Arts festival to unveil permanent home

Penola’s newest art space now has a permanent name after a recent community callout for contributions and ideas.

From a solid selection of nominations, Still Water Studio came out as the top choice after the Penola Coonawarra Arts Festival (PCAF) Committee and the Art Space Sub Committee selected the name from a final top three.

PCAF lifelong member Peter Muller said Mary Skene Kidman (born 1907) was a local artist who had a strong love for art and her community. She named her property Still Water.

The Still Water Studio will house the winners past, present and ongoing from the arts festival’s annual John Shaw Neilson (JSN) Art Prize held during the Penola Coonawarra Arts Festival in May each year.

From next month, past winning artworks from the annual John Shaw Neilson (JSN) Art Prize over the past 32 years will be relocated from the meeting room at the Penola Coonawarra Information Centre to the Still Water Studio at 45 Church St on Penola’s main street.

PCAF Committee secretary Peta Baverstock said it’s not just an art gallery for the JSN artworks, it’s a studio space and a valuable multi-purpose facility for the town.

“The PCAF Committee encourages the Penola and broader community to be excited and embrace this new concept, with the opening details to follow soon,” Peta said.

The Still Water Studio will not only establish a permanent home for the collection of JSN artworks all year round, but also host the PCAF 2025 Opening Night, act as a central contact point for visitors throughout the Arts Festival weekend and encourage year round engagement. It will also host workshops, meetings and events throughout the year.

PCAF President, John Mossop said Still Water Studio would become the home of the Penola Coonawarra Arts Festival.

“It will house the former winners of the John Shaw Neilson Art Prize which means they are on public display in a prominent location within the Main Street of Penola,” he said.

Thanks to the philanthropy and generosity of one local family and the Mary Skene Kidman Fund, the Art Prize will be able to continue for at least another five years, if not longer. Penola has a long history of involvement in the arts, and the local benefactor of the fund wanted to ensure that the Art Prize would remain the major drawcard event within the annual Penola Coonawarra Arts Festival, as well as contribute financially to support the new art space in Penola.

Mary Skene Kidman Fund’s Rick Paltridge said he wanted to make sure that Penola continued to be an inspiring place where community arts and culture are supported and valued by as many people as possible.

The Still Water Studio will open to the public in early December.