WITH the upcoming Myall River Festival fast approaching, the Riverside Art Walk will be on display to the influx of visitors to our local area.
The Riverside Art Walk currently consists of 18 pieces of creative artwork, and the latest planned addition this year will be a mural painted by local children with the help of some members of the Tea Gardens RSL Sub Branch.
The "Youth Art Project" as it is to be known, will be situated on the blank brick wall that faces Memorial Park next to the Tea Gardens Waterways Office.
Coordinator of the Riverside Art Walk Committee, Shona Hunter Howarth, said the committee has been looking for an opportunity to involve local youth in an art project.
"We noticed that at ANZAC Day each year there is a large number of young people that come along and get involved," she said.
This interest sparked the idea of an intergenerational type project involving students of Tea Gardens Public School and residents who have had some sort of association with the armed forces.
"The thrust of the concept is basically to try and build in the children an awareness and understanding of how world conflict, which draws local people away from their community, impacts on the community," Ms Hunter Howarth said.
"For example in WWII, when all the men were rushed off to war, there would be women taking on the roles that men would have done, and children that would have been doing jobs that perhaps they wouldn't have done if their fathers were still around," she said.
"The mural will reflect the children's understanding of these types of images. It's not about fighting, guns and tanks, it's about the people who were left behind and the impact that had on the community."
Tea Gardens RSL Sub Branch members Geoff Mason, Ron Franks and Ron Howells have agreed to conduct some workshops with the Riverside Art Walk Committee and interested children.
Local artist, Rex Newall has been very supportive of the Youth Art Project and has agreed to draft the design for the mural.
"Tea Gardens Country Club has generously donated $800 towards the upcoming project and we are calling on other groups to support us as well," Ms Hunter Howarth said.
President of the Myall Waterways Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, Lee Anderson, explained that the Riverside Art Walk Committee is mainly made up of local artists and people involved in the community, but that it comes under the banner of the Myall River Festival.
"This way the festival doesn't just happen and then it's finished - we leave a lasting legacy to tell the story of Tea Gardens/Hawks Nest," she said.
"There will only be one addition to the art walk this year, so this will be a fairly big project and it is a chance to get the kids involved, because I think to involve local youth is a great thing," Ms Anderson said.
In August this year, Ms Hunter Howarth and some local residents took a trip over to Kurri Kurri to find out about their mural project.
"Kurri Kurri got a grant a few years ago to produce five murals, they now have 42 and it has completely transformed their local economy because it has turned it into a tourist destination," Ms Hunter Howarth said.
There will be further announcements regarding the Youth Art Project, such as when the first workshop will be taking place, at the Myall River Festival on Saturday, October 28.
There will be a meeting next Wednesday, 7pm at the Tea Gardens Hotel for anyone interested in becoming involved in the project.
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