The popular Greenwich Village Arts Trail is on the 2 and 3 November 2024. They are also celebrating 11 years of the trail (see the history of the Trail below).
What is the Greenwich Village Arts Trail?
On the Greenwich Village Arts Trail, you will visit 29 artists, displaying a fabulous variety of artworks across 29 sites. You will visit award-winning contemporary painters, illustrators, sculptors, ceramicists, jewellers, photographers and textile artists.
The Greenwich artists open their studio doors to the public to show and sell their work.
The number of artists living and practising in Greenwich is amazing for such a small community.
The Art Trail takes you around Greenwich and offers a wonderful experience through bush paths and stunning water views back to the coffee shops at the centre of the village.
Check out the Greenwich Village Arts Trail website for further information on each artist.
Greenwich is a suburb within the Lane Cove Council Area and the main access to Greenwich is via Greenwich Road. Google Map link here.
Many artists on the Greenwich Village Arts Trail have won multiple awards and been hung and shown in prestigious art events.
There will be oil, acrylic and watercolour paintings, sculptures, jewellery, pottery, photography on display and for sale on the Greenwich Village Arts Trail.
Greenwich Village Arts Trail Map
Where is Greenwich Village? Greenwich is a suburb within the Lane Cove Council Area and the main access to Greenwich is via Greenwich Road. Google Map link here.
For further information on each artist check out the Greenwich Village Arts Trail website.
Background
In early 2005, two Greenwich artists, Gulcin Seven and the ex-Lord Mayor John May, remarked on the amazing number of artists active in the suburb and decided to canvas them about putting on a group exhibition. John approached friends while Gulcin broached the subject with customers in her newsagency.
Later that year, ten artists, Lyn Burns, Amanda Harrison, Pamela Irving, Magie Maule, John May, MaryAnne Parry, Susan Rothwell, Gulcin Seven, Kaan Seven and Louella Woodham, lugged their artworks, easels, screens, lights, and plinths up the stairs of the local sailing club to set up the inaugural Greenwich Art Show.
The opening night on 7 October 2005 was a huge success with friends, relatives and local residents filling the spectacular top floor of the Greenwich Sailing Club – the harbour sparkled from all sides of the room and the artists sparkled inside, enjoying the unique opportunity to showcase their work.
Another two shows, in 2007 and 2010, saw the group grow to fourteen artists, by which time space in the hired room was becoming tight. Combined with onerous logistics and the physical difficulties of manhandling the screens, plinths and lights up two flights of stairs, let alone all the artworks, it was time for a re-think.
At the traditional post-show de-brief, Dana Dion suggested changing the format to an open studio trail, much like similar events in Pittwater and Willoughby council areas. Under this regime, artists would be responsible for their own administration and presentation, without the space and light restrictions, or the need for transporting artworks. There was unanimous and enthusiastic agreement.
So Dana Dion and Amanda Harrison took up the reigns to corral a diverse collection of artists into a show spread across various sites around Greenwich.
Most of the Greenwich Village Art Trail’s (GVAT) guidelines were established at this stage, including for it to be walking friendly, without the need for a car, and this meant a strict adherence to the Greenwich suburb boundary line (plus a council-sponsored bus in later years).
Another of the guiding principles was around art education – that the Trail provide an opportunity for visitors to explore the back room, see where art is made, and learn about the processes behind the creations that artists bring to life in their studios. And strict presentation requirements were set down to ensure the best possible visitor experience, including that the artwork be presented as professionally as possible, with no seconds, and all studios be open for the days and hours specified in the advertising.
On the weekend of 8 & 9 October 2012, fourteen artists tentatively opened their doors at ten different sites – Lyn Burns, Dana Dion, Amanda Harrison, Cathy Jager, Melissa McElhone, John May, Kerin Moorehead, MaryAnne Parry, Sally Rossi-Ford, Susan Rothwell, Gulcin Seven, Petrina Slaytor, Peter Staveley, and Louella Woodham. The Trail attracted over 250 visitors from the local area and proved to be a wonderful community event – and a big success for the artists.
The GVAT has now grown to attract over 900 art-loving visitors from all over Sydney – and beyond. Set as the first weekend of November, the streets of the beautiful harbourside suburb fill with art-lovers who meet with friends, walk in groups, and view art in over 30 sites, speaking with the artists, learning about the creative processes, and purchasing fabulous artworks to take home to enrich their homes and lives.
Amanda Harrison is the initiator of the Greenwich Village Arts Trail. Amanda has always been immersed in the creative arts, whether painting, sculpture, photography, film-making or writing. She first studied sculpture in her final years of high school in Sydney before completing a bachelor of arts in film and scriptwriting at university. After travelling for many years, she settled in London. She reinvigorated her passion for sculpture at the Kensington & Chelsea College, where she learnt traditional sculpting techniques, including armature building, mould-making, casting and carving.
Back in Sydney, and after studying graphic design and running a small graphic design business, Amanda then started to explore ceramics, learning about hand-building and glazes at TAFE, art colleges and private workshops. She was thrilled to successfully combine her love of sculpture and clay and now creates wonderful contemporary artworks in clay and bronze from her art studio in Greenwich Sydney.
Dana Dion
Dana Dion’s art with her contemporary landscapes will be on display. You can read about Dana here. Dana has been involved in promoting the Greenwich Artist Trail from the beginning.
Podcast
Last year we interviewed Dana Dion and Nicola Hart on the In the Cove Lane Cove Podcast – listen to our interview here – it starts at 29.13
See You on the Trail
If you love art, you will love the Greenwich Village Arts Trail. Why not grab a group of friends and tour the sites together, then have a cuppa at one of Greenwich’s lovely cafes. You get a real insight into an artist’s working space.
Find Out More Here
Date: 2- 3 November 2024 10 am – 4 pm
Instagram: @greenwich_village_arts_trail/
Facebook: @GreenwichVillageArtsTrail
Website: https://greenwichvillageartstrail.com.au/
Google Map Link: https://goo.gl/maps/zeHG1rDsqZZYiVAP8
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