Beechworth Arts Council is a local community arts organisation established in the 1970s by a group of like-minded individuals.
An affiliated member of Regional Arts Victoria, Beechworth Arts Council has a strong commitment to strengthening community through engagement in the arts.
2025 Art Exhibitions
We produce two Members’ exhibition per year – ART in Autumn and Made in Indigo
ART in Autumn 2025 will be presented in May/June as part of the Unveiled – portraits of Creative Beechworth project, Made in Indigo 2025 will be exhibited in December.
In 2025 Beechworth Arts Council will celebrate our fifth decade of art and advocacy. As part of these celebrations we are producing a special photography project titled, UNVEILED – portraits of creative Beechworth. This event is part of the Beechworth Family Album, a project that began in 1984 with chapters in every decade since.
UNVEILED is open to all artists and artisans who live in Beechworth in 2025. To participate download the entry form below and return either via email or post. We’d love you to be part of it, the deadline for entry is 16th March 2025
UNVEILED entry form (click here)
MEMBERSHIP
Membership of Beechworth Arts Council are renewed at the beginning of each year in January. You can renew your current membership for 2025 by transferring the annual fee of $30 single, ($40 family) to the WAW bank account details below. If you are a new member, you’ll need to fill out a membership form (link below).
Beechworth Arts Council relies on our membership fees for administration and exhibition costs. Your support is always greatly appreciated.
Beechworth Arts Council bank account details:
BSB 803 070
Account 17879
Please include your initials and surname as payee reference
Beechworth Arts Council Membership details (here)
History
In the 1980s, Beechworth Arts Council founded the first Arts and Craft Market in Beechworth, a monthly event that at its height, featured hundreds of arts and craft stalls, attracting thousands of visitors to Beechworth’s historic botanical garden.
Throughout the 1990s, Beechworth Arts Council offered exhibition and studio space in the Mayday Hills precinct and hosted an ambitious program of creative workshops to support the many artists in residence.
In the 2000s, the council produced the first local spoken and written word festival (WRAP), an event that featured writing workshops along with author talks with celebrated writers such as Tony Birch (Ghost River, The Promise, Blood), Rosalie Ham (The Dressmaker, The Year of the Farmer, The should be more dancing) and Shane Maloney (The Bush Off, Stiff, Sucked in). A decade later, the arts council produced a series of popular Spring Arts Festivals showcasing local visual artists along with musicians, authors and poets.
The arts council is auspice of a town-wide photography project spanning four decades. Named Beechworth Family Album, this popular community event celebrates local identities such as Ada Cambridge and David Martin along with significant contributors to Beechworth’s contemporary business and community life.
The arts council is the founder of the now iconic Beechworth Tapestry that was painstakingly woven by key members of the then Victoria Tapestry Workshop. Hanging in the historic Beechworth Town Hall, the tapestry is a popular feature of the town’s historic precinct and widely acknowledged as an important chronicle of the Beechworth’s colonial past.
With the aim of fostering a community of local artisans and artists, since its inception Beechworth Arts Council has offered countless workshops in Life Drawing, Printmaking, and Painting. Many participants of these have gone to establish their own arts practice and build a loyal audience of patrons.
Beechworth Arts Council has been and remains an integral part of the greater Indigo arts community. As we celebrate our 50th anniversary in 2025, with a new and enthusiastic board of management, the arts council is committed to continuing the strong art’s advocacy and legacy into the future.
Sponsorships
Beechworth Arts Council thanks Indigo Shire Council for a generous 2025 Community Grant supporting UNVEILED – portraits of Creative Beechworth
Beechworth Art Council is very please to welcome Bank WAW as a key sponsor for 2025. WAW has been our bank of choice for the past five decades and we are deeply thankful for the support of a $500 Community Grant toward UNVEILED – portraits of creative Beechworth.
Beechworth Arts Council is thrilled to welcome Piano Piano Wines. PIano Piano Wines are located at 852 Beechworth Wangaratta Road, Upper Everton. We warmly thank Marc and Lisa at Piano Piano for their generous support.
Beechworth Arts Council warmly thanks Arts Rutherglen for the generous loan of their display screen and covers. Arts Rutherglen produce a host of creative annual creative events, of which the Taste of Rutherglen Art Prize and exhibition is one of their biggest draw cards.
Beechworth Arts Council acknowledges the generous sponsorship of Wilson Fabrics and Bruck Textiles. We thank them for providing the fabric covers for our exhibition display screens.
Acknowledgement of Country
Beechworth Arts Council acknowledges the original custodians of the Indigo Hills and surrounds. The people of the rivers and the hills of this extraordinary country have walked these lands for thousands of years and continue to do so today. We pay our respect to their elders of the past, present and emerging.