By Sarah Barrow | Project Leader
As December draws to a close, our Jilkminggan entrepreneurs wish to thank all our followers for their generous support throughout 2016! What an exhilarating, heartening year we have had.
Since our last report, the women have continued to utilise donated fabric to make clothes and bedding for the community. Betty has an especial flair for sewing, and we joke that she “drives that machine like a motorcar!” With the help of your donations we have recently purchased two new overlockers that will no doubt improve her sewing prowess even further.
Despite the hot weather, visitors and tourists steadily continue to visit our Op Shop, buying clothes and items made by our artists. ELP’s community-based enterprise facilitators continue to offer ongoing support, assisting artists to develop products for sale. Kathleen has been busily producing beautiful, vibrant bush jewellery, while her sister Wendy has created a range of paintings depicting Mangarayyi plants and flowers.
In fact, Wendy’s paintings were so lovely that we decided to work together to develop a range of gift cards. This provided an excellent exercise in learning about copyright, helping artists to feel empowered in making decisions about their practice that will benefit not only themselves, but also the whole community. With her income, Wendy has purchased her own kit of materials, which will enable her to travel and make art on Country. A portion of revenue has also been set aside to invest in fellow artists; next year we hope that everyone will have the opportunity to develop their work professionally!
As the Art Centre and Op Shop grow, we have been welcoming many new faces. In the words of community leader, Helen Lardy:
"The Art Centre's not only about providing jobs for artists, but seeking out what young people are capable of. These days they don't have many examples of employment opportunities. But by getting this centre going, just this one space, it shows how many interesting and diverse jobs can result from just one space."
From everyone in Jilkminggan, we wish you a happy holiday season and look forward to sharing our progress with you in the year to come!
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