Paper Pear’s Steph Day wants art lovers to enjoy a weekend in her home town. Photo: Chris Roe.
Steph Day from Wagga’s well-known Paper Pear Studio and Gallery is looking to bring artists and art lovers from across the country together for a weekend in her home town.
“I often do a pop-up in Orange, but this year, I decided that I would have the event in Wagga Wagga to celebrate 12 years of Paper Pear and also to promote my own community in a time when I think that a lot of small businesses are finding it hard,” she explained.
“So I just hatched this plan to have an art lovers’ weekend in Wagga to coincide with an exhibition called Home Is Where The Art Is, which is of course aptly named and based on all things home.”
Steph originally moved into the historic Gurwood Street shop with the intention of running a few classes and selling her own creations.
Paintings proved popular and, as Steph opened the door to more artists, her unique talent for curating and displaying works, and a knack for social media, saw interest grow.
Paper Pear will celebrate 12 years in Gurwood Street next weekend. Photo: Supplied.
Paper Pear now exhibits work from more than 60 Australian artists and has a dedicated following on Instagram and Facebook, which keeps a close eye on Steph’s latest offerings.
Home Is Where The Art Is will kick off on the night of Friday, 8 September, with the exhibition opening.
“It’s open to anyone who wants to come along between 5:30 and 7:30, and I guess if it blows out and they all turn up at once I’ll open the back door and people can file in and file out,” Steph said with a laugh.
“There’ll be quite a few by artists in attendance and we’ll have bubbles and nibbles, and Riverina Gin will be here slugging the gins and we’ll encourage visitors to head out and spend their dollars on a nice dinner somewhere.
“I’ve been featuring a few ideas about where to stay, where to eat and where to shop so people can make the most of what’s on offer.”
The Home Is Where The Art Is exhibition opens on 8 September. Photo: Supplied.
A number of artworks will be displayed at the Mates Gully and Magpies Nest restaurants and Steph explained that any pieces that sell will be quickly replaced so that visitors will be treated to a shifting exhibition over the weekend.
The Saturday lunch at Magpies Nest is already sold out but Steph hopes that art lovers will use her gallery as a focal point for a leisurely weekend exploring the Riverina’s “hidden treasures”.
“I’ll have the gallery open for most of the weekend so that those who are here for the show can come in and out as they please, and then on Monday I’ll open it to the online audience so that they can have a bit of a look as well,” she said.
“So it’s a bit of a gathering for art lovers centred on my local community and some of my favourite places.”
You can find out more about Home Is Where The Art Is here or on the Paper Pear social media pages.
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