By Kerrie Lush
A group of Riverland artists has transformed an empty shop in a Renmark shopping plaza into a vibrant artist’s hub.
Textile wall art, pen and ink drawings, paintings and wearable art adorn the walls and work spaces of the premises, stopping shoppers in their tracks.
It provides the artists with a place to work, share and sell their art.
Lorraine Marter and her husband Terry came up with the concept when they were preparing for last year’s Renmark Rose Festival.
They approached the management of the plaza to see if they could use one of the many empty shops during the two week-long event.
It was so successful, they were allowed to stay on, rent-free, shifting around the corner to another shop which was better suited to their needs due to existing fixtures.
Lorraine and Terry Marter are members of a group of Riverland artists who have transformed an empty shop in the Renmark Plaza
The group comprises nine artists who each volunteer about a day-and-a-half a week to work in the shop.
Current artists and their work include textile artist Glenys Leske, Tony Smith has pen and ink drawings, there are paintings by Joan Hodgson and Charmaine Quinn, ceramic work by Helen Burgmeister and Erin Harrald, Terry Marter is a photographer and produces digital art, wearable art by Lorraine Marter adorns racks and shelves and George Schmuckli’s Didgeridoos made from local mallee wood greet customers at the front of the shop.
To be involved in the project, potential artists and their works are assessed by the current committee members.
Their art must provide diversity to what is already in the hub, it has to be high quality and the artist must be able to commit to at least a day a week to help out onsite.
A diverse range of art is exhibited at the Riverland Artist’s Hub
Lorraine says the hub has provided Riverland artists with not only an outlet to sell their wares but also a social work environment.
“We get more done here than we do at home,” Lorraine says. “We can bounce ideas off one another.”
The hub has become a popular attraction for both tourists and Riverland residents.
“A lot say, ‘I didn’t realise we had local artists producing such high quality work’,” Lorraine says.
“It’s the tourists that buy a lot of our art though. ”
A recent addition is an ‘Artist of the Month’ feature window – an opportunity for people to test the waters to see if the hub would be a workable proposition for them.
The group hope to introduce classes to their hub concept, either conducted by members or visiting artists.
In the short term, the artists have their sights set on other empty shops within the plaza complex and are plotting a ‘textile bombing’ attack during this year’s Renmark Rose Festival.
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