Last Friday October1st, Chris and I were privileged to open the Arts Society Of Tasmania’s New Members exhibition at the Acanthe Gallery in Lenah Valley. We had been asked to perform this pleasant task by Roger Imms, a member of the Society and the recipient of the Luke Wagner Award ( at a previous exhibition) for his beautiful painting “Ocean Two – Weight and Weightless”. Roger’s painting was quite breathtaking, a large ( 91 x 122 cm) oil on canvas. It held a dynamism and a spirituality that was hard to name.
So, it was with some enthusiasm that we approached the task of opening this October exhibition as Sir John and Lady Franklin. I have described, in a previous post, how the little gallery was built by Lady Jane and it is a wonderful piece of architecture; a miniature Greek temple in the outer reaches of Hobart’s suburbs.
Chris, the writer of all our “Live History” productions, including the award winning convict drama “Louisa’s Walk” for which we have become quite famous, wrote an endearing piece which gave the audience a peek into Sir John and Lady Jane at home before attending the opening. We then swept round to the front of the Gallery where we were ushered in to the sound of trumpets and an announcement. Lady Jane then declared the Exhibition open.
We were presented with bottles of Pooley wines and a delightful bouquet assembled by one of the artists. We were so impressed by the evening – everyone that we met was so warm and friendly it made me wish I could paint or draw! I was told I could join as a social member though so that’s a possibility.
The event has been well covered in our local newspaper “The Kingborough Chronicle” with some great photographs of some of the people present. Well done all for a truly memorable and fun event.
