Wild Dogs Down Under

Wild Dogs from Down Under 2006 - 2008

Wild Dogs Down Under

Wild Dogs from Down Under

THE TOUR

West Gippsland Arts Centre
‘Grande Finale’ China Influence
Cnr Albert & Smith Street, Warragul
March 2008

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Latrobe Regional Gallery
‘Unleashed’ New Work
138 Commercial Road, Morwell
January - February 2008

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Gippsland Art Gallery
‘Gippsland’ on Tour
68 Foster Street, Sale
January - February 2008

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Mr. Cen Qi’s Gallery
‘Gippsland’ on Tour
JiuJiang, Jiangxi Province CHINA
August 2007

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Queen’s Hall
‘Gippsland’ on Tour
PARLIAMENT HOUSE, Melbourne
May 2007

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Burrinja Gallery
‘Gippsland’ on Tour
Upwey, Victoria
February - March 2007

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Meeniyan Art Gallery
‘Gippsland’ on Tour
Meeniyan, Victoria
January - 2007

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West Gippsland Arts Centre
‘Gippsland’ on Tour - Official Opening!
Warragul, Victoria
August 2006

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*We could not have done all this without our sponsors and supporters, Thank You!

List of Acknowledgements follow:-

The Baw Baw Shire Council have supported this project from the very outset; believing in the artists, the work and the concept of the overall project. We would like to thank the Council for managing the Cultural Exchange with sister city JiuJiang and for sending an official delegation to celebrate with us at the opening of ‘Gippsland’ in China.

Thank you past Mayor David Balfour, CEO Glenn Patterson, Councillors Adam Tyson, John Daniels and partners. Thank you also to Vicky Keane, Karen Whitaker-Taylor and Janiene Ayre who played enormous roles in assisting the Wild Dogs in China.

We also thank the Baw Baw Shire Council for acquiring two works from this collection:-

‘Flower of the West’ by Leonie Ryan

‘Wild Dog’ by Laurie Collins (who refused payment for it).

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Thank You also to……..

Ruth McDonald (past Mayor) for being so enthusiastic and offering her time, good advice and the necessary contacts in JiuJiang.

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Paul James Design for creating the ’Gippsland’ catalogue, website, invitations and postcards - thank you so much for your time, energy and creativity.

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Michelle Dunn who generously gave her time and creativity to write and edit our information that features in the catalogue and on the website.

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Maree Wallace editor of Baw Baw Country for promoting us on numerous occassions (always a lovely suprise).

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Ingrid Thomas initiator of gippslandartists.com for her generosity in promoting our project and the individual artists on her website.

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Wild Dog Winery has been an ongoing support to us and created a special Shiraz and Chardonnay labelled ‘Wild Dogs from Down Under’ which we have thoroughly enjoyed at each opening. Special thanks to Gary and Judy Surman.

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Tarago River Cheese have provided mouth watering ‘Shadows of Blue’ for all to enjoy at each exhibition opening - thank you David Johnson.

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Des Dillon provided financial support to assist in the production of the 5 minute DVD produced to give an insight into the concept of the project and the individual artists. The DVD was filmed and edited by Magyar Smith Productions.

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The Warragul Gazette have followed the Wild Dog story from the very beginning and have provided the group with professional photography, editorial write ups and community awareness. Brian Hopkins, Carolyn Turner and Emma Ballingal, we truly appreciate this!!

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West Gippsland Arts Centre Warragul provided the space, ‘The Fountain Room’ where the exhibition ‘Gippsland’ was officially ‘Opened’ for the first time!

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Mayor at the time, Cr. Ian Clark thank you for officially opening ‘Gippsland’ for the very first time to mark the beginning of our tour in August 2006!

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Graeme Stapleton gave a touching presentation on our behalf and introduced a special guest, Caroline Heysen - the great grand daughter of the late Sir Hans Heysen at the West Gippsland Arts Centre in 2006.

Graeme continued to support the project and through his business Warragul Hire and Drive, generously loaned his truck to take the precious cargo to and fro the container in Tullarine.

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Meeniyan Art Gallery, hosted a smaller version of the exhibition in January 2007. Director Meg Viney coordinated the ‘Opening’ and ‘Artist Talk’; sponsored by Meeniyan Art Gallery and the Shire of South Gippsland.

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Burrinja Gallery hosted the exhibition during Feb / March 2007. Director Ross Furnell was enthusiastic about the work and coordinated ‘Artist Talks’ on a variety of weekends during the exhibition. Burrinja Gallery, Wild Dog Winery and Tarago River Cheese sponsored the ‘Opening’.

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International Power / Mitsui Loy Yang B financially supported two artists by means of pre-purchasing a painting from each artist. ‘Whale Rock’ by Eileen Harrison and ‘Lady Bay’ by Jenny Murray-Jones. Neither artist had ever travelled outside Australia before - we can’t thank them enough for this support which in turn became the experience of a life time.

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Angela Betheras Consultancy managed the packing, shipping and customs requirements of the International tour of ‘Gippsland’ to JiuJiang.

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Multiplex Capital sponsored the cost of the Art Partitions that the group were required to install in Queen’s Hall, Parliament House for their exhibition in the first week of May 2007.

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Gary Blackwood, Member for Narracan supported this leg of the tour and communicated with the Parliament of Victoria for us to exhibit in Queen’s Hall, Melbourne. Gary also contributed financially toward the Official Opening of this very special occassion. Thank you Gary!

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Thank you to Mr. Ted Baillieu, MLA Leader of the Opposition & Shadow Minister for the Arts for officially ‘Opening’ on the night, 1st May 2007. It was a real honour.

On this special occassion, we were also overjoyed to meet the Lord Mayor of Melbourne John So and the Lady Mayoress Wendy Cheng!

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Mr. Russell Broadbent MP, Electoral Division of McMillan, thank you for your advice, encouragement and the Australian Flag! The Mayor of JiuJiang Ms Wang Ping was overjoyed to receive your gifts and we were delighted to pass them on to her.

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Oamps Insurance Brokers Warragul have generously donated financial sponsorship to assist the project and have been a big help in sourcing the necessary insurance required for the journey. Thank you Frank!

Frank Spiteri is also President of the Rotary Club of Warragul and we would like to take this opportunity to thank your club for their interest in our adventure.

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Peter & Lois Juratowitch created a slide show of JiuJiang and prepared the artists with very helpful tips and advice which came into great use - thank you!

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Thank you to the JiuJiang Foreign Affairs Office and Mayor Ms Wang Ping for taking such good care of us in JiuJiang China. For providing translators, hosting special dinners and arranging meetings with the Artists of JiuJiang - thank you for this wonderful experience!

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The Gippsland Art Gallery in Sale invited us to exhibit ‘Gippsland’ on its return from China - for the very last showing. Thank you for thoughtfully installing our work and for inviting us to make a public presentation to your community.

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The Latrobe Regional Gallery in Morwell generously loaned their Touring Crates that safely housed the work while it was in transit Internationally.

Thank you also to the Director, Jacqui Hemsley for inviting us to exhibit a new body of work titled ‘Unleashed’ in February 2008 and for providing the catering on our opening night!

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Mr. Tim Wills, Regional Manager of Regional Development Victoria - thank you for your powerful and inspiring speech, for officially Opening our exhibition ‘Unleashed’ at the Latrobe Regional Gallery on the 1st Feb 2008.

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SQI Australia (Select Quality Imports) generously sponsored our Grand Finale at the West Gippsland Arts Centre in March 2008. Our Grand Finale ‘Gumbay - China Influence’ is the climax to this amazing journey and we truly appreciate it.

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Mayor Cr. Dick Van Leeuwen, thank you for officially opening ‘Gumbay - China Influence’ at our Grand Finale at the West Gippsland Arts Centre on behalf of the Baw Baw Shire Council on the 7th March 2008.

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Karen Whitaker-Taylor, a very special thank you to our Arts & Cultural Officer for her enthusiasm, her time and belief in the project and in the Arts! For coming to JiuJiang China with us and for being a part of this journey that we will never forget! We understand and appreciate the time, energy and support that you have given to us over the past 2 years.

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On behalf of the Artists:- Leonie Ryan, Eileen Harrison, Jenny Murray-Jones, Laurie Collins, Gary Miles and myself Kerrie Warren, I want to thank our families and partners for supporting us.

Marian Collins and Chris Major for coming to China with a pack of ‘Wild Dogs’ - thank you both for your energy and assistance in so many ways.

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This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.

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The Wild Dogs from Down Under were awarded with the Arts Business RAVE Award by Regional Arts Victoria in May 2007.

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The Wild Dog’s were also greatly honoured to receive the SP AusNet 2007 Baw Baw Business Excellence, Arts & Cultural Industry Award in November 2007.

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On behalf of the Wild Dogs from Down Under - THANK YOU ALL!

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CONTACT THE WILD DOGS!

Kerrie Warren

www.kerriewarren.com.au

mail@kerriewarren.com.au

Mobile: 0411 480 384

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Leonie Ryan

www.leonieryan.com.au

klryan@sympac.com.au