The 37th Narooma Easter Art Exhibition held at the Sport and Leisure Hall in Narooma was opened on Thursday night the 26th March with a Welcome to Country by Vivianne Mason of the Yuin people. Christine Macauley AM spoke about the changes and progress MACS has made and thanked the volunteers and sponsors who made the event possible through their generous support. She also introduced this year’s judge Sheryl Miller who in turn announced the Prize Winners. Christine Macauley AM then announced the winner of the inaugural Macauley Family Award which will become perpetual and is judged by the Macauley Family as representing Narooma and its lifestyle. The Exhibition featured outstanding works, comments from visitors were very positive “This Exhibition rivals any I have seen in Sydney or Melbourne” and “Very talented people”, “Very enjoyable I come every year” and “It just gets better each year”. People’s Choice was very close with only three votes separating the three favourites the painting “Carunna before the storm” was the winner but very closely followed by Jan Atkinson’s beautifully creative ceramic tablecloth and Rosie William’s photo of Abby her dog, which was the first purchase of the Exhibition. Businesses and individuals were invited to sponsor any of the existing Awards including People’s Choice. A list of the Awards follows with this year’s winners: Oil Judge’s Choice: Janet Jones Highly Commended: Janece Huntley Highly Commended: Margaret Moran Acrylic Judge’s Choice: Robyn Woodward Highly Commended: Jane Ihara Highly Commended: Kate Bolscheid Works on Paper Judge’s Choice: Rae Conway Highly Commended: Grace Paleg Highly Commended: Robert Wynton Photography & Digital Judge’s Choice: Kirk Ryder Highly Commended: Rosie Williams Highly Commended: David Mare Mixed Media Judge’s Choice: Jennifer Hawkins Textile Judge’s Choice: Geri Taylor Ceramic, Mosaic & Sculpture Judge’s Choice: Jan Atkinson Highly Commended: Zoe Bourke Highly Commended: Jenny Bourke Best In Show Ian Mackenzie Macauley Family Award Robyn Woodward Christine Macauley AM said in her wrap up of the event "MACS thanks all our sponsors and want to express our deep appreciation for their support and especially those who have continued to support us over the years. "We also very much thank those who have recently come on board and hope you will continue with us in the future. "The Easter Art Exhibition has now run for 37 years a major achievement in anyone’s language and exists only because of our sponsors and the dedicated work of our volunteers. This community would suffer badly without these people, please support our sponsoring businesses who have invested in MACS and in our Community with their generous contributions." The sponsors are: Amanda's of Mogo Billy Goat Designs Clarke Law Club Narooma East's Holiday Park Eurobodalla Tiles Ian Thompson Chartered Accountant IGA Dalmeny IGA Narooma Kennedy & Cooke Lawyers Lynch's Hotel Macauley Family Margaret Brown Mead's Bakery Montague Island Discovery Tours Narooma Charters Narooma Fishing Charters Narooma Glass Narooma Golf Club Narooma Plumbing Services O'Brien's Hotel Symons Bus and Coach Service The Whale Motor Inn and Restaurant Top of the Town Motel Truss Plus Whacker's
Above: Hard-working volunteers at the MACS Easter Exhibition are; from left, Kris Macauley AM, Judy Glover, Adrianne Waterman, Geri Taylor, and Jennifer Hawkins.
Above: Artist Geri Taylor of Tuross Head with her award winning Textile entry made from re-cycled T-shirts, called "Sea of Fish".
Above: Artists Janet Jones and David Mare from Melbourne chat in front of Janet's painting which was the Judges Choice winner in the Oil painting category at the MACS Easter Exhibition.
