ART completed during Victoria\u2019s COVID-19 lockdowns has been celebrated in an online gallery and book series.<\/p>\n
The arts initiative titled What I Did Last Week<\/em> began in March last year as a way for artists to submit one piece of work that represented what they had been doing in lockdown.<\/p>\n Volumes three, four and five were released last week, as the exhibition marked its one-year anniversary.<\/p>\n Mayor Cr Jennifer Alden helped launched the new volumes and said the initiative had been a great success.<\/p>\n \u201cParticipants told us how important it was for them to create and share their works during a very difficult time in their lives,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cArt, we know, has been a wonderful outlet for many people during the pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n Contributing artists submitted a wide range of pieces, including drawings, paintings, photography, sculpture, crafts and music.<\/p>\n Over the 32 weeks, 175 artists contributed 780 works.<\/p>\n The final volume asked creatives to submit a final piece of work, bringing the total number of exhibited art to 859.<\/p>\n Sculptor Andre Sardone said he benefited from having something to work towards each week, during the lockdowns.<\/p>\n \u201cIt meant I could spend more time at home in my workshop,\u201d he said. \u00a0\u201cThis initiative was really good because it gave me a deadline every week.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEvery Sunday you had to have your submission in, it gave me a real structure to my week that wouldn\u2019t have been there.\u201d<\/p>\n Sardone contributed 30 works over the 32 weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a good record of my work; I had a few exhibitions lined up for the year and everything got cancelled so I had nothing to work towards and I like having a goal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s always fantastic to be amongst other creatives because we spend so much time by ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n The online gallery and five books featuring all the artists\u2019 work are available via the Bendigo Venues and Events website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ART completed during Victoria\u2019s COVID-19 lockdowns has been celebrated in an online gallery and book series. The arts initiative titled What I Did Last Week began in March last year as a way for artists to submit one piece of work that represented what they had been doing in lockdown. Volumes three, four and five […]<\/p>\n