Creative minds wanted for Meredith exhibition

CALLING all sculptors – the Meredith History Interest Group is running its sculpture exhibition in May and it wants you to get involved.

It will be the second time the group has staged the exhibition, deciding to organise it again after the success of the 2025 event.

The exhibition will be held at the Meredith History Centre, 31 Staughton Street, from 9.30am to 3.30pm on the weekend of 16 and 17 May.

Entries are open now for amateur and professional artists of all ages, and sculptures can be of any size and made from any materials.

The group is looking for 3D sculptures on a theme of History Reconstructed or the creator’s view of Australian history.

“We invite you to use your imagination,” group president Margaret Cooper said. “There is a lot of junk out there that is just asking to be repurposed.”

Entry forms are available by emailing [email protected], on the group’s website, or by dropping in to the history centre. Entries must be submitted by 30 April.

Prizes will be awarded at 2pm on the Sunday for first and second places, a people’s choice category, and an under-15s section.

Ms Cooper said last year’s exhibition attracted nearly 100 entries, with many displayed inside and some outside.

“We do have a large yard and it would be fantastic to fill it with bigger, outdoor-type sculptures,” she said.

Last year’s winning entry was a tractor created from a Singer sewing machine, with training wheels from a children’s bike for front wheels and others from an old motor mower at the back.

A wok cut in half was used to fashion the mudguards, a bent tablespoon for a seat, and various plumbing fittings for the exhaust and other attachments.

Second prize went to a board framed by an old flyscreen frame, which was filled with children’s items like the head of a rocking horse, wrought iron from a front verandah, table legs, door knobs, wood from the arm of a lounge chair, and wire from an outdoor meat safe.

“Sometimes when the word ‘sculpture’ is mentioned people think immediately of stone carved into a human form,” Ms Cooper said.

“[But] there are many other types of sculpture. People have skills in many different areas.”

She said sculptures can be made from a wide range of materials or combinations of materials such as paper, cardboard, children’s toys, cloth, wood, iron, sticks from bushland, and books.

Even floral arrangements and cakes offered sculpting options, Ms Cooper said.

Meanwhile, the group will hold its annual general meeting at the history centre on Sunday 1 March at 1.30pm.

David Rowe, who is doing a heritage study of Meredith for the Golden Plains Shire, will be the guest speaker at 2.15pm.

Residents are welcome to attend.