Community River Arts Trail showcases diverse local talent

The trail included the Finley Arts Network Gallery, Cobram Men’s Shed, Tocumwal and Yarroweyah halls, as well a number of home studios.

Community River Arts president Sandi Hamilton described the event as “extremely successful”.

“We had new artists and, from the feedback that I got, a lot of the people were very excited to see different art and products displayed,” she said.

Club secretary and treasurer Fiona Hackett said 30 people purchased tickets for the trail, with additional visitors attending the Tocumwal Hall.

While survey responses showed most visitors were local, the committee hopes to attract people from neighbouring shires next year through broader advertising.

Fiona said the event provided an important opportunity for local artists to showcase their work.

“I think we don’t have enough opportunities for artists in our local area to show and display what they do and to display,” she said.

The event was supported by sponsorship from Cobram Barooga Apex, which helped the group with advertising and signage.

“We really appreciated the sponsorship and support. That certainly helped us with our advertising and allowed us to raise the level to look more professional,” Fiona said.

“I’d also like to thank the rest of the Community River Arts and committee, it was a team effort.”

The group’s commitment to supporting local people was also evident earlier this year when members made quilts for people affected by the Yarroweyah fires in January.

The project took two months, with members meeting once a week to make the quilts, and little hearts and a poem were sewn into each one.

“We came together as a team again, it was a group effort to produce those, and they turned out really good,” Fiona said.

“It just shows how you can work as a team to produce something from nothing.

“These people have lost everything, and we are thinking of them.”

For Sandi, being able to hand over the quilts was an emotional experience.

“There are no words for me to describe how emotional it was to be able to give something to those people who obviously needed it,” she said.

“There was a lot of love put into the quilts by everyone on our committee who helped make them.”

Each quilt featured the following poem:

From Community River Arts with every stitch, aligned these quilts are silent promises that no-one’s left behind.

May they wrap you in comfort, may they hold you through the night, until the gardens grow again and bring the green to light.