On the 29th of April, a group from the Kiama Art Society were lucky enough to take part in a coach trip to see the Archibald and Moran exhibitions in Sydney.

After a very positive result from the Christmas party auction, a decision was agreed upon at the January committee meeting to give something back to the society members by partially sponsoring a bus trip to the yearly portrait exhibitions. As Faye King put it, it was " a small way of saying thank you to those members who contributed to the Christmas party, while at the same time trying to involve other members and hopefully make them feel more a part of our Art Society".

After picking up a few U3A members in Wollongong the people aboard the bus numbered over 50, which was a great chance to mingle socially and chat with other local art lovers.

Doreen Teasdale planned the artistic adventure, backed up by help from her husband Ray and Ros Hanson, and between them thoroughly entertained the members on the journey and back with games, word puzzles and jokes. Doreen organised a delightful quiz that made the trip fly by, with Renee Lever and Ros supplying the gifts to winners of the quiz as well as lucky door prizes drawn throughout the outing. The Kiama Art Society is very lucky to have such dedicated members.

Before we knew it we arrived at the Art Gallery of New South Wales and promptly joined an informative tour around the Archibald exhibition, hearing the story behind each of the finalist’s works. The Archibald has always been a great exhibition for giving the public not only a diverse range of painting styles but also an interesting array of recognisable subjects. Particularly powerful and popular was Vincent Fantauzzo’s framing of Brandon Walters’ intense gaze, which rightfully won the People’s Choice award at the end of the show.

After absorbing the Archibald artistry and stopping for lunch, the group once again boarded the bus and crossed the domain to the State Library where the Moran exhibition was held. This rich prize drew many of the same artists as the Archibald, with Ben Quilty taking away the award with a large portrait of Jimmy Barnes.  Several other less audacious though equally engaging pieces were on display, including Sam Wade’s portrait of Bill Leak and Ben Smith’s double self portrait with a duck.

The day was a tremendous success with an enjoyable experience being had by all.

-Edward del Villar