Mid Coast community reconnects through community art program

Many communities across the Hunter, New England and Central Coast region have been hard hit in recent times by the extended impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the damage and dislocation wrought by flood events.

The PHN’s recent Community Recovery and Reconnection Grants offered the opportunity for organisations to host activities and programs that would help their communities to reconnect and rebuild their resilience.

The Great Lakes Art Society, at Forster on the MidCoast, used grant funding to devise a series of art workshops for the Taree community during February and March. The Connect with Art Project encouraged people to come along to the Forster Gallery and try their hand at drawing, painting or fibre art or simply to catch up for a coffee and a chat.

The volunteer-led workshops proved very popular with 170 places filled within a week. They offered participants the opportunity to tap into their creativity through the experience of making art in a dynamic group setting, and to connect with other members of their community following the enforced isolation of the pandemic.

One of the workshops was dedicated to the region’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, encouraging Indigenous artists to explore their ‘art journey’ and offer their support to fellow artists.

View some of the Connect with Art workshops and artworks here.