Illuminate

Illuminate was an exhibition and careers forum for early career artists in the Macarthur Region.

It supported eleven young artists (18-25) from across south west Sydney and the Macarthur Region who were pursuing their creative endeavours as a part of National Youth Week 2014. 

Stepping Up Macarthur exposed the demand from arts students experiencing the tyranny of distance between home and university. I shared this experience and concentration of networking and industry events in the Sydney CBD. This led to the design and delivery of Illuminate. The exhibition supported 11 local artists and five industry experts discussed different career pathways in the sector. This one-off program further demonstrated that there was an interest in decentralising the arts sector with localised professional development. Two students who had been involved in Stepping Up Macarthur’s inaugural exhibition went on to exhibit new work in Illuminate after pursuing tertiary studies in the arts.

Working in a variety of mediums including sculpture, video media, photography, painting and drawing artists included Ryan Flock, Mariah Calman, Branden Jean Carlos, Luke Letourneau, Monica Renn, David Robinson, Ailisha Sabalburo, Del Schwieters, Victoria Tierney, Analise Vella and Ainsley Wilkcock.

Young Artists Forum
On Saturday 12 April, 2014 panel of guest speakers from Pop Up Parramatta, Alaska Projects and respected artists from Western Sydney discussed career opportunities in the arts sectors, how younger artists can be better represented in our community and contribute to the local art scene.

Panellists included: Sebastian Goldspink, Freya Jobbins, Blak Douglas aka Adam Hill, Megan Monte and Merryn Spencer

Project sponsors: National Youth Week and Campbelltown Arts Centre