Time’s ticking: Pemberton Arts Group celebrates 20th year of annual spring exhibition with time-themed exhibit

Pemberton will be the place to be for art enthusiasts and local artists when the Pemberton Arts Group’s annual Spring Exhibition opens on September 22. Celebrating the 20th year of the exhibition, the art group had decided on the year’s theme being “Time”, with 42 artists from the South West and surrounding regions showing their interpretations of the theme. “There are 42 artists who’ve entered works and we generally get around 35 to 55 works, so we’re happy with the outcome,” Pemberton Arts Group chair and co-ordinator Anna Czerkasow said. Ms Czerkasow said the theme of time was related to the fact the group was celebrating its 20th Spring Exhibition and it would be a talking point for the show. “The theme is ‘Time’ and it was partially decided by the fact it is our 20th annual spring exhibition, from our very humble beginning starting in 2004,” she said. “Time seems to be significant with everyone being time-poor and it was a good way to think about time and what endures and what doesn’t. “As a milestone year, we think it’s pretty amazing that some of us have been there since the beginning, and there are a lot of groups that don’t last as long and we’re getting stronger, and that’s because of fantastic support from sponsors, donors and the community.” She said she was excited for the invitation-only opening night, with special speaker Torsten Ketelsen opening the night and a newly renovated space to help commemorate the occasion. “The opening event in itself is a celebration with a special guest speaker and the guests who will be attending, which could vary between 120 and 160 people, so we’ll get very good support and a night of commemorating the 20 years,” Ms Czerkasow said. “We’re so excited to be in the Pemberton Sports Club in the Karri and Jarrah rooms, especially with the renovations finished.” The arts group had also recently made a move into the new co-location hub as their main location of operations and studio work recently, becoming one of the groups who will be settled into the building. “We’ve made a move with our studios into a new venue, in the Pemberton co-location hub, so that’s been huge to move from our previous place and we’re still in a bit of disarray with the final details of the build,” Ms Czerkasow said. “We’re ready to operate at full pace and provide more opportunities to the community.”