Helen gets a progress report on the Outback Way Outdoor Gallery, from Project Manager Mel Forbes. The gallery will be installed along the Plenty Highway along the Outback Way. We covered the initial phase of the project back in Season 2, Episode 20, so if you haven't listened to that yet we do recommend catching up on that episode too. Lots has happened since November last year when the Outdoor Gallery competition was open. There are now 28 artworks selected for display on the 28 billboards and Mel shares a bit about the talent that has been attracted to the project. We received over 70 entries of artwork from artists, communities and art centres from along the Outback Way. It's a wonderful result that surpassed our expectations and it shows the real desire and thirst in remote Australia to have artwork that is displayed in a very different place-the landscape of the outback instead of inside the walls of a building.
Mel also recaps the concept behind the Outback Way Outdoor Gallery, the different places and communities the artwork comes from and what the selection process was for the final artworks. She tells us about the selection process for the final 28 artworks, as well as about the mobile hot spot infrastructure that is also going to be installed too. Mel and Helen discuss the way Covid-19 has impacted the project, and share the good news that so far it will still be going ahead. While a final date for the gallery isn't yet known, the online catalogue will be ready by June and there will be some prints and originals available for sale as well. So stay tuned for that!
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