August 16 - 22, 2023 ◆ EXPERIENCED COMMITTEE: Beverley Smith, Jamie Kronborg, Nina Machielse Hunt, Sally Huguenin, Terrence Batt and Lisa Pidutti are all a part of the committee putting together the 2024 Beechworth Biennale.
Bringing the Beechworth Biennale to life MORE support is needed to bring the Beechworth Biennale to life. Last year, Nina Machielse Hunt hosted a unique art exhibition, the Beechworth Contemporary Art Award, financed primarily through her art business, the Beechworth Contemporary Art Space, a gallery based in Beechworth. Moving forward, Ms Machielse Hunt now has plans to create an even bigger regional art event which will be held every two years in Beechworth. Renamed the Beechworth Biennale, an incorporated committee was formed and
together this passionate and supportive team will present the event. “The event is really one big exhibition, with artworks placed outdoors and at unexpected and surprising exhibition sites,” Ms Machielse Hunt said. Artists from across Australia are invited to submit a proposal to participate, and a selection panel of art professionals will confirm the artwork from the submissions received.
Each exhibiting artist will receive $1000 to contribute to their participation costs. Ms Machielse Hunt instigated the event after COVID lockdowns, saying she felt that contemporary art was a great way to bring people together, to entertain and to educate. “I live on a farm just on the outskirts of Beechworth and felt the pressures our community had been under post fires and during the pandemic isolation and I just wanted to bring people together and celebrate the uniqueness of our town,” she said. The aim of the event is to showcase Beechworth and create more opportunity for
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arts and culture to flourish in the regions. “It will mean the town of Beechworth can be seen in new and exciting ways, known for Ned Kelly, beer and bikes and it’s kind of nice to reinterpret the familiar,” Ms Machielse Hunt said. “One might normally have to travel to an urban city to see a festival or a contemporary art exhibition. “Here in country Victoria we do have the capacity to host such an event and it’s really a great opportunity to bring something special to our region.”
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