Artist eyes Manjimup for public painting exhibit

An artist with a passion for painting public canvases has offered to paint the town of Manjimup and has asked businesses who may want to take part to come forward.

James Giddy has been creating public artworks since 2013 and decided Manjimup would be a great spot to paint after his success at Donnelly River last month.

Giddy was part of the artist-in-residence program at the Donnelly River Village and painted an image of Australian ringneck parrots on the wall of The Loco Shed.

“I thought I’d reach out to the surrounding areas while I was there,” he said. “Manjimup stood out with a few blank walls and a larger community so I felt it would be a good place to bring in public art.”

He said he reached out to businesses as well as the shire and the response from them and the community had been positive so far.

“At this stage it looks as though I’ll be painting a piece in the laneway for Makers on Mount,” he said.

“All going to plan, a few more will be confirmed in the not-so-distant future.”

He said his favourite part of painting publicly was how accessible the artwork became.

“To use the streets as a public gallery removes any stigma and allows for conversation and colour to reach a wider audience,” he said.

“Since 2017, I have done numerous works and projects throughout regional WA as well as interstate and painting in these towns really resonates with me as the sense of community engagement, and the impact of the artwork, is immediately noticeable, where in the city it is sometimes lost amongst all of the other noise.”

Giddy said he hoped to head down to Manjimup next month.