Phones away as art club opens at Berninneit
Berninneit Art Gallery’s new monthly club invites art lovers to leave their phones behind and spend an unhurried morning with the work.
ART lovers will be asked to put their phones down and simply look when Analog Art Club launches at Berninneit Art Gallery in Cowes on Tuesday December 1.
The free club will meet at 10.30am on the first Tuesday of every month, offering unhurried, phone-free time with the art on the walls, guided by the artists and curators behind the exhibitions.
Sessions will include conversation, hands-on creative activities, panel discussions, workshops and big questions.
Each session is built around the exhibitions and artists in the gallery, so people can sit with the work and really contemplate it.
The club is a joint initiative of the Public Galleries Association of Victoria and ArtsHub, running under a shared name at participating galleries across the state.
Bass Coast Shire Council has pitched it as an invitation to do something radical in an age of screens: put the phone down, look and connect.
The council promises no scrolling, no pinging and no rush, describing the mornings as purposeful, slow and close-up.
Bass Coast Mayor Cr Brett Tessari said the club was a refreshing chance to get together with other people.
“Analog Art Club is pretty simple really,” Cr Tessari said.
“It’s about getting out of the house, meeting a few people and having a conversation.
“On a Tuesday morning once a month, if you’re a Cowes local or just spending some time on Phillip Island, come along and give it a go.
“That’s the whole idea, to connect with people.
“Art has an amazing way of starting conversations, and those conversations can be the first step in increasing connections, easing loneliness and isolation.”
The first session on December 1 is a creative workshop with artist Nadine Christensen as part of the Lovebirds (love, birds) exhibition.
A field trip follows on January 5, then a behind-the-scenes look at an exhibition changeover and a Beyond the Bricks tour on February 2.
Visiting studio artist Zena Cumpston features on March 2, before the spotlight turns to local artists Svea Chang on April 6 and May 4 and Lisa Kennedy on June 1 and July 6.
Attendance is free but places are limited and registration is essential through basscoastculturalvenues.com/upcoming-art-exhibitions.
