to really showcase themselves in a really unique and unusual way and give an insight that you wouldn’t get in any other way.”
It is really about opening doors and letting people inside the experience of being an artist which is a truly unique one and also to give them access to the art themselves so the artist can tell their own stories,” Ms Field said.
The application process for artists commences in the September period of each year.
Ms Field said, “Each artist needs to send in their applications which are photos of their work and their studio and then prior to sitting down with a panel, the open studios coordinator will go out and visit each of the studios just to ensure that they are meeting the requirements.”
“Studios need to fall within the shire of the Yarra Ranges Council region artists must be practising at the time of application,” Ms Fields said.
Studios have also been assessed to ensure that they are accessible to the general public.
Ms Field said, “our Open Studios is one of the most unique open studios programs that I have been a part of.”
“There is something special about the Dandenong Ranges and about the kind of art and culture that you experience when you go to the hills that is like no other.”
See the Burrinja Cultural Centre website for more details.
www.burrinja.org.au
