Burnie City Council Mayor Steve Kons said “TASART has been a consistent highlight of the Tasmanian arts calendar for more than forty years, however issues associated with holding a volunteer-run event during the covid pandemic meant that the Burnie Coastal Art Group (BCAG) had to make the difficult decision to cancel the competition this year.
On a happy note – to keep TASART in everyone’s mind, and to celebrate Burnie Shines 20th Anniversary, a collaboration with the Burnie Regional Art Gallery means that we can enjoy an exhibition of some of the past TASART competition winners.”
The Burnie Coastal Art Group, still active today, was started by a small group of artists in 1952 to foster and encourage art in the northwest. Over the years, the group has held regular exhibitions and volunteered hundreds of hours to support the artistic community. The BCAG was instrumental in the development of the Regional Art Gallery in Burnie and although the first “Tasmanian Art Exhibition” was held at Hellyer College in 1979, what became known as TASART moved into the Burnie Regional Art Gallery in 1982. It has remained an important date for artists from around Tasmania since then.
TAS ART: A selection of past winners will be on display at the Burnie Regional Art Gallery from Friday 25 September 2020 until Saturday 24 October 2020. The Gallery is open FREE to the public from 10 am to 4.30 pm Monday to Friday and Saturdays from 11 am to 4 pm.
Visitors will be asked to sign in on entry for contact tracing and to comply with local, state and commonwealth regulations during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Burnie Regional Art Gallery is an initiative of Burnie City Council and is assisted through Arts Tasmania by the Minister for the Arts.
Source: Burnie City Council