The famous Heysen Trail walking track.  

MEDIA RELEASE COURTESY OF: THE HEYSEN TRAIL EXHIBITION:

The Heysen Trail Exhibition is a multi-gallery art project celebrating South Australia's most famous walking trail.

The glorious landscape that has inspired great South Australian artists from Sir Hans Heysen to the present day will be celebrated in the inaugural Heysen Trail Exhibition from February 2010 – a fascinating new type of art exhibition held in multiple venues across South Australia, drawing international attention to the landscape, local artists and their dynamic artworks in equal measure.

Greenhill Galleries Adelaide director Russell Starke OAM devised the Heysen Trail Exhibition as a new type of simultaneous exhibition to run across six galleries located at different points along the spectacular 1200km walking trail that extends along a mountain spine cutting through the State, from Cape Jervis on the rugged southern coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula, to Parachilna Gorge where the craggy Flinders Ranges embrace the Outback.

“To do justice to the size, scope and eclectic geography of such a vast natural wonder demanded a complex exhibition project set on a similar scale,” says Starke.

The idea was sparked by South Australian artist John Whitney –also an exhibitor for the inaugural 2010 Heysen Trail Exhibition – who saw an art exhibition in the UK a decade ago, inspired by an ancient Roman road. Whitney mentioned to Starke that this concept should be translated to the Heysen Trail, though initially Starke thought the idea was too marginal. However, as time passed, Starke realised the great possibility of embracing the trail’s rich regional and seasonal variations, while appreciating that a grand art showcase was required for the concept to work successfully, and so the multiple exhibition concept began to flourish.

This idea has thrilled South Australian artists, with 25 committed to present their original works for the exhibition, an engaging mix of oils, acrylics, watercolours and photography that all depict aspects or been inspired by parts of the Heysen Trail. In addition to Whitney, other exhibitors include: Janet Bridgland, Nik de Masi, Peter Coad, Tom O’Callaghan, Catherine Fitz-gerald, Michael Kluvanek and Tom Gleghorn (se Pg 2 for complete listing). A stipulation placed on all the exhibiting artists is that they must provide at least six works to the exhibition – or works in multiples of six – so that they can be featured equally in each of the participating galleries.

Locations that will exhibit works for the 2010 Heysen Trail Exhibition (in order of opening dates) are:

1. Hilton Adelaide, 233 Victoria Square, Adelaide, on Thursday February 18 at 6pm, opened by Dr Jane Lomax-Smith, South Australia’s Minister for Tourism. This exhibition will run until June 15;

2. The Prairie Hotel, Cnr High Street & West Tce, Parachilna, on Friday February 19 at 6pm, opened by Russell Starke, director of Greenhill Galleries. This exhibition will run until March 22;

3. Port Pirie Regional Art Gallery, 3 Mary Elie St, Port Pirie on Saturday February 20 at 2pm, opened by Brenton Vanstone, Mayor of Port Pirie. This exhibition will run until March 14;

4. Penny's Hill Winery, Main Rd, McLaren Vale, Saturday February 20 at 2pm, opened by Simon Cameron, Chairman of The Friends of The Heysen Trail. This exhibition will run until May 19;

5. Greenhill Galleries Adelaide, 140 Barton Tce West, North Adelaide on Sunday, February 21 at 11am, opened by Dr Peter Heysen, the grandson of Sir Hans Heysen. This exhibition will run until March 16;

6. The new Fleurieu Cultural Centre (formerly Signal Point), Liverpool St, Goolwa on Sunday, February 21 at 3pm, opened by Alex Reid, Executive Director of Arts SA. This exhibition will run until April 6.

Having created the Heysen Trail Exhibition independently of the Adelaide Festival program, Starke has not only been able to launch it a week before the Adelaide Festival and run it far beyond the festival’s duration, but has also paved the way for this new event’s continuation and expansion as a unique South Australian art showcase.

“This is just the start of bigger things to come,” Starke says. “I would like to see this function as a biennial exhibition, not necessarily coinciding with the Adelaide Festival but timed to coincide with different seasons so that visiting art lovers can witness the full beauty of the Heysen Trail as they visit the different exhibitions. An event this versatile will grow to become South Australia’s great art attraction for interstate and overseas visitors.”

Starke also hopes to eventually see exhibiting artists conducting workshops and masterclasses at various locations along the Heysen Trail during future exhibitions. “I envisage great interaction between art lovers, those who love to dabble in art and the exhibiting artists, with day trips across the regions helping to make it grow into a very full art festival.”

Starke, whose previous major collaborative exhibitions include the highly successful 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Festival, is confident that widespread promotion of the Heysen Trail Exhibition will encourage visiting art lovers from overseas and interstate to extend their visits to South Australia during different seasons. “This event has the potential to bring great business into many areas of South Australia if it is embraced and continues to grow,” Starke says.

To ensure that artworks within the 2010 Heysen Trail Exhibition enjoy maximum exposure to interstate and international art audiences, the entire catalogue of pieces from all 25 exhibited artists can be viewed and purchased from the Greenhill Galleries website – www.greenhillgalleriesadelaide.com.au – from Tuesday February 16.

The full list of artists exhibiting at the Heysen Trail Exhbition are:

· Coralie Armstrong

· Rod Bax

· Janet Bridgland

· Eugene Casey

· Peter Coad

· Nik de Masi

· Ed Douglas

· Catherine Fitz-Gerald

· Dieter Engler

· Tom Gleghorn

· Robert Habel

· Marek Herburt

· Michael Kluvanek

· David Kelly

· Pamela Kouwenhoven

· Christine McCarthy

· Trevor McNamara