Packed to the gunwales with appreciative supporters, the Dubbo Art Fair’s opening night at the Western Plains Cultural Centre (WPCC) was a portent of the hugely successful days to come, with a staggering 1680 people crossing the threshold during the event’s three days.

The official opening drew a capacity crowd, with 200 guests gathering for a sneak peek at the collected works of 45 artists from across Dubbo and the region that made up the weekend expo.

In his opening address, special guest Barry Keldoulis, director of the Sydney Contemporary Art Fair, echoed the sentiment that was repeated constantly throughout the night and the weekend, that the quality and diversity of works on exhibit show the enormous potential of the Dubbo Art Fair to grow and become a major event for the region.

He believes such fairs have an important role to play in educating and making it easy for members of the public to buy art.
The fair, he says, is not just for artists, it also helps to make owning art an enjoyable experience.

For their part, the assembled artists were thrilled with the weekend, with many reporting good sales and great networking.

WPCC cultural development coordinator Jessica Moore said overall the weekend garnered an approximate collective total of $50,000 in turnover, with artists also securing future work, commissions and collaborations.

“We had lots of feedback from artists that they spoke with people from Sydney, Canberra, Orange and Bathurst who were visiting the region, along with many, many locals who were coming to the WPCC for the first time, and buying for the first time.”

Events like the Dubbo Art Fair don’t just happen. There’s an eye-popping amount of work that goes in behind the scenes long before the doors open for the three-day fair.

Months of planning and co-ordinating, scheduling, promoting and logistics must be expended to put together such an extensive exhibition with so many moving parts.

“Everyone who wanted a booth got one, no one had to be turned away,” says Ms Moore. “The week of install is massive, with 10- to 15-hour days to bump out three major shows and bump in 45 exhibitors.”

Not that she and her team are complaining.

“We love what we do and we love trying to give as many opportunities to the community as possible.”

It’s not just the event itself that’s important, says the coordinator who has been aboard with the WPCC every step of the way of its 16-year life.

“The support of the community is vital.

“We want to ensure that creativity is a key pillar for our community, and to make that possible it has to be viable for people to stay here and do, and that’s only viable if the community supports it,” says Ms Moore.

Her message is simple: from buying artists’ works at Dubbo Art Fair to seeking out original live music, or attending film festivals or local theatre productions, the more the community says 'we are here to support our creative sector', the more it will germinate and multiply.

- Photos by Ken Smith and Jen Cowley