Sturt Street faces support artists and attract collectors

TRUDY McLauchlan’s One Hundred Faces exhibition is vibrantly staring out at all who walk by her store on Sturt Street.

Featuring a grid of 100 small portraits, 10 centimetres by 10 centimetres, the artworks have been created by 29 local artists, depict dogs, people, the moon, made up characters and local personalities, and fill the width of Playing in the Attic’s front window by the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute.

An artist herself, McLauchlan was proud to have sold 35 of the shown works by the end of the installation’s first weekend, supporting the local visual arts community during the challenging COVID climate.

“The response has been very positive, the artists are excited, there’s a lot of engagement and sharing on social media. Every time I log on, I see the exhibition again which is nice,” she said.

“When I went to work on Saturday, somebody was standing, waiting for me to arrive. She bought three pieces and I’m not sure she’s a regular customer, I think she’s just an art lover, so that’s fantastic.

“There’s a real mix of people buying the art. The artists think it should be an annual event.”

An official, socially distant launch was planned for last Saturday, but had to be cancelled due to COVID-19 restriction changes.

“It was such a shame, but I feel what would have happened at the opening is just going to happen over the time it’s there,” McLauchlan said.

“At an opening you get a lot of people who are excited, they see other people buying art and they think they better buy it quickly before it sells.

“But that’s happening already, so I’m happy, and people are responding beautifully to it.”

Stop and take a look at 119a Sturt Street, Ballarat. One Hundred Faces is on show until the conclusion of the Ballarat Winter Festival, Sunday, 19 July.

McLauchlan has an art catalogue in store and a poster labelling which pieces have already been sold.

Head in, call 0428 580 309, or contact McLauchlan via the Playing in the Attic Facebook or Instagram profiles to secure one of the exhibition’s unique pieces.