By John Longhurst

Twenty-nine local writers and artists combined over two nights last month to entertain full houses at the Moruya Library for the annual Eurobodalla Literary and Art Salons.

Dating back to at least the 16th century, literary salons are gatherings of people who share similar interests in literature, the arts, culture, and such.*

The Eurobodalla Literary and Art Salons pair local artists with writers who in turn compose a piece of literature stimulated by the chosen artwork.

After informal drinks and nibbles, the piece of literature is read aloud alongside the displayed artwork and is followed by further comments by both the artist and the writer with questions and discussion from the audience.

The Eurobodalla Salons have been conducted since 2016 and are a key feature on the creative calendar for local writers and artists. A small exhibition of the artwork in Moruya Library precedes each salon, reflecting the broad range of techniques from our artists.

Convenor Ms Karen Kentwell’s opening comments best summed the purpose of the salons:

“The salon provokes conversation, connection, and community. This fits perfectly with this evening’s theme of listening, speaking, and learning from each other.

Leo Tolstoy famously said: ‘Art is not a handicraft. It is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced.’

As we gather for this unique annual event, I encourage you to reflect on how art impacts us as humans, what activates our emotions. It’s often the unknown that fuels creativity. Let us embrace that unknown.

As we listen to the writers’ stories and poems this evening, they might be far from the artist’s initial inspiration, but we will accept them as a new layer, a perspective fuelling creativity.”

The feedback from the 2024 Salon has been extremely positive from both a creative’s perspective and audience response.

As one local writer commented “It has been even the most rewarding performance writing experience I have been involved with. It was a fantastic opportunity to explore a creative written response to another artist’s visual text without judgment and simultaneously forge new friendships.”

Ms Kentwell said “Audience feedback this year has been extremely positive. People not only enjoyed the opportunity to celebrate our burgeoning creative talents in the Eurobodalla but an opportunity to engage in thoughtful discussion about literature and art.”

Who is the Eurobodalla Writers’ Group?

The Eurobodalla Writers’ Group meets monthly. There is a night group that meets from 6.30pm to 8.30pm on the first Monday of each month at a private residence and a day group that meets from 10.30am to 1.30pm on the first Wednesday of each month at the Red Door Hall in Page Street, Moruya.

Further details at https://eurobodallawriters.org/contact-us