ART FROM TRASH : NOW IN ITS SECOND YEAR

‘Bodicea’s Bodice’ by Lindsey Hatchwell

Art and sustainability were celebrated on Friday October 2 as artists from the Sydney community joined the general public and supporters of Bower Reuse & Repair Centres at the Parramatta opening of the ART from TRASH exhibition. Now in its second year, ART from TRASH is exhibiting over 70 artworks from more than 30 artists.

The evening’s proceedings commenced with a prerecorded message from Julie Owens MP, who generously sponsored the $500 Judge’s Award prize for this year’s competition. Bower GM Guido Verbist introduced competition judges Grace Kingston & Meryl Rogers who announced passionate campaigner against single-use items and all-round renaissance woman Julia Strykowski, aka PluckFastic, as the recipient of the 2020 Judge’s Award.

“There were a lot of different approaches, but all of the exhibiting artists showed a strong commitment to sustainability,” said judge Grace Kingston.

 “We had some differing opinions – which is always great as judges – but when we looked up and saw Julia Strykowski’s Message On a Bottle, we both thought: ‘this is it’.”

 “We loved the beautiful colours, the detailed assemblage of each piece, and we love that you can hang or instal it anywhere and it would provoke a conversation about sustainability and reuse.”

Promoting sustainability and reuse is exactly what ART from TRASH is about. “We want our artists to think about reusing materials when they create art,” said Verbist. “Approaching art with reuse in mind prevents materials from being sent to landfill and that is something we want to encourage.”

“We also want artists to visit The Bower – or any Reuse Centre – when they’re conceptualising new artistic projects. Inspiration can be found from looking to the past.”

 An online gallery showcasing all of the ART from TRASH entries is now online with many of the artworks available for purchase.

Voting is also open for the People’s Choice Award which will be announced in Redfern on October 25.

“Thank you to The Bower, the Judges, prize sponsors and this wonderful community of artists,” said Julia Strykowski. “The real winner is our environment: awareness (with some playfulness) is the key.”

ART from TRASH will continue in Parramatta on Saturday and Sunday, October 10 & 11 before moving onto the exhibition hall at 107 Projects in Redfern where it will show from October 16-18 & October 24-25.

Featured image : Sydney Opera House by Annette Innis