Creatives get the crew back together

AN upcoming get together is signalling the revival of a regional arts group that has lay dormant since the pandemic.

Members of The BOP Arts Co-op nonprofit are aiming to bring the group back with the return of their annual creative catchup.

The group’s president and cofounder Samantha Thompson said the meeting will help guide their direction for 2024.

“It’s our official meeting for the year and anyone who’s interested can come along, and we’ll basically plan our entire agenda for that year,” she said.

“It’ll run similarly to how it did before with paid memberships and regular workshops and events and hopefully we can apply for group shows as well.

“We want to push this back into the limelight and let people know it’s back so they can come back in.”

With a core team of three directors, another aim of the meeting will be to fill vacant administrative roles for the group.

Using the former Meredith Interpretive Centre as a home base, Thompson co-established the group in 2016 with the purpose of bringing together creatives from Golden Plains Shire and surrounding areas.

“It was a way for us creatives to learn from other creatives who want to experience different types of ideas and approaches,” Thompson said.

The BOP’s return is being supported with a $10,000 Creative Community grant from the Shire.

Thompson preceded The BOP’s revival last year with the return of her monthly Lino Club sessions which previously operated under the group’s banner.

With at least 10 activities expected for the year including quarterly artist-run workshops, Thompson said she already has her first session in mind.

“The first workshop planned will be about drag queen makeup and we’ve got a friend from Melbourne coming down to do that,” she said.

“We want to do something a bit out of the box and offer things you don’t normally find in small country towns.”

Rather than using a dedicated venue, the group’s events will be held at varying locations in the region.

The creative catchup will take place on Saturday 27 January at 12pm at Thompson’s studio at 81 Goggin Road at Lethbridge.

A website for the group is set to be launched, with all updates regarding the revival to be found on The BOP Arts Co-op Facebook page until then.