A GALLERY dedicated to First Nations art opened on Mair Street last Friday, with support from the State Government.<\/p>\n
A project of the Ballarat & District Aboriginal Co Operative, The Perridak Art Gallery was formally opened by member for Wendouree, Juliana Addison.<\/p>\n
The space will house the works or more than 40 Aboriginal artists from Ballarat and across Australia in two rooms.<\/p>\n
\u201cPerridak Art Gallery by BADAC will showcase Aboriginal art and culture in the heart of Ballarat and provide a place for local artists to display and sell their art,\u201d said Ms Addison.<\/p>\n
\u201cPerridak, meaning platypus in Wadawurrung, will be an inclusive and welcoming gallery space for community members enabling to develop a greater understanding of Aboriginal storytelling, art and culture.\u201d<\/p>\n
The aim of the news gallery is part of a push by BADAC to help First Nations communities through a range of development programs.<\/p>\n
“Art is a connection to and expression of Aboriginal culture,\u201d said BADAC CEO Karen Heap.<\/p>\n
\u201cArt is a way the whole community can connect to Aboriginal stories and our ways of seeing the world, in all its richness and variety.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m encouraging everyone to visit Perridak Arts, enjoy Aboriginal culture and support our local artists.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas Marks is a member of the stolen generation and one of the artists whose work will soon go on display.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn a personal level, I\u2019m glad that they\u2019ve added this place for artists within Ballarat because I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve really had any space to exhibit our artwork so I\u2019m so glad they\u2019ve gotten to this point,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never grew up with my family and my culture so the only way I could connect was to do it through poems and artwork around that.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was all about getting that bit of confidence up.\u201d<\/p>\n
The State Government contributed $200,000 to the project as part of the Living Local Fund, which has spent more than $36 billion in regional and rural Victoria since 2015.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A GALLERY dedicated to First Nations art opened on Mair Street last Friday, with support from the State Government. A project of the Ballarat & District Aboriginal Co Operative, The Perridak Art Gallery was formally opened by member for Wendouree, Juliana Addison. The space will house the works or more than 40 Aboriginal artists from […]<\/p>\n