Evolving artist space

HAVING recently relocated to a new spot in Bridge Mall, Ballarat artist Jade Walsh is selling paintings, prints and zines in her pop-up shop.

Opened in conjunction with the City of Ballarat’s Evolve project, Ms Walsh said she hopes to cultivate a community space to not only get her art out in public, but also empower other creatives.

“The shop came through the City of Ballarat and Evolve Ballarat program which is about created accessible places for artists and it’s been lovely for me to have that set up,” she said.

“Since I moved to Ballarat around four years ago, I met some really great people and someone pointed me in the direction of applying for the Evolve program and when COVID hit I was offered a space.

“I love chatting, I’m very open, someone can come in and sit and tell me about their problems… it’s a community space.”

The shop is currently open Friday and Saturday 10am to 4pm for the foreseeable future and stocks primarily Ms Walsh’s own one-off pieces as well as a range of locally made zines.

“I make small, affordable works that are fun even though the meaning behind them is a bit dark, about loneliness and trying to connect with people,” she said.

“I’ve got really small artworks made onto pieces of wood which start at around $20 and have funny messages that make people laugh… I started off with these smaller pieces and I’ve grown my confidence up over time.

“I’m open to anyone bringing a zine in and making them in here, that’s the other half of what I’m doing, to sell and I take a small commission from each.”

As if preparing for an exhibit at Art Space Ballarat next March for her larger, more colourful pieces wasn’t enough, Ms Walsh also has big plans for the Evolve space.

Although she said she’s not sure how long she has the pop-up for, she’s got big plans for using the space to encourage the community to get involved in art.

“When we can, I want to have zine workshops because I don’t just love reading them, I also love making them,” she said.

“Art brings people together, it’s about creativity and also about connecting with people.”