Are you an art creator in Wellington district? Local painter Kate Kenworthy is urging you to put your hand up for an innovative professional development program, just for you!

The doors are now open for artists to apply for the Western Plains Cultural Centre’s (WPCC) HomeGround, a professional development program for emerging artists.

HomeGround has been running since 2007 and focuses on emerging artists who are wanting to expand their skills and have the potential to extend their practice, and ultimately benefit from the experience of working alongside curatorial staff within a professional gallery.

Speaking as Wellington’s own local painter, Kate said the program initiated her first exhibition and is ideal for fine art creators who come from smaller population centres in the district.

“This was my first solo exhibition, which was an amazing experience in itself,” she said.

“Having the support from my curator was wonderful, and I learnt so much from her,” the HomeGround artist enthused.

She said that the solitary nature of much artistic creativity makes having contacts and support from groups like HomeGround so important.

“Being an artist can be isolating, but to have a curator come and work so closely with me at my home gave me new insight into my art and helped me understand the process to create a solo exhibition.

“I would definitely recommend the HomeGround program to other artists as it provides the opportunity to experiment with your art but also it will raise your profile as an artist,” she added.

The initiative involves artists collaborating and working alongside a curator, experiencing all facets of the exhibition process including a formal opening/artist talk, studio visits and a range of promotional activity.

The Western Plains Cultural Centre (WPCC) presented Kate’s first exhibition “Can You Hear What I See?” mid year.

The exhibition explored Kate’s connection to water, drawing on her heightened senses of touch and hearing due to a visual impairment, focusing on the beauty of the Bell and Macquarie-Wambuul rivers and the element of water, a substance that the artist can only touch and sometimes hear, leaving her to imagine what it must look like.

The paintings featured her interpretations of her surroundings and how the river systems are entwined into them.

“I wanted to paint the language of emotions the river carries within its banks, the stories they contain, and the connection from my heart and not of my eyes,” Kate said.

HomeGround applications close at 5pm on Saturday, October 21. For information and application forms visit www.westernplainsculturalcentre.org or contact Curator Officer Mariam Abboud on 6801 4434.