The art of collage offers up endless possibilities, and for participants in a series of upcoming workshops, it could involve seeing their work displayed at Wollongong Art Gallery.
The Gallery is currently showing the Shapeshifters: A Retrospective of Australian Collage, exhibition curated by renowned collage artist Angie Cass, who'll also host three of four collage workshops open to the community in January.
Designed for carers in our community, The Botanical Beauties workshop (21 January) will see participants construct a collage inspired by nature, blending images of plants, flowers and butterflies to create a final artwork.
Angie will also be facilitating the Contemporary Landscapes workshop that encourages participants to explore space and time, combining mountains, buildings, animals, lakes, clouds, and planets. This workshop is for the deaf and hard of hearing community and will be Auslan interpreted.
Angie's final workshop (24 January) Abstract Collage teaches ripping and cutting in collage to construct an abstract work with a strong focal point. This workshop is designed for everyone.
Young People (aged 15-24) are also encouraged to attend the (22 January) Myths and Monsters workshop facilitated by Chip - a Ni-Vanuatu artist practicing various disciplines including textiles, printing, collage, and zines.
The workshop will allow participants to create their very own Frankenstein from magazine and vintage book images on an A3 scale. You'll take away a poster size collage made from ugly animal parts and weird human faces.
Eye-catching works created through these workshops could feature in the Collage in the Community exhibition that will hang in the Community Gallery in Wollongong Art Gallery from January 31 to 2 March.
Wollongong Art Gallery director Daniel Mudie Cunningham said the beauty of collage as an art form is its accessibility and ability to inspire people of all ages and experience to find inspiration and express themselves.
"Collage is so relevant to the way we experience contemporary life because of how it mimics and mirrors our fast-moving, fragmented and image-saturated world," Wollongong Art Gallery director Daniel Mudie Cunningham said.
"Why it matters so much as an art form is that it is for everyone! The joy of the medium is that it is accessible - anyone with scissors, glue and imagination can give it a go."
All workshops are pay-what-you can, with bookings essential via links below.
23 January – Collage Workshop III: Contemporary Landscapes facilitated by Angie Cass (Auslan interpreted)
