Images taken as part of BHAE Artist-in-Residence Tanja Bruckners photography workshop

Hello from the Art Exchange - as usual there is a LOT going on and we are busy working on our major events for 2025. Read on for all the news.

Firstly, we are launching another regular meet-up; Follow the Lens photography club. We will meet in the Kitchen Gallery on the last Sunday each month and head to different locations to capture our beautiful city. Thank you to Artist in Residence Tanja Bruckner who inspired us with a two day workshop “Identity and Creative Story Telling”. You can see some of the results and portraits we took above. The first meet-up is Sunday 30th, 10-12 - meet in the Kitchen Gallery and we will head out walking to photograph some of Broken Hills iconic buildings in town.

On the subject of Artist’s-in-Residence, we have the sweet sound of music in the kitchen gallery for the next couple of months with the talented Aimee Volkofsky setting up a studio and workspace. Aimee is working on an Open Cut Commission from the Broken Hill City Art Gallery and songwriting collaborations for the Sydney Youth Orchestra who are visiting the Far West for the second time later this year. We are always excited to hear new music from Aimee and the previous collaboration with the Youth Orchestra and local singers and musicians showcased at the Civic Centre in 2023 was very special.

Volunteers Coffee Morning

Volunteers are the heart of the Art Exchange and we are starting monthly coffee mornings (or tea is thats your cuppa). All volunteers (or those interested in getting involved) are welcome to join us for a yarn, coffee, cake and an opportunity to share ideas. The first one will be Wednesday 7th May at 10am, upstairs in the Grand.

Committee Members & Volunteers Call Out

We are looking to bolster the committee with new members. The committee does the planning for the Art Exchange and we get the opportunity to make an impact on the local arts scene.

We are also on the look out for someone to take on the role in the committee as Creative Director. Susanne is currently fulfilling both this position and the Presidents role which is not ideal.

Additionally, we are on the hunt for a volunteer marketing whiz that can spare a couple of hours a week to prepare content for our socials and help boost our impact.

We are further developing our strategic plan which we will launch in detail later this year, taking our high-level aspirations into a roadmap for success. There are a number of high profile grants and we are planning to fundraise to buy a permanent home so this is a critical piece of work. Part of this is establishing a permanent co-op retail space for our members to sell their works. We have an opportunity for a small space to start members sales with rotating artists and are looking for a couple of volunteers to handle the coordination. This will be minimal work but we need to work out the finer details on how artists apply, the criteria, how long they get the space etc.

If you are interested in hearing more about any of these opportunities, please get in touch with our President Susanne Jones by email or phone 0448 656 913 or fill in the volunteer form with your details. If these don’t interest you but you are interested in getting involved, we welcome all support.

Red Dirt, Big Skies Art Trail

In April, the Art Exchange will be launching a new exhibition of local artists, crafters and creatives (Broken Hill and Central Darling Shire) to coincide with the Mundi Mundi Bash. You may remember previous years we hosted an Art Trail with works displayed in local business windows?? …. Its coming back!!

Further details to be announced and a call out for artists planned for April.

BHAE Ball is on!

Save the date! October 18th is confirmed for our inaugural ball to be held at the Old Brewery We felt it was time for a BIG party, celebration of the arts and fundraiser. We will be sharing more information soon but there will be the opportunity to get creative with outfits and enjoy entertainment, dancing and delicious food. We have not confirmed musical acts yet so if you can fill a dance-floor, please get in touch.

Waste 2 Art - The Year of Toys!

Registration is open and you can find full details on our dedicated webpage. The exhibition will run the first two weeks of June at the GeoCentre and Lifeline Tip Shop. You have have till the end of May to complete your works. This year we have three bonus prizes for different categories including the best artwork in theme, the best artwork using metal and the best group artwork in theme.

Looking for inspiration, watch this great video from Netwaste for ideas and spot Broken Hill entries in the regional 2024 showcase and you can join the community on our Facebook page.

We have a final workshop schedules with limited spaces, scroll down for details.

Winter Residency Program

Following the success of our first funded winter residency program for early career and Indigenous artists in 2024, we are waiting to hear on a grant submitted to fund the 2025 program. We welcomed four artists for a two week residency and hope to increase numbers this year. If we are unsuccessful in our funding application we will still run this in some form and invite interested artists to email an Expression of Interest so you are the first to hear when we have firmed up the offering.

Art Library & Reading Room at the Grand is OPEN

The Art Exchange has a rich collection of art books and Linden has been busy organising our reading room for easy access. The Art Exchange Library/Reading Room is open to the public for browsing most days (excluding Sundays) from 10am to 2pm. Further donations of books are greatly appreciated.

Residencies Are Open!

If you want to come to experience the magic of the outback to inspire your practice, book in now.

You can listen to previous artists share their experiences here

It might be your last opportunity to stay at the historic and majestic Grand.

We also have affordable studio space and workshop space for local artists, get in touch by email or check out our website for more information.

Thank You

We want to give a HUGE thanks to our volunteers, visiting artists and local arts community for all your work and support.

We would also like to thank Broken Hill City Council, ABC Broken Hill, The Broken Hill Times, 2 Dry FM, 2BH, West Darling Arts, the Regional Art Gallery, our partners and the local community for all your contribution, support, promotion and energy.

Have a great month!

Workshops and regular creative meet-ups