Last year I took a road trip to visit my grandparents on the South Coast of New South Wales. The journey required a detour to the very tiny village of Swanpool, 20 minutes off the highway, in country Victoria. My sister and her family had left behind car roof racks when they finished their housesit in the village. Since they were now in Sydney it was easier for me to collect the roof racks on the way through.
I jumped out of the car quickly to collect my sisters things hoping kiddo would stay asleep in the backseat. But as I started chatting with the owner of the house my son woke up. I had hoped he would stay sleeping so we could stop further along the highway. Seeing anxiety on my face as cries grew louder the kind person suggested I visit the local hall for the Swanpool Creative Recycled Art Prize and have something to eat.
I only heard the words “art prize” and “eat.” Eating was a good idea for both of us but art prize, maybe not. I drove up the road to the Swanpool Memorial Hall hoping there was a small park at least because a cranky toddler wandering around an art show is the perfect disaster recipe.
Surprisingly the carpark was busy and as I started to undo my seat belt the dark clouds I had been driving under let fourth the rain I had been hoping to avoid. The art prize it was.
Related blog post: The Ersatz Fantasia Project
As we settled down to enjoy a scrumptious home cooked lunch and piece of cake I looked over the literature given to me on our arrival. The exhibition was dedicated to recycled art.
A war on waste art show.
Was it fate a zero-waste advocate stumbled upon an art show made of rubbish?
I eyed my son. Judging by his calm behaviour I knew the energy from his lunch had not kicked in yet. So I had at least 30 minutes before he needed to burn that energy off. The art would be safe.
The Swanpool Creative Recycled Art Prize is the largest exhibition of its kind in the southern hemisphere. Entries must be created from at least 75% recycled material, including salvaged or repurposed materials. The work can be wearable, functional and artistic pieces, outdoor art, two and three dimensional works and more.
I was very impressed with the entries and decided to snap a couple of photos to share on the blog.
This would be a great exhibition to visit with kids. My then 2.5 yr old loved everything but I think older kids would get a lot out of seeing how waste can be repurposed and how art can be used to make comment on environmental and social issues.
At the moment the 2020 Swanpool Creative Recycled Art Prize is planned to run from Saturday 1 August to Sunday 16 August.
Entry forms are available online: www.swanpoolanddistrict.com.au/scrap-2020-update.html
