By Tanya Steele
A poignant local hills art project has officially launched and remains on display until the end of September.
Photographer Tracey Sharp has put together an exhibition titled “Hills with Heart” and the photos of local families display just that.
Until 27 September the exhibition which has been in development since 2020 will be available for the public to view at the Hills Hub in Emerald.
“The launch went quite well. Around 50 people turned up – so that was really lovely,” said artist Ms Sharp.
“It has been quite a long project and so far we have raised nearly 2,000 dollars for the local SES and CFA,” she said.
The aim of the “Hills with Heart” project was to invite local hills families to participate in a photography session and Ms Sharp said that the idea has been on her mind since the storms in 2020.
“I wanted to do more to help than the small donations that I could make. We all felt quite helpless to do anything of significance and there were so many people needing help,” she said.
Reflecting on the photography sessions themselves, Ms Sharp said she thinks that at the time some families didn’t realize they needed them.
“Some families did just do it for the donation aspect – but to see their hearts glow up when they see the outcome of their final images, that was pretty beautiful as well,” she said.
A daughter of a career firefighter, Ms Sharp said she is glad she persisted with getting the project launched and finished.
“My dad, who was always a career firefighter and then once he retired, he volunteered with the SES – he passed away,” she said.
“He really gave me the drive to keep going with the project.”
Ms Sharp plans to continue with bigger project themes like ‘Hills with Heart’ and is currently planning a shoot involving people with red hair and donate to another charity with the money raised.
“We’re a family of redheads – myself and all of my three children,” she said.
“What I want to do is just get a huge amount of redheads together for a massive group photograph.”
For now, the public can continue to enjoy the ‘Hills with Heart” exhibition and Ms Sharp said the portraits hold a really special place in her heart.
“I love looking back at family portraits, and I can see that sort of translating into other families who have now got these memories that they can look back on in years to come,” she said.
The Hills Hub in Emerald is open Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 2.30pm and the exhibit is free. People can continue to make gold coin donations to the SES or CFA while the project is live.
