In Focus

Art Escape

Art Escape is Gallery Services’ school holiday program which is hosted across both venues four times per year. This program consists of individual workshops conducted by local artists targeting school aged children exposing them to varied skills as an alternative to sporting and other mainstream recreational activities.

There were 18 artists engaged during 2013/14 to deliver varied workshop activities as part of the Art Escape program. These artists were Garth Jankovic, Aaron Ashley, Shane Keen, Harry Stanley, Damian Anthony, Mary Parkes, Gabrielle Bohl, Johanna Beningfield, Rhiannon Mitchard, Nicole Potgieter, Anna Mango, MJ Ryan-Bennett, Kath Cornwall, Nicky Pryor, Cassandra Roberts, and John Bradshaw.

This program is developed for artists to deliver workshops at both venues during alternating weeks during each school holiday period.

Artists of the Townsville region are engaged and employed to deliver a variation of activities that are targeted for youth of all age groups. Workshops have included, but not limited to, printmaking, mixed media, painting, assemblage, sculpture, paper-craft and clay.

Regular Adult Programs

Gallery Services hosts the Monday Morning Art Group, a group that gathers weekly to hold social painting sessions in the Riverway Arts Centre Workshop Room at Riverway Arts Centre. This group of senior citizens is aligned with the University of the Third Age (U3A), and help each other create art in oils, acrylic, pastels and watercolours.

Although no tutoring is available, the group critique each other’s works to help the creation process. Each year the group presents an exhibition in one of Gallery Services’ small community spaces YourSPACE, Galleria or the Niche, Access or Showcase at Perc Tucker Regional Gallery.

in 2013 as a new program that allowed an opportunity for artists and students to develop their drawing skills and network with other artists in a gallery environment. Every Tuesday evening throughout the year (excluding closure periods) participants meet at Perc Tucker Regional Gallery for a three hour session of drawing, with a model being engaged each week to allow participants to develop their life drawing skills.

These workshops enable members of the community of differing skills and abilities to work within a supportive environment to build and develop their life drawing skills at their own pace. suitable to themselves. A total of 44 sessions took place throughout the 2013/14 year.