Kids welcome to Wollongong art exhibition celebrating Coomaditchie

Tess Allas, curator of Coomaditchie: The Art of Place at Wollongong Art Gallery, said a room would be setup with artworks positioned down low, while kids could read published story books which correlate to the art.

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The newly opened exhibition features commissioned works, led by senior artists Aunty Lorraine Brown and Aunty Narelle Thomas, and include the gallery's outdoor panels which tell the environmental stories of Coomaditchie Lagoon.

Canvas works speak to the history of three decades of community engagement; ceramic hand-built platters by the two Aunties and fellow Coomaditchie-based artist, Allison Day as well as the recent "love letters to Coomaditchie" art works from the broader community in the form of ceramic plates.

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Ms Allas said people were asked to paint their memory, and experience of feeling they had onto a dinner plate, which were then fired and put on the wall of the gallery.

"The Illawarra is culturally aware and pretty savvy in the art world and with some amazing, amazing practitioners that who live amongst us," she said.

Art student Alinta Maguire also worked on getting the exhibition up and running, handpicked by Ms Allas for her passion for contemporary art and practice.

Ms Maguire said she found the project important in connecting with her local community and "sharing a sense of community and, personally as a young aboriginal woman, connecting with my elders".

The exhibition can be found in several parts of the gallery and runs until June 18. Artworks inside the Mann-Tatlow room are available for sale through the front desk.

"Jarjum's Space" will host a range of works made by children under the guidance of senior artists of Coomaditchie. These works tell individual local stories which have been published into children's books.

This room has been set aside for children to read the stories in the books provided and engage in locating the corresponding artworks on the wall.

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