OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE PLATFORM

Well 6 months after we moved in we can finally call THE PLATFORM home!

The styling team has once again done an amazing job,people just love wandering around the gallery finding treasures.

The Music Club welcomed everyone with some foot tapping music and  many friends and well wishers came to celebrate with us.

Dan van Holst Pellekaan, Member for Stuart Officially opened the gallery with a great speech, congratulating everyone on their efforts and promoting the opportunity for people in the community to make the most of this new space.

Irish Night

Port Augusta Music Club is associated with the Art Group through membership in the same way as the Port Augusta Writers.

Every Monday evening the UKULELE GROUP meets at the platform for some rollicking good fun.

They and other members of the music club have been working towards the first event of the year, an Irish Night at the Port Augusta Golf Club.

The Music Club played all night and the Golf Club provided a tasty Irish Stew. A great time was had by all.

Busy Fridays

It looks as if Friday is becoming the day for people to gather at THE PLATFORM.
There is usually someone around to give advice and help you with a project. 

Melva will be donating a sewing machine and the small room will be set up for sewing and textile work for interested people.

The opening of the new Cafe has certainly brought more people into the gallery and at times there is quite a buzz about the place. 

Writers gathered last Sunday to work with David Chapple and people who attended the workshop described it as very good, fast paced and successful.

Desert Fringe Markets 2016

Leone, Patsy and Jenny braved the heat to set up a stall at the market this year and Kerry had a stall as well.

The stall looked inviting and the girls made the most of the shade they had. The set up in the park was fantastic however the weather was not particularly kind and people stayed away until it cooled down in the evening.

A gusty wind late afternoon resulted in  stall holders packing up early but at least not much damage was done and we fared better than some.

The evening was very warm but people enjoyed the Fringe performance with Archie Roach being the main attraction.

School Visit

Recently students from Port Augusta West Primary School visited the gallery to see where they will be exhibiting their art work later in the year.

It was great to see so many eager young people exploring the place and discovering more about what we do. 

There was the opportunity to talk to the spinners and weavers and see traditional and electric wheels in action.

We took some interesting photos to record the event and  they even managed to see a train go through.

         

An Evening with Tom Putt

We have to thank one of our photographers, Kimberly Cowey, for this fabulous evening with Tom Putt  http://inspirelandscapes.com

Kimberly knew Tom would be in South Australia for a series of workshops and suggested, jokingly, that he should come to Port Augusta. 

Tom actually took up the offer and with the added attraction of having some time to take photographs on the family property just north of Port Augusta agreed to talk to our Curdnatta Photography group.

With just over a week to pull everything together we spread the word and 20 lucky people from all around our local region turned up for a great night of fun and learning.

Once again our new space provided the perfect spot for a gathering of people and we all stayed on, chatting, till about 11pm.

Thanks Tom !!! Everyone is very inspired.

A Great Start to 2016.

The new Platform Gallery is off to a great start in 2016. 

The first big event was a collaboration with the Test Kitchen.
Originally Matt Haren came looking for some art work to make the Cooinda Club more appealing for the luncheon events he organises but instead he found us in the middle of moving to our new gallery space and after a quick look around asked if we would host a luncheon at the gallery itself.

This was all rather new to us and some of us were a bit uncertain about going down this path. 
We thought we would wait until we were established and consider the proposal then.

Not long after we opened the doors we were approached by Fil and Maurice Nistico who proposed holding a bit of an end of year gathering for their clients with the intent of introducing them to the new gallery. We decided that people wanting to use the gallery in this way would have to put forward a written proposal for us to consider. We would have to have members present and it would depend on the availability of members for an event to go ahead.

The Christmas show was a success and the TEST KITCHEN came up with their proposal.

The Test Kitchen is about bringing rich social and sensory dining experiences into the lives of older people who too often experience mealtimes alone. Eating alone as an older person can contribute to undernutrition whereas positive social interaction with dining companions increases food intake and overall wellbeing.

One of its  dining concepts is ‘Community Hosted Meals’, where prominent community places that offer a unique and rich sensory or social ambience are transformed into dining rooms for the hosting of meal events. The custodian of the place (group or organisation) is promoted as Host.
These events are also open to the general public.

There were 36 people in attendance at the event at THE PLATFORM and students from Port Augusta Secondary school assisted with setting up the tables, plating and service.The food provided By Matt and Julie-Anne was exemplary.

The Music Club provided some music and Melva, Pat and Georgie acted as hosts on behalf of Curdnatta Art Group.

It was also great to have an exhibition by Fibrespace Inc. on display at the gallery to add a bit of "texture".