The 40 Under 40 exhibition opening promised to be edgy and not your run of the mill cheese and wine art event.
Art by 40 local artists, coupled with food, beer and wine and a stellar line up of art demos, poets, DJ and a band, the 40 Under 40 opening stayed true to their word.
Over 450 people packed the crowded Butter Factory Arts Centre in Cooroy on Friday night, even risking the rain to see what the commotion was about.
This project was the brainchild of co-curator and artist Amanda Bennetts, who couldn’t be more happy with the turn out for the opening.
“I really think when you add good art, music, poetry, live art demos and fuse that with good food and locally brewed beer from Land & Sea, you create an event that is accessible to all, with people attending who may not usually venture out to art exhibitions,“ Amanda said.
The success of this year’s event has encouraged Amanda to make it an inaugural exhibition.
The heavy rain couldn’t keep the crowds away from listening to local Cooroy band SuperYacht. The five-piece band kept the masses entertained with their “doom pop“ which blends dreamy keys, guitars and haunting vocals. As well as a band the evening saw funk DJ Brett Riley on the turntables as well as spoken word from Doom Baby, Ketakki, and Aaron Mears writing impromptu poetry for the punters.
The feedback from the public is that Cooroy would like to see more events like this in the much-loved Butter factory, with many saying it’s perfect for these kinds of events and it showcases to the greater community that Cooroy is more than a quaint hinterland town.
Butter Factory Coordinator and Co-curator Alicia Sharples says most of the 450 punters were first-time visitors to the Butter Factory and she loved that the Noosa council communities art centre could be enjoyed by a new younger crowd.
Amanda and Alicia are both passionate about keeping the momentum going from the night urging locals to support the amazing young talent of artists we have in the area and get out and see the exhibition which is on until the 18 February.
