The Next Big Thing at The Toowoomba Gallery aims to make Garden City an art destination
The Toowoomba Gallery has launched the art season with their show The Next Big Thing announcing a winner to a competition which drew an impressive 200 entries from across Australia. Find out how the gallery is turning Toowoomba into an art destination.
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The Toowoomba Gallery filled up last Friday night with artists, art enthusiasts, curators, patrons and visitors travelling from all over Australia to browse the 34 artworks from the finalists of The Next Big Thing art prize – a show intended to put Toowoomba on the map as an art destination.
Toowoomba Gallery directors Bec Statton and Nicole Hall said they were proud to showcase Toowoomba and have art shown from around Australia – some as far as Tasmania.
“It was not just about attracting new artists to our gallery, but also drawing attention to Toowoomba,” Ms Statton said.
Around 200 people attended the show which awarded Sydney-based artist Chantelle Stewart the art prize for her piece, Life of Reilly, an acrylic on canvas of two brothers standing on milk crates peeking over a fence.
In its second year, the art prize aimed to draw attention to the rapidly growing arts scene in Toowoomba, Ms Statton said.
“We’re proud of our city and we want to recognise the vibrant and growing arts culture it offers,” she said.
“We moved it to March 1 to kick off the art season with a big bang.”
Autumn is where the leaves turn colour and heralds in a number of art shows across regional Toowoomba, she said.
‘It’s also a great place to visit with a vibrant scene: our laneways, our coffee shops, and our great food offerings,” Ms Statton said.
“We love to showcase all that our town and surrounding region have to offer.”
Next year they are aiming to establish two to three prizes and attract more emerging and established artists.
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