Youth art is firmly in focus, with a local mural artist unveiling big plans, stepping forward to give local teens the spotlight alongside the creative community of the inaugural Burrinja Art Fair this coming weekend.
With plans to later live auction and donate funds from a piece assembled on-site, mural artist Elizabeth Gleeson will paint live, with a team of local young artists beside her on Saturday 6 December.
“I’ll be painting a mural live on a large, transportable wall that I created at my home studio, at the Burrinja Art Fair,” said Ms Gleeson.
“Throughout the day, I’ll be mentoring aspiring artistic youth by guiding them in painting alongside me, talking through the mural creation process in detail and answering all the questions about the industry and my process that they come with,” she said.
The finished mural will be auctioned early next year to raise funds for Burrinja Visual Arts programs.
“These programs, such as the long-running Dandenong Ranges Open Studios, give so much to the public and artistic community in the Hills by way of inspiration, ingenuity and integrating the magic of art into our everyday lives,” said Ms Gleeson.
With over 17 years in the Hills now as an artist, Ms Gleeson said when the opportunity to apply for a spot at the Burrinja Art Fair came up, she wanted to do something innovative and engaging.
“Empowering youth with artistic skills and career advice, insights into the industry and getting to involve them in the creative process of painting murals, has been a truly wonderful experience for me, and I believe it is for them also,” she said.
Acting as a youth mentor in the last few years, she has been working with various high school students and painting collaborative murals with them and has now taken the work further, inviting them to be a part of a larger scope project at the fair.
“I thought that giving teens the opportunity to live paint in front of the public whilst under my guidance would give them the invaluable experience of a true taste of what it feels like to be a mural artist,” she said.
Brent Dakis from the newly formed Forge Institute will also be present at the fair and said that the community event will give their not-for-profit a chance to connect directly with the young creatives in their own community and also launch their first issue of a publication created to celebrate emerging voices and spark new ones,
The publication is named ‘Fever Dream’ and Mr Dakis said they’ll be chatting with local youth about what they want from future workshops, sharing our vision, and inviting them to help shape it.
“The Forge Institute is building a space where teens feel seen, supported, and inspired, and having conversations face-to-face is a huge part of that,” he said.
A newly formed Not-for-Profit youth arts organisation, The Forge Institute is dedicated to providing engaging, relatable and inclusive platforms for creative exploration for kids aged between 13 to 20.
“This weekend is all about listening,” said Mr Dakis.
Ms Gleeson said she finds the insights and perspectives from her young students on the world they’re growing up in invaluable to her own understanding of how unimaginably challenging it is to be a teenager in this day and age, and what the next unique generation of artists will bring to the world.
“It’s so clear to me that the world needs art, now more than ever,” she said.
Mr Dakis said that being at the Burrinja Art Fair lets them hear directly from local teens about the kinds of creative spaces and workshops they want.
“Their input is shaping every part of The Forge’s programs,” he said.
To pre-prepare, assemble and transport the mural on the day, careful planning and preparation are essential to ensure everything goes smoothly.
“The fun, colourful painting that happens on the day is always the tip of the iceberg in terms of the amount of work that goes into each project like this,” said Ms Gleeson.
This is Ms Gleeson’s first time at the Burrinja Annual Art Fair, and she hopes there will be many more to come.
“Part of why I wanted to volunteer my time and expertise to do live mural painting is to help support the event,” she said.
“I’ve done lots of live painting in the past, but it’s also part and parcel of being a muralist.”
“Many mural jobs I paint are in the public domain, where you can easily meet 100 people in a day, and I really cherish this part of my job, connecting with the community.”
The first time Burrinja Art Fair event will take place over the course of a whole Saturday on 6 December from 10am to 4pm, with over 40 local artists, live music from Jenna Campbell and Tony J King and an indigo dyeing demonstration by fellow Jude Craig.
There are also plenty of fun things for some of the younger kids, with free displays and activities from Festive Tribe and Ruccis Circus.
As the fair swiftly approaches, Ms Gleeson said she is inspired by the incredible local community, especially the artistic community and encourages people to come say hello.
“It’s a very special place that we get to live in that I value wholeheartedly,” she said.
